I spend almost 100 nights a year in hotels. Here are the 6 mistakes people make during their stays.

04.08.2023 - 11:41 / insider.com

Over the past two decades, I've spent a quarter of my time as a tourist.

As a travel writer, I get to check places off of my constantly changing bucket list — and I've learned my fair share of lessons in my past 23 years of traveling. 

In 2022 alone, I spent 102 nights of my year either on cruise ships or in hotel rooms. More specifically, I stayed in 27 of the latter and two of the former.

Here are six mistakes travelers make when staying at hotels. 

A little bit of research and activity planning before you book your hotel can go a long way.

I've been an NYC tour guide since 2017 and have escorted hundreds of domestic and international tourists around Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Most tell me where they're staying and why — and it usually comes down to convenience versus cost. 

Staying in a Midtown Manhattan hotel is typically a more expensive option but it will give you decent access to all five boroughs if you plan to see the whole city. But let's say you're flying into John F. Kennedy International Airport or LaGuardia Airport — both located in Queens — and want to check out Queens attractions like the Museum of the Moving Image and catch a Mets game at Citi Field.

In that case, you're better off staying in Long Island City in Queens, which will give you easy access to the subway lines you'll need to get to where you want to go. Plus, by staying outside of Manhattan, you can cut your hotel cost in half without giving up too many amenities. 

Again, think about what you're planning to do when narrowing down where you're going to stay. 

If you're coming to New York City to see Broadway plays and check out the bucket-list museums, then staying in Newark, New Jersey, or near JFK airport in Queens to save money can be counterproductive.

First of all, it can be a two-hour round trip to get from each place and you might end up spending more on bus and train tickets or rideshares than you saved on a hotel or Airbnb. Plus you're costing yourself a full 10-hour day of sightseeing if you do a two-hour commute for five nights.

If I were speaking rather than typing these words, I'd probably get louder during this part. Hotel rewards programs cost you nothing! Even if you're one of those time-is-money types, it still takes less time to sign up for a given hotel rewards program than it does to book the room. 

In the past four years, I've used rewards points from these programs to stay in cities as expensive as New York and as affordable as Lowell, Massachusetts.

Unless you have enough status to get your first checked bag free, you might want to leave your umbrella, bicycle helmet, and yoga mat at home. For starters, you can borrow an umbrella from the front desk at many hotels at no extra cost.

As an avid