If Your Hotel Pillows Could Talk

CNN has an a list of 8 facts about hotel pillows. I hate hotel pillows. I can never get comfortable with hotel pillows, because they are all so soft. I am a hard pillow type of guy. This list opened my eyes to things I never thought about and others I still don't want to know about.

1. That annoying pillow tag? It fought smallpox

This is one thing I have never thought about, but "it's actually a product of the 1800s when some less-than-scrupulous business people were stuffing their pillows and mattresses with old hospital blankets that might have carried smallpox and tuberculosis." Lovely!

2. Your hotel pillow is probably younger than the one you have at home

www.hotelchatter.com

The average age of your hotel pillow is 2 years! Kris Beck at Hilton Worldwide says "a synthetic pillow lasts approximately 18 to 24 months when cared for and laundered properly, while a down or feather pillow can last 24 to 36 months." While Keith Pierce from Wyndham reports that the hotel chain "purchased more than a million pillows last year alone!"

Sadly, my pillow at home is like 5+ year old. Maybe time for a change?

3. Housekeepers and hot dog vendors have something in common

Say what? 

"Rather than tucking a laundered pillowcase under their chin, hospitality expert Jacob Tomsky says that hotel housekeepers have a chop-and-fold method of slipping pillows into pillowcases."

                          

4. In the hotel biz, BYOP = WTF

I could understand people bringing pumpkins could bother housekeepers, but pillows? Why does it matter if I bring my own pillow?

5. Not all rock stars trash hotel rooms the same way

www.today.com

One rocker asked for 15 pillows on the bed. The next morning, they were skewed all over the room. Scandalous? Call the papers!

6. If you want a firm pillow, Singapore is the place

The Conrad Singapore has a pillow menu. 

www.tripadvisor.com 

www.tripadvisor.com

7. You can get your hotel pillow personalized

                                         

"At the Beverly Hills Peninsula, VIP guests, who stay five days at the property, get to sleep on pillowcases monogrammed with their initials.

The hotel has more than a 1,000 pillowcases on hand in a variety of initial combinations, though for the Isabel Isaacs and Zachary Xaviers out there, monogramming a new pillow only takes five to 10 minutes."

8. Don't think too hard about your hotel pillow ... or this article

"When you put your head on a pillow it would blow your mind to think about how many other heads have been on that pillow," he says. "If you go to a hotel and come back a year later and stay in the same room, you're going to put your head on the same pillow and there are a lot of people who have done a lot of things on that pillow on the meantime.

Whatever people do in their rooms, pillows are always there. They're either directly involved or very nearby."

Great...I want to go back to not thinking about my hotel pillows.
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Current Giveaways & Contests

Here are some contest offering trips or points:

• Starwood Hotels has an interesting promotion to win 250,000 points
• Homewood Suites has a contest to win a trip to this years Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Win 10 Free Nights or 100,000 IHG Points through Intercontinental Toronto's Facebook Page
• Win a trip to NYC from Allure Magazine
• Win a Trip to Paris & London from CNN & the new movie Closed Circuit
• Win a Trip to Monte Carlo from TravelChannel.com

Can't win if you don't play . . . Good Luck!

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CNN's 20 Biggest Travel Mistakes

CNN has an article about the 20 biggest travel mistakes. My grandfather says, "learn from mistakes; otherwise, you will inevitably make them again."

CNN's list made me laugh, because I have made a few of the mistakes myself:

4. Trusting "near city center" descriptions

Taken from CNN's Article

Every hotel is "near" the city center. I remember my hotel in Belgrade.  The hotel's website stated it was close to the center of town. Close was 30 minutes away by car or 60 minutes by tram/bus. I wasted so much time traveling to and from the hotel. The savings for staying at this hotel was maybe 25 Euro a night. At that time, 25 Euros was alot to me.

Always use Google Maps to see where the hotel is compared to the attractions you want to visit.

6. Not tightening shampoo caps . . . all the way

Taken from CNN's Article

Mine involved shower gel that leaked all over my clothes. I had to spend time out of my vacation at the laundromat. Not the best way to spend a vacation, but lesson learned.

16. Obsessive Photography

Taken from CNN's Article

Guilty as charged! I am so focused on getting the greatest picture that I forgot to use my five other senses. What did you hear at the monument? What did if feel like? How did that food smell We become so focused on taking that picture that we miss things.

Other travel mistakes listed by CNN should have been listed under "No Duh"

11. Buying cheap flip-flops

Taken from CNN's Article

Footwear is one thing that you should never buy cheap. That is why I always skip Old Navy's $1 flip flop sales. Your feet are one of the most important parts of your body. Spend the extra money on shoes and flip flops that support your feet.


19. Using a credit card to get cash

Taken from CNN's Article

Cash advances from your credit is the stupidest move ever. The interest rates associated with cash advances are extremely high. If you need cash, use a debit card, because they provide some of the best exchange rates. Never ever ever ever ever use a credit card for cash.

Conclusion

This list is great reminder for travelers of all levels. Mistakes are inevitable when traveling. All we can hope is that the mistakes that we do make don't ruin the experience.

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Avis Agrees to Buy Zipcar: Great News For Weekend Travelers

It was announced today that rental car company Avis has agreed to buy car sharing company Zipcar. The deal for about $500 million is a good thing for Zipcar users because Avis is going to use their fleet of rental cars to beef up the number of rentals available for rental as Zipcar's on the weekend.

I think this is a great deal for travelers who might not be able to get a good rental car deal for a weekend city visit or for those under 25 who hopefully won't have to pay an underage card as you only have to be 21 (18 in some locations) to have a Zipcar membership.

If you are visiting a city for the weekend and need a car for some of the weekend and can't find a good rental car rate, this is a great alternative. Even better is you won't have to pay the high prices that come with renting a car from the airport and you won't have to pay high parking charges a the hotel. You will just have to pick up and drop off your Zipcar at the appropriate location and continue your vacation! 

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out, but it has the potential to be an awesome new tool for travelers.