I am in Kitchener this weekend…or Waterloo. Well, maybe Bloomingdale. I’m not quite sure.

It took us longer than I’d like, but we’re here. Brian literally dropped me off at the hotel and rushed off to a men’s conference.

I’m tagging along because, why not.

I love travelling. I love getting away. I love taking some time to refresh.

Except.

Hotels.

I have such a high standard for the hotels in which I stay. If you’ve ever travelled with me, you very well may have heard me discuss hotel features, or I may have told you the horror story from West Virginia. I probably wouldn’t go as far to say I’m a hotel snob, but it may be something I’ve been referred to in my lifetime.

So, even though I have high standards in my hotel choices, there is a process that I go through to make sure the room is up to par.

Checking for PESTS

The very first thing I do is freak out!

Well, only if someone walks in before me and plops something down on the bed or the floor.

I always go in and check certain areas before anyone is allowed to make themselves at home.

1. Threshold & edges of the carpet – If there are pests, you may be able to see black near the edges of the flooring, especially if the carpet is lifted a bit or if it is worn/frayed. The specific places I check are the entrance & bathroom thresholds, the edge of the carpeted baseboards, behind the dresser, and the edges inside the closet.
2. Picture frames on the wall – Bugs like to hide and behind frames is a common spot they tend to like.
3. Dresser – I like to open the drawers and see what they look like. I don’t use the dressers in hotels, but it still gives me a snapshot of what’s behind the scene.
4. Mattress – If you lift up the corner of the mattress, you will be surprised at what you find. More and more hotels are using specific bedbug proof covers, which is great. If there are bedbugs, there will be dark matter in the creases of the mattress edge. If there are no dark spots, there are no bedbugs.

Once I’ve done that, everyone is allowed to put their stuff down.

…but not on the floor.

That’s off-limits.

My rules include:

• Suitcases only go on the stand
• Clothes only get hung up, left in the suitcase or put in a hamper (if I brought one)
• Only disposable cups may be used (glass cups usually are just wiped “clean”)

Then next thing I do is my favourite part. It gives me so much satisfaction and peace of mind. I have a travel kit in which I always keep a travel size bottle of Lysol spray/wipes.

Disinfect/Remove as many germs as possible

1. The Remote – Ugh! I can’t even think about how many germs are on this thing. I have way too many thoughts about what may even be on the remote.
2. The Bathroom Door Handle – I hate to say it, but I would put money on the fact that many people don’t wash their hands after using the washroom in hotel rooms. I also disinfect the hotel room door handle.
3. The Telephone – It’s not often that I use the hotel phone, but if I had to, I would want it to be clean. So that gets a wipe down.
4. The Toilet Flusher – I have heard so many stories about the way hotel bathrooms get cleaned. I’m just not interested in leaving that to chance, so the flusher gets a wipe down too.
5. The Curtain Stick – I’m not sure that’s what it’s called, but that thing used to draw the blinds…yeah, I’m pretty sure no one thinks to clean that, yet everyone touches it.
6. The Coffee Maker Display – I don’t ever use the one provided in the room, but if I did, I would clean this too.
7. The Bed – Ok, I don’t use Lysol for the bed, but I do take the decorative pillows and any cover/coverlet/top blanket and toss them in the corner of the room. Housekeeping doesn’t wash these between guests.

After all this is done, I know that I can sit back and relax, knowing that the place I’m resting my head is clean and in order.

Do you have a routine that you follow when you stay at a hotel? I’d love to hear what you do.