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Staying Safe in Your Hotel

Whether you’re staying in a 5-star hotel including more exclusive like  hotels  sheffield or a backpacker hostel, there are many things you can do to help keep yourself and your belongings safe. These tips are particularly helpful if you’re traveling solo as you won’t have someone to watch out for you.

1. Never leave the “Please Clean” sign on your door. This signals that your room is empty and is telltale sign for someone who might be waiting for the perfect moment to burglar your room. Instead, call the front desk and let them know your room is ready for a cleaning.

2. Ask for a room close to the elevator. While this may be noisier than one at the end of the hall, if you do find yourself in trouble, it’s more likely someone will hear you if you need help.

Hotel3. Women… NEVER let a man in your room. Even if you’ve called room service and you’re fairly certain that he’s trustworthy. Keep the door open and conduct your business near the hallway. If a service person must get in the room, in the case of having to fix the air conditioning or television, keep the door open at all times. If you haven’t called someone, yet someone’s knocking, check with the front desk to confirm it’s someone from the hotel.

4. Carry a rubber doorstop. In many developing countries, there is no deadbolt or chain lock to provide added  protection from a potential intruder. Because most doors open inward, simply slip the doorstop underneath the door so that no one can get in while you’re sleeping or in the shower.

5. Ensure your privacy. Most hotel staff are trained not to say your room number out loud. If they do say it while you’re checking in and there are others in the lobby, ask for another room. You never know who might be listening and taking note that you are traveling on your own.

6. Keep your key safe. In less modern hotels, the room key is often on a keychain that may include your hotel name and room number. Simply slip the key off and carry it in a safe place so that, in the event that you lose it or someone picks it up, they don’t know where to find you. Always make use of car hire Bilbao Airport or any other location to ease your transportation.

Categories: Hospitality

Hotel Check List

Hints to help your hotel stay go smoothly

Once you have your on-line hotel reservation, follow these steps to avoid problems and to have a pleasant stay.

These tips add to what you learned in Hotel Savings Strategies,  if you go vacation to whitby on the north-east coast of England you can make online book at whitby holiday cottages

  • Print out your confirmation and receipt (if prepaid) and take these with you to your hotel.At some point during your travels, you may need to prove that you made a reservation that somehow became “lost” in a computer system.
  • Soon after booking online, call your hotel or resort and confirm that it received your reservation and that all is well.
  • Give your hotel any special requests you may have, such as a nonsmoking room or king bed. You are never absolutely guaranteed these, but it helps to request (or reconfirm) these directly with your hotel in advance of arrival.The more in advance you make these requests, the more likely they will be honored.However, wait until check in to ask for any free upgrades. (See below)
  • Ask the hotel what parking costs, if traveling to a large city.Parking rates can be astronomically high, and cheaper rates may be in unsafe areas.You simply do not need a car in Manhattan or in downtown areas of cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, or Washington, DC.

The following hints may also enhance your travel experience.

  • Sign up for your hotel chain’s frequent guest program, especially if you are staying at a top rated hotel.You may get a free upgrade, express check out, and other perks.
  • Avoid checking in during the late evening.Hotels overbook, so you’ll want to avoid this major hassle, especially late at night. Try to show up before everyone else has.An exception is Las Vegas, where guests arrive and depart at all hours.
  • When checking in at better hotels, dress appropriately for your destination and age.You do not have to wear a business suit when arriving at a top hotel in New York, but you should wear something more upscale than what you wore while camping at the Grand Canyon.Like it or not, hotel desk clerks and those who guard the doors of the best clubs and restaurants are more likely to do favors for you if they think that you belong.
  • If you have an American Express or airline frequent traveler credit card, use it when you check in. This tells the hotel that you probably travel frequently, and it would be wise to treat you well.
  • Especially when arriving at first-class and deluxe hotels, do not ask for free upgrades, unless you hold top status in the hotel’s frequent guest program.Check in clerks are quite jaded when it comes to these requests. After all, using Hotwire.com or Priceline.com Hotels, you are paying the rock bottom rates at these hotels.INSTEAD, politely ask how much it costs to upgrade to a “lake front,” “partial ocean view,” or whatever type of room you wish. You may be surprised at how little it costs—and how often you are upgraded for free.

    Partial ocean view rooms, by the way, are often great values with views more interesting than just staring out to sea from a full ocean view room.

  • If you must travel with valuables, take advantage of hotel secure storage facilities, instead of less secure room safes. Bell captains at better hotels can put large items, such as laptops, in locked storage while you are away.
Categories: Hospitality

Fashionable Girl’s Guide to Backpacking

The three items on nearly every backpacker’s list: fleece, poncho, Bandanna. Which just happen to be three things that would cause you to destroy every photo from your trip. So throw out the old packing list and learn what rules to break and what items you absolutely do need to take with this more fashion-friendly guide.

 

Rule #1: Remember Where You’re Going
European cities and South American jungles are obviously two very different trips, so keep in mind where you’re going and what you are likely doing before you pack. If you’re sticking to a route of museums, dinners, and sights you aren’t going to need (and certainly won’t want) to look like you’ve just hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro. Allow yourself some leniency and pack clothes in which you will not be embarrassed to be photographed.
Rule #2: Triple Your Underpants
Whoever said to pack only three pairs of underwear was obviously a dude and a dude packing some pretty large drawers (and ones travel_2they were apparently comfortable wearing for weeks on end.) Luckily for ladies- your underoos hardly take up any space. So break the three pairs rule – pack ten. Many hostels have laundry facilities so you won’t be turning them inside out halfway through the second week. 

 
Rule #3: Switch out Synonyms
You can easily translate fleece, poncho, bandanna into cute sweater, umbrella, and wearable haircut. Layerable clothing is always best, so pick a color scheme (preferably one that hides multiple wears well) and stick to it. A teensy umbrella will keep you covered in London, but not in the Amazon, so consider your locale before ditching the poncho entirely. And as a blow-dryer, flat-iron, and array of styling products are absolutely out – skip the high-maintenance cut. Instead, pack elastics and master the art of the sleek ponytail. As for cosmetics, make them do double duty: a sunscreen/foundation combo, wallet sized all-in-one makeup compact, lip gloss and mascara should be sufficient war paint for any trip.
Rule #4: Save Room for Insensible Shoes
Yes, you absolutely need comfortable walking shoes but even chic urban kicks are not going to cut it for a real night out. Allow yourself one pair of heels, preferably something high, strappy, and that have been claimed (on more than one occasion) to be more comfortable than they look. Use them to dress up jeans for dinner in Alsace, drinks on the Danube, or dancing in Buenos Aires while your pack is stashed safely in a locker.
Rule 5: Bring Your Girlfriends, Your Favorite Pair of Jeans, and one Show-Stopping Accessory
Your girlfriends, besides being an obvious source of fun, can also be a way to expand your limited wardrobe. Swap sundresses in Nice and your flea-market finds from Berlin in Brussels. Wear your favorite pair of jeans on the plane and consider it your uniform for the trip. Dark denim is the easiest to dress up or down as well as camouflage any stain mishaps. And if you plan on traveling through one of the world’s more fashionable cities pack one really fabulous (but ultimately replaceable) accessory that will make you feel like a superstar on day three or thirty-nine. Now, you can get car hire Trieste Airport and travel with your backpacks to your favorite spot easily.

Categories: Hospitality

Be a Great Host or Hostess in a Restaurant

Steps

  1. Keep track of each station. Make a chart of each server’s station, and what tables are in it (also learn the table layout by heart). Keep note of how many people are in a party and what table they are at. Also keep note of who is still there so that servers do not become overwhelmed.
  2. Be aware as the patron arrives in the restaurant. Open the door when a patron comes or goes.
  3. Greet them with a smile and welcome them to the establishment. Remember, you are the first person to approach them upon entering, SMILE and greet them nicely.
  4. Find out how many people are dining. If there is a wait make sure to get everyone’s name in right away so they do not feel ignored.
  1. When figuring out where to seat them, rotate the stations. Distribute the tables evenly among servers. But also keep in mind how many large parties they have or have had. Try not to seat any two parties too close together when it is not necessary.
  2. When they sit down, leave a menu for each of them. Don’t just throw menus on the table and leave without saying anything. If you have a menu insert, explain to them what they are. Do not just hand it to them.
  3. Ask if they need a high chair or booster seat if a child is with the guests. Tell them your name ,the manager on duty and that the server will be with them shortly.
  4. Make sure that there are complete place settings for each guest and that the table is clean. If not, get more place mats/napkins/silverware, or give the table a quick wipe down with a damp rag. If it is beyond that, seat them somewhere else and make sure the mess is dealt with.
  5. Be prepared to get some things for guests, such as extra dressing, water refills, utensils, napkins, or carryout boxes. But do not go beyond this; that’s the server’s job. While it is nice to help out a little, you can embarrass the server and make them seem incompetent. But if a guest does ask for something else, inform them that you will let their waiter know or that you’ll send them over so that they may do it themselves.


Tips

  • You might want to do a quick coffee or water run if customers have a long wait and are starting to become unhappy.
  • Always make sure that water and coffee is always filled, it is better to be prepared than to be sorry.
  • Keep up on silverware too when it starts to slow down a little, that way you don’t have to stay longer than the rest of the staff or make the person who opens up in the morning have to.


Warnings

  • If you’re having a bad day, don’t let that reflect in your service.
  • Do not let grudges influence your seating. Don’t give a waiter you hate the unwanted regulars who are a pain in the apron and don’t tip, or purposely overwhelm a waitress, or leave someone else without any tables.
  • Do not gossip with co-workers about other co-workers or guests. You are a neutral ambassador to your restaurant.
  • It is your job to make sure that the restaurant runs smoothly and that all of the guests and servers are happy. How can you accomplish this? By bringing your level of professionalism up to its highest standards.
  • Be aware of what is going on in the kitchen, in each of your servers’ stations and at the bar. As the shift progresses be aware how your actions impact the servers, bar and kitchen. Be ready, willing and able to fill in the gaps. Are you capable of taking a cocktail order? Can you direct support staff by table number and position number in order to serve a guest efficiently? Are you familiar with the menu, soups of the day, or specials. Can you hold a brief conversation with guests in order to buy time for a server who is occupied at another table? Learning what it takes to please your guests and co-workers is what it takes to be a great host.
  • When your guests leave can you thank them sincerely, use their names and genuinely tell them that you would like to see them return. Use car hire France and get to top restaurant in France with your date.

Categories: Hospitality