20 Genius Hotel Hacks for Family Vacation
Want to make your next family vacation less stressful? Let me help you have a fun and relaxing family getaway with these unique hotel hacks for families.
20 Genius hotel tips and tricks from keeping the morning sun out, eating in your hotel room, entertaining the kids and so much more. These cool travel hacks for families are going to change the way you travel! No more family travel stress just fun family bonding. Follow along with me and find some DIY travel hacks for your next family vacation.
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20 Genius Hotel Hacks to Make Family Vacation Easy
Cleaning Your Hotel Room
Update - I have added this update for cleaning your room since the COVID-19 pandemic. Feel better about traveling with these simple cleaning tips.
Pack a container of Lysol or Clorox Disinfectant wipes. When you enter your room wipe down hard surfaces, doorknobs, light switches, and bathroom. Anything you think your kids or you will touch
Put the TV remote control in a big zip lock bag. This way you can use it without touching the buttons.
Skip using the decorative pillows and bed spread as they are not always cleaned after each use. If you're on a road trip pack a blanket and pillow to use instead.
Don't put your suitcase on the bed or furniture. Suitcases tend to be dragged around as you travel so may have picked up dirt or germs.
Keep the Sun Out
If your kids are getting up when the sun cracks through the hotel room windows in the morning you need to make a change. Who wants to get up early on vacation?
Bring with chip clips, binder clips, or wooden clothespins to hold the two drapes together. They are small and lightweight to bring with and easily fit into your suitcase. This will keep the sun out of your room in the morning and let you get a few more precious minutes of sleep.
Painter Tape to Baby Proof the Room
You can do so much with a roll of painter's tape in your hotel room. Use these hotel hacks with painter's tape to let yourself relax a little while in the room with crawling babies or toddlers.
Covering Outlets
Cover up the outlets for little ones by placing painter's tape over the holes. This will keep them from sticking their fingers in the outlets.
Keep Drawers & Cabinets Closed
Does your little one love opening and closing drawers and cabinets but it's driving you crazy? Keep them closed by placing painter's tape across the openings.
You can also use bungee cords to keep drawers and cabinets in the room closed. It's a simple way to baby-proof the room.
Rolling off the Bed
Keep your little ones from rolling off the hotel bed by putting one or two of the pillows under the fitted sheet. This will work as a bumper to keep them in the bed while they sleep.
Another option is to bring inflatable bed bumpers like the one below. These fit easily in your suitcase and are great for visiting grandparents' or friends' homes.
Fighting Over Space in the Bed
If you have more than one kid sleeping in a bed block off the sides of the bed by lining pillows down the middle. This will stop the kids from arguing about whose side of the bed they are on.
For parents, it will keep the kids from kicking you all night long. Amazing right?
Related Article - 15 Travel Tips to Survive a Family Vacation
Pack in Play
Want to put the baby to sleep early and not have to go to bed early yourself? Put the pack in play in the bathroom. You can close the door to the bathroom and still be able to have the lights on or watch TV in the room while the baby sleeps.
Keep it quiet for the baby by using the exhaust fan in the bathroom to keep the noise out.
If you are staying at a hotel that doesn't offer pack-n-plays or if you are visiting someone's home the Baby Joy travel crib is a great option. (Pictured below)
It's a lightweight fold-up travel crib that can double as a playpen in the hotel room. A travel crib is a safe place for the baby to play while you are getting ready for your day of fun on vacation. Then use it as a crib at night.
Keep the Noise Out
Want to keep your room quiet and block out the noise from other hotel guests? I have two easy hotel hacks to do this.
Use a Towel
Roll up a towel and place it under your hotel room door. This will block out the noise and any light coming in.
Bring a Fan
When we drive on our family vacations, I always pack a small fan to run in the room while we sleep. It blocks out the noise of other hotel guests and keeps the room from getting too stuffy.
Laundry Bags
If you have little ones with diapers, you tend to run out of space in those small hotel garbage cans quickly. Use the free hotel laundry bags as an extra garbage bag for all those diapers and wipes.
You can also use the bags for actual laundry to help separate what needs to be washed when you get home. It's so nice to just pull a bag out of your suitcase and leave it by the washer to clean after a long trip. No more remembering what the kids wore on vacation.
Related Article - How to Travel Cheap on Family Vacation
Wifi
If your hotel makes you pay extra for Wifi use your phone as a hotspot for your kid's electronics. An easy hotel hack to save money.
Eating In Your Room
A huge hotel hack for saving money on a Family Vacation is bringing food to eat in your hotel room.
Forget paying for a pricy breakfast when most hotel rooms nowadays have small refrigerators and microwaves. Here are a few hotel tips and tricks to make eating in your room easier.
Ironing Board
Use an ironing board as a table for your kids. Genius right! Use one of the hotel room towels as a tablecloth so no food gets on the ironing board. This is much better than having them eat on the carpet floor and spilling all over.
In-Room Coffee Pot
Most rooms have an in-room coffee pot. This is great for coffee or tea for adults, but you can also use it to make oatmeal in the morning for breakfast, hot chocolate or for lunch, mac n cheese cups, or ramen noodle cups.
Warm-up Baby Bottles
Use the coffee mugs provided and fill them up with hot water from the coffee maker. Then put the baby bottle in the mug until you reach a warm temperature that's right for the baby.
Related Article - Ultimate Travel Checklist of Things to Do Before Vacation
Night Lights
Pack a couple of night lights to use in the room. We usually put one in the main room and one in the bathroom. It makes getting around at night so much easier, and the kids aren't scared in the dark.
Changing Station
Set up a changing station area when the kids are little before you go to bed. I would place it near a night light so you can quickly change the baby without waking everyone else up. Plus not turning on the lights might help your baby go back to sleep quicker.
I like to use fold-out changing pads like the one below. It holds diapers, wipes and folds up into a small case I can throw in my suitcase.
Room Phone
Do your little ones love to pick up the hotel room phone? Stop fighting them about it and just unplug the phone jack. No one really calls you on a hotel phone, and it's one less battle to fight.
Extra Beds
Bringing travel beds is a great option for hotel rooms when you have multiple children or if you are visiting someone's home on vacation and need some extra beds
Blow Up Beds
We find that sometimes sharing beds in hotel rooms just leads to no one getting any sleep.
If we are driving to our destination, we will pack a blow-up mattress and let the kids trade off between the bed and blow up. This way, everyone sleeps well, and they think it's fun to have their own beds.
Toddler Blow-Up Bed
If you have a toddler who you are worried will roll off a big hotel bed, try a small toddler blow-up bed. The toddler-size blow-up has sides to keep them from rolling off, and they fit in comfortably. Here is one that we used when our kids were little. Blow Up Toddler Bed
Portable Folding Cots
Another option is to bring a portable junior cot for kids. These fit easily in a bag and just unfold for simple and quick assembly. They are surprisingly comfortable, too! Just bring along a sleeping bag and you're ready.
Entertainment in the Hotel Room
Car Racing
'Remember that roll of painter's tape you packed? Use it to make a cool race track on the hotel room floor. The tape won't leave a mark, and your kids will have something to keep them busy.
Card Games
Card games are small to pack and can easily be played on a bed or the floor of a hotel room. We love to play Go Fish with little ones and Sushi Go for the older kids. Another great game is Right Left Center. Super simple and fun to play as a family.
Let the kids battle it out with this free Battleship printable game board. Easy to play in the hotel room, while traveling, or in restaurants on vacation. All you need is a pencil, and you're ready to play.
Road Trip Tips
Want some fun road trip games for the hotel room, airplane, and car rides? Check out my Awesome Dollar Tree Games & Activities on Road Trips. Includes entertaining games, travel hacks, and Busy Bag ideas.
No time to shop? Visit Our Favorite Road Trip Games on Amazon. You'll love the Wiki Sticks and magnetic games for hotel rooms and restaurants too.
Can't fit all your baby gear in the car or take it on the plane? No problem have them delivered to your hotel room by BabyQuip. They're our favorite family travel hack for getting cribs, strollers, car seats, and more on vacation.
Beach Hacks
If you like these travel hacks you'll love our cool Beach Hacks too! Get my sly ways to hide your money, keep your phone dry, get rid of the sand and so much more. 20 Beach Hacks to Survive a Day at the Beach with Kids
Are you ready to try out these amazing hotel hacks on your next family vacation? I hope my hotel tips and tricks make your family travel less stressful and encourage you to take more fun family getaways. Now go out and make some new family memories!
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These are such awesome ideas! I had never thought about using an ironing board as a small table before. GENIUS! Thanks for sharing!
The painters tape is life! I love all these great tips! I can’t wait to use a few of them on our next adventure!
The painters tape really is a simple solution to make travel easier. Glad I could help!
I love the painters tape. These are all such great solutions.