Surviving Conventions: Hotel 101

If you are going to go to an all weekend convention, you will most likely being staying in a near by hotel. Like everything in the world, there are some good hotels and some bad. What should you bring to a hotel? What should you avoid?  Here are some tips to make your stay at a hotel more pleasurable.

Location: 

When you are booking your hotel, it is a good idea to see how far away the hotel is. You don't want to be walking miles and miles to the convention in your costume (unless you want to. Then go for it). Some hotels offer shuttles to and from the convention if it is too far to walk. The downside to having to take a shuttle is that it doesn't run all day/night. So if you are going to be partying late into the night, make sure that you know when the last shuttle leaves.

Booking:

Book early! All of the good rooms go early! Then if you wait too long there won't be rooms available. And make sure to ask if they offer a discount because you are apart of the convention. A lot of the time the convention will book a block of rooms and offer a discount on the

Amenities:

I found this out the hard way, but always look up what the hotel room has.  Does it have a microwave? Mini Fridge? My last hotel didn't have either of those things so I had to get creative with the food that I brought. Lots of ice was used during that trip. 

Arrival/Departure:

Most hotels have a late check-in time, mine was around 4PM. But if you there early enough, stop by at the front desk and see if your room is ready early. Most of the time they are and you can drop your stuff off early.

Thanks to technology, most hotels let you check out right from your room tv. That saves you a ton of time going to the front desk. I usually like to check out way early because most people check-out around 12. If you wait until then the lines for the elevator are going to take forever.

Parking:

Do your research when it comes to parking. Most hotels have their own parking garage, but you will have to pay for it. Others don't have a ton of parking so you might have to find a plan B for parking.  During my last stay at the convention, I found out that it was cheaper to park at the convention parking lot that was next store. It did require a little more walking from my hotel room, but it is worth it.

Random Tips:
-Bring your own towels if you are washing off body paint. Hotels will charge you if you damage their towels.
- Some hotels place a $50 hold on your debt card while you stay with them. This is to make sure that you don't damage their stuff. They will return the money after a couple of days if everything is ok. If you use a credit card, they don't do this.


Do you have any tips for staying at a hotel?