Inspect your lodge & room

  Essentials

• Be prepared before you arrive — Book at least one night online so you have a place to go. Arrive in daylight in case you have to reject the lodge and must look for another.
• Consider the safety of the neighborhood — You may not have a way to get information on this before you arrive, so keep your eyes open as you approach your lodge.
• Assess the lodge itself — Get a sense of how much the owner cares and how well the lodge is managed from the frontage, lobby and Reception.
• Inspect the room offered — Look for safety, cleanliness, noise, electrical outlets, WiFi signal, laundry line anchors, bathroom features and bed and linen quality.
• Ask for another room or prepare to look elsewhere — If the room is unacceptable, the lodge may have a better one. If not, you’ll have to leave and find a lodge that meets at least your minimum standard.

Inspecting your lodge and room might seem unnecessary when you’re staying in upscale accommodations. Complaints then are likely to be about non-essential luxuries.

Most long-term travelers stay in less posh lodging, where it’s a good idea to make sure that the basics are satisfactory. As you move from rich countries to middle countries to poor countries, your lodging can be much different from a plain vanilla hotel room. In fact, it can get really weird, both wonderful weird and awful weird. You need to keep your wits about you before you agree to stay.

Solid rule: regardless of the cost of the room and any number of discomforts, security of your person and your stuff is mandatory.

Prepare in advance

When you arrive at a new destination, your guide book or OTA are not going to inform you of anything negative. You have to find out about any problems yourself.

Go online

If you’re a pro traveler, you will do your online research before you leave your previous WiFi equipped room. If you fail to do that, you still have two options: a local data account for your phone or a WiFi hotspot. If you’re arriving in a new country, you won’t have a local data account yet, so maybe you can pause and see if there’s a WiFi hotspot in the transportation hub where you’ve just arrived. (To keep yourself secure, always use a VPN in WiFi hotspots, especially if inputting any personal details, login or payment.)

Arrive in daylight

We can’t stress this enough. While arriving in a destination at night is sometimes unavoidable, you increase security risk and decrease bargaining power with your lodge. If you arrive at night, eat the cost of a badged taxi (not some guy in an unmarked car in the airport parking lot). Then, when you arrive at your lodge, looking exhausted, the Reception person knows you just want to lie down and are not going somewhere else. He will then offer you the worst room in the lodge, even if you booked online. If you didn’t book in advance, you’ll get the rack rate.

Whenever possible, arrive in daylight. Give yourself better security and lodging options.

Have a reservation

We strongly recommend reserving at least one night in advance for a new destination. It will reduce your stress and the risk that you’ll end up in some dump or even wandering the streets at night trying to find a place to stay. You can always move to a new place the next day. 

If you have a reservation

Booking a lodge is one thing — deciding whether or not to stay there is another. When you book online, you will have a description supplied by the lodge itself. We all know that these are sales pitches and the accompanying photos represent the lodge and rooms in the most flattering light possible.

Thank goodness for user reviews, right? Not so fast. User reviews suffer from many biases and get dated fast. They can be helpful, but they’re not entirely reliable.

In the end, you do your best online research, book the lodge and eventually arrive. Then you have to decide whether or not the lodge meets your standards.

If you don’t have a reservation

Maybe you didn’t book in advance and need a room. You’ve found a lodge in a guide book, by word-of-mouth from another traveler, from a tout or taxi driver or even by walking right in front of the place.

Usually, you would have almost no information about the lodge, putting you at a disadvantage. If you have a local data account for your phone or there’s a coffee shop with WiFi next door, you can pause to check online. If the lodge is listed on an OTA, you will at least you’ll know the amenities on offer and the approximate best price. If you have the time, some recent reviews might be worth a look, too. 

Without a reservation, you’re under no obligation to take a room at the price offered. So, as long as it’s not late at night or when every room in town seems to be booked, your option to look elsewhere gives you some more leverage.

Assess the lodge

It’s easier to assess a lodge and the room on offer if:

• You have time — Whenever possible, arrive during daylight hours. If you arrive at night, you may not have much time to move on to a second lodge if the first one won’t do. Earlier in the day improves your negotiating position with lodge as well. Even if you’ve booked online, you may not want the room they offer. But, if you’ve arrived earlier, there may still be other rooms available.
• You have energy — It’s best if you’re not too tired to continue to search. If you’re getting off a long international flight or the bus trip from hell, you may not have enough energy left to assess your lodge, negotiate with reception and — if it doesn’t work out — move on to find another lodge.

Both these conditions suggest that you arrive no later than late afternoon, with enough time and energy to look at other options if need be.

Consider location safety

No matter what else a lodge offers, the safety and security of your and your stuff is paramount. There are “dangerous” districts in many western cities, while entire cities in some countries could be considered a security risk. An important part of selecting a lodge is location, so include a bit of research on the neighborhood. That “wonderful” lodge might be in a part of town where you wouldn’t feel safe on the streets. It’s not easy to get this info — check the reviews. If none of the reviewers specifically mentions the bad character of the district, you’re probably okay.

Don’t let yourself be paralyzed by paranoia. Maybe most of the world is more chaotic and unruly than your home place, but you can still travel safely in most destinations. If you’re new to independent travel, you’ll get a feel for “safe or not?” pretty quickly.

• Are there options en route? — Keep an eye on the districts you pass through en route from the transport hub to your lodge. If your lodge or the neighborhood doesn’t work out, you might direct the taxi back to a better part of town. You might also spot an alternative lodge along the way. Write down the name as you pass.
• Does the neighborhood look secure? — If the area looks too shabby or even dangerous — and especially if it’s after dark — don’t get out of your taxi or get off the bus. Trust your gut on this. Tell your taxi driver to take you to a better neighborhood. If you’re on a bus, get off only at a busy location and find transport to a better part of town.
• Does the street look safe? —Does it look like it will be safe to come and go on foot after dark? Even during the day, check for street lighting. Are there people on it, apart from idle young men checking you out as you arrive? 

Appraise the lodge as you enter

You can’t tell a a book by its cover and you can’t tell a lodge by it’s frontage. But you can get some ideas about building maintenance and security from how the lodge looks from the street.

• The lodge frontage — Does the street frontage of the lodge look well maintained? If the paint is peeling and trash is collecting by the entrance, maybe the owner doesn’t care much about other stuff. That said, there are some superb lodges with humble facades on very shabby streets. In some societies, owners take no responsibility for anything outside the door. Trash, animal droppings, even sewage can flow freely just steps from the entrance. (In contrast, we encountered the owner of the Hotel Van Gogh in Amsterdam  — not a staff member — sweeping a considerable expanse of the public street beside his establishment.)
• Door security — Is there any security person, such as a doorman, guard or attendant? Is there anyone else hanging around outside? What does this person look like and how do you feel about him (they’re always guys)? Beware groups of loitering young men, especially if they are obviously checking you out as you approach.
• Front door — In dodgy neighborhoods or late at night, you might find the door closed and locked. For security purposes that’s a good thing, but keep your private transport until you’ve gained entry and confirmed you’ll take the room. 

Keep your transport options open

Every time you arrive in a new destination, especially as a budget traveler, you should be prepared for a change of plans. Maybe the lodge is horrible or the district is too dodgy. If you need to move on, you might not be able to do it on foot, especially at night.

• If  you arrive by private transport —Don’t pay the taxi or tuk-tuk driver until you’re sure you will stay at the lodge. You want to keep it handy in case you have to move on. This works best if there are two of you. One stays with your luggage in the taxi or tuk-tuk while the other tries to get in. You don’t want a crooked taxi driver taking off with all your stuff. If you’re by yourself, take your bags with you. In any case, don’t pay the taxi until you’ve confirmed that you’re staying.
• If you arrive by public transit — Keep your eyes open as you approach the lodge to find the location of the nearest taxi or tuk-tuk stand. At night, if it’s not right in front of the lodge, you might have to ask the lodge Reception to call a taxi for you. In fact, when in doubt about the neighborhood or lodge, try to get off public transport in a populated spot, even if that means overshooting your stop. Then find a taxi or tuk-tuk. This ensures you’ll stay safe and have the option to move on to another district and lodge if the first one doesn’t work out.

Reception

For many travelers, especially those staying in luxury lodging, Reception is barely more than a place to pick-up the key. But, the further down the quality scale you go, the more important it is to appraise Reception. This is where you will negotiate your room and other conditions of your stay. You may also want to ask for local information and book transport or other services. Keep in mind that the person at Reception during the night might be barely more than a security guy, with little knowledge, authority or language skills.

• Reception staff — Is the person at Reception okay? By that we mean, do you get a positive feeling about this person. He or she doesn’t have to be polite or even professional, but if you get a creepy feeling, you should go with your gut. This is especially true for solo women travelers — remember that this person has a key and can enter your room at any time unless you have a security device to block the door.
• Keys — Are keys securely out of sight? Those old-fashioned boards with all the keys hanging on hooks or stuck in cubbies will tell anyone when you’re not in your room. They’re also vulnerable to key snatching and unauthorized entry to your room if the Reception person is absent or not paying attention.

If the lodge is not acceptable

While you have to accept a few shortcomings in most lodges, you may encounter a lodge that is much too poor to meet your minimum standards. Then it’s time to move on and find another lodge. If you’ve had the foresight and ability to arrive early enough, you’ll have the time and energy before dark to seek an alternate lodge. If it’s late and you’re tired, it could be a challenge.

• Check your options before leaving — Look to your guide book or go online before leaving the rejected lodge. See if there’s another prospective lodge nearby — or in another district if the one you’re in is too dodgy.
• Plan B: your taxi driver — If that fails, talk to your tout or taxi driver, accepting that he’ll make a commission wherever he takes you. Be very, very clear about what you want and tell him you won’t stay at a bad or too expensive place. Nor do you want to go far — he could take you on the Grand Tour, meter running, if you let him.
• Dark streets at night — Think twice if you’re on foot after dark, unless the streets are full of other pedestrians. Ask the lodge to call for a taxi or pay for their house vehicle to take you elsewhere.

Inspect your room

If you’re tired and decide that the lodge is okay, you might just want to check-in and rest in your room. But it’s a good idea to inspect the room before you accept it. It could be that the room is not safe enough or clean enough, faces a noisy street or has some other problem. You can then ask for another room or choose not to stay in that lodge at all.

If you have the energy, do the inspection. If there are two of you, you can divide the tasks in advance to do the inspection quickly and thoroughly or one of you can wait at Reception with your luggage. You might be given a key and sent off to check the room on your own or a lodge staff person might go with you and wait while you do your inspection. 

The room in general

• Cleanliness — Is the room clean enough for you to stay there? A little dust might be okay, but if you smell mold, don’t take it.
• Noise — Is street noise annoyingly loud? How about noise from inside the lodge (stairwells, neighboring rooms, downstairs businesses with nighttime activity)? Can you sleep, even with earplugs? If noise is a problem, ask if there is a room on a higher floor and/or near the back of the building. In a densely-built city, don’t expect a view from a back room, but at least you’ll get some rest.
• Electric power points — Are there wall plugs in the room and are they located where you can plug in your electrical devices conveniently? What type of socket do they have? Is at least one of them grounded?
• WiFi signal — In most lodges, the WiFi router is somewhere near Reception and there may not be signal boosters elsewhere in the building. Check the WiFi signal on your phone or tablet (don’t whip out a laptop in front of lodge staff). You may need a room closer to the router to get an adequate signal. Alternatively, you can use a WiFi signal booster.
• Laundry line anchors — If you’re going to do your own laundry, are there places to fix your line such that the line does not hang over the bed? Since many lodges disapprove of you doing laundry in your room, looking for anchors might be difficult when a lodge employee is present while you inspect the room. Don’t worry — you’ll soon develop an eye for a sturdy curtain rod, door knob or light fixture.

Beds

Some people can sleep on almost any surface. The rest of us need a certain minimum comfort or we can’t rest. If you’re fussy, but don’t have a generous travel bankroll, budget travel will cure you.

• Mattress and suspension
  • Press down on a few places, lie down, check for lumps. Many “King” or “Queen” beds, even in some mid-range hotels, are in fact two single beds or mattresses pushed together. And the splice between them can be a ridge or gap. Does the bed squeak or creak with every movement? Will it disturb your sleep or — um — broadcast your activities to the neighboring rooms.
  • Pull up the linens on one side and check the mattress for evidence of bedbugs. They can be found in some surprisingly high-end lodges while many of the grottiest hotel rooms are bug free. Some instructions would have you turn the whole room (not just the bed) inside out in the search for evidence of bedbugs, but you can’t do that during a quick room inspection while a lodge employee is standing by. Bedbugs can be anywhere in a room, but prefer to be near their feeding site (you), so a quick check is to look closely at the seams and buttons on the mattress for blood spots, fecal matter, remains of bug exoskeletons or even live bugs. If you find any evidence, ask for another room, preferably not next to that one. If you are unlucky enough to encounter bedbugs, at least they’re not associated with disease transmission.

• Bed linens
  • Fresh and unstained. In low-cost lodges, it’s not uncommon to find the occasional bed that’s been slept in already. This is usually just an oversight. If you’re really going low rent and the lodge won’t change the sheets, ask for another room, leave the lodge or haul out your sleep sack.
  • Check pillows for firmness, thickness and clean pillowcases.

• Mosquito net
  • In many situations, a net is mandatory as protection against malaria and other insect borne diseases — if you’re traveling on the cheap in malarial areas, consider carrying your own insecticide-treated net. You can buy one locally for very little.
  • Make sure the net has no holes and is long enough to stay tucked-in or draped to the floor all around the bed. Some cheap nets are suspended from a single point and sag inward from the perimeter of the bed. You might put an arm or shoulder against the net, providing access for a mosquito to bite through the net. Whether you’re one person in a single bed or two people in a double or larger, estimate how much clearance you’ll have from the net as you sleep.
  • If there is no net, air-conditioning set to cold or mosquito coils are options. It’s pretty difficult to apply insect repellent to enough of your body to foil a determined mosquito while you sleep.

Bathrooms

Private bathrooms cost more. But for many travelers a private attached bathroom is a minimum style requirement. The least expensive rooms in old lodges (especially converted houses), cheap lodges and hostels often have shared bathrooms, so the inspection elements below are compounded by the other people using the bathroom. This is especially true if hot water is rationed to limited hours or amounts. Ask!

• Cleanliness — Is it clean enough? If not, can you ask the lodge to clean it better?
• Hot water — Whether it comes from a sink faucet, shower head or bathtub faucet, is there hot water? For cheaper lodges, ask whether the hot water is on continuously or only for limited hours. Very basic lodges may deliver hot water to your door in a bucket.
• Sink — Does it have decent cold water pressure? Does it drain properly? Is there a stopper? Is it sturdy enough for you to do your laundry in it, or is the mounting too feeble?
• Mirror — Is there a mirror? Is it well enough lit to see what you are doing?
• Shower or bath — Is there a closed shower or is the whole bathroom going to get wet? Is the shower floor slippery underfoot? If the water is warmed by an electric heater near the shower head, is the wiring shielded or does is look exposed?
• Toilet (Western sitter) — Does the toilet have a seat or only a bowl? Does it flush properly or is there a bucket to flush with? Is there toilet paper? (You should always have some of your own, just in case.) Note that not all flush systems can handle paper, so there may be a waste receptacle for soiled toilet paper and feminine napkins.
• Toilet (Asian squatter) — These things look difficult to Westerners, but they’re actually more hygienic that a sitter because none of your body comes in contact with it except the soles of your footwear. Does the squatter have a handy water source? Is there a water container for rinsing away waste?
• Electric outlets — Are there any electrical outlets in the bathroom? Are they well away from the water and shielded?

Safety

Room security means two things, the physical environment and the people in it. You can do a quick evaluation of a lodge and a room. Is it a shoddy old building where you can see insecure door locks and exposed wiring? Is there strict access control or are “workmen” or other people wandering all over the place?  

All safety is relative. What are the odds of an intruder trying to break into your room while you’re inside? Higher if you’re a solo woman than if you’re a pair of burly buddies. What’s the chance of a fire in your lodge? Not very high, but potentially fatal. What’s the risk of someone burglarizing your stuff while you’re out of the room? Variable. In all these scenarios, you can take defensive measures.

You may not have the chance to do a rigorous inspection every time you consider a room, but try to develop a sense for what’s not right. Maybe you don’t wander the corridors looking for the fire exits and checking the exit doors, but if you find your room far along a winding corridor with no fire signage and your room has a steel grill that can’t be opened, you’ll be toast if a fire breaks out.

Use your best judgement and follow your gut instinct.

• Avoid the ground floor — Ground floor rooms are more vulnerable to break-ins, or even to through-the-window pilferage. It’s not just arm’s-length pilferage either — enterprising thieves use poles. In some situations, such as easily climbed balconies or fire escapes, the upper floors are vulnerable, too.

Fire safety

Lodge fires are far more common in poor countries, where fire safety regulation can be irregular to non-existent. Assume responsibility for your own fire safety.

• Best floors — Avoid rooms above the 6th floor, as they are probably above the tallest fire department ladder in many places. Many locations in poor countries don’t have an effective fire department, while others are too far away in traffic. Some budget lodges are down streets and alleys too narrow for fire trucks, so stay on the lowest floor possible (except the ground floor). You’ll have to rescue yourself.
• No alarms — Smoke alarms and fire alarms are not required and are rarely used in the lodges of poor countries and even many middle countries. The first you know of a fire might be when you hear shouting outside the door or open the door to smoke.
• Escape routes — Check that there are TWO ways to escape your room in the event of a fire, one in each direction from your room door. You can’t have the only escape route blocked by fire an smoke. The exit should not be farther from your room than you can reach on a single lung full of air, since you might have to move through toxic smoke.
• Exit doors — Make sure that there’s an unlocked  exit door in both directions. Many a life has been lost because management locks the fire exit doors. If the door in not alarmed, see if it opens and whether escape continues on the other side. If the door is wired to an alarm system, that’s a good indication that it’s not locked.
• Get a safer room — If the room you are offered doesn’t have clear escape routes or is far from a fire exit, ask to look at another room, on a lower floor and closer to the exit.
• Window escape —If there is just one direction to a fire exit from your room door, the window might be your only exit. If so, make sure that escape via the window is possible and that you’re not marooned on a balcony 12 floors up. You will find the lower floor windows in many lodges encased in strongly secured grills or bars. See whether there is a latched and hinged section that can be opened. 

Door security

Door security matters when you’re out of your room, to prevent theft. But it’s especially important when you’re in it. Again (sigh), this goes double for solo women. Even if the door is solid and secure, lodge staff will have keys.

• Light door latches — Simple door latches with keys are inadequate. Many can be opened with a shim, a credit card or a strong push.
• Dead bolts — You should be able to secure your door from the inside against anyone with a key, keycard or shim. The standard protection is a heavy dead bolt — the little ones, mounted flush on the door with with small screws are better than nothing, but can be bashed open from the outside with moderate force.
• Peep holes — Ideally, every door should have a peep-hole so that you can see who is knocking, but these are rare in most countries. Sometimes there’s a window next to the door that will allow you to see who it is. 
• Door chains — Door chains can be used to see who’s outside if there’s no peep-hole or window, but they are no deterrent to someone forcing the door in once you’ve opened it on the chain.
• Door wedges and chairs — While you’re in your room and especially if you’re a solo woman, use a door wedge or that old classic, the propped chair, to deter unwanted entry.
• Do not open your door to a stranger — This sounds like a basic rule, but most people break it more often than they observe it. And why not? It’s usually a staff person being helpful. But it might not be. It’s up to you to judge whether it’s safe enough to open the door to someone knocking. ALWAYS leave the door closed and ask who is there. Go with your gut about it. If there’s doubt, call Reception to ask about anyone coming  to your room. If the room has no phone, simply don’t open the door. If it’s important, the caller will return with someone you can talk to.

There are devices on the market to reinforce the door against entry while you’re inside, but most rely on a limited size range of latch and a tiny gap between the door and the frame. If both of those conditions aren’t present, the device won’t work. We tested one in South and SE Asia and found that it fit on less than half the doors. Door wedges are bulky and require a gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Since that’s more often the case, especially in down market rooms, a simple plastic wedge might make its way into your luggage.

Window security

Windows are potential entry points for burglars, violent criminals and your most likely enemy, mosquitoes. A burglar doesn’t even have to get entirely in to your room if he can get an arm or pole through the window.

Your risk is reduced if the rooms are inside a secure compound or are on upper floors.

• Bars or grills — If the room is on the ground floor, windows must have bars or grills to prevent entry. Even these are not sufficient protection against pilferage through the open window. Some are vulnerable to breakage with a crow bar or car jack. 
• Window latches — Windows should have sturdy latches that cannot be opened by jiggling the window in the frame.
• Window coverings — Window coverings should be opaque or nearly so, not only to assist your sleep, but to prevent anyone outside from seeing what is going on inside. You might be surprised what can be seen at night through thin fabrics. If the curtains barely cover the width of the window, it’s helpful to have a binder clip to keep them closed.
• Mosquito screens — If mosquitoes or other critters could be a problem, check for good screens in the windows (no holes).

 

Walls & roofs

• Easily breached walls and roofs — It’s easy for thieves to break through grass mat walls and thatch roofs in low-cost tropical resorts.
• External “private” areas — That wonderful private garden or ‘open air’ shower is vulnerable to someone climbing the wall from outside and entering your room via an unlocked door. And the privacy afforded will conceal the break-in from witnesses.
• Tents — Tents can be entered in seconds. Never leave valuables in a tent.
• Suspended ceilings — Hanging ceilings (with panels that can be lifted from the frame) are an easy entry for the athletic burglar.

Hotel safes & hostel lockers

• Override codes known to staff — Room safe security is fundamental to a lodge’s reputation, so you’re usually okay to use them. However, because some guests check-out and leave the safe locked, there is an override code to unlock the safe. An unknown number of hotel staff have the code to open your safe and it’s not unheard of for one of them to be a thief. Risk of theft is highest the day before departure, when you won’t be around to pursue your complaint. One trick is to leave a known, but odd non-round amount of cash in the safe, say $106 in mixed notes. The more banknotes the better. A thief on staff will not want to be detected, so she or he will take only a small amount. If you come back after a day’s outing and there’s only $90 left, you can’t accuse anyone, but you now know the safe is not secure. 
• Is the safe bolted down? — A shocking number are not and the entire safe can be removed from the room.
• Hostel lockers — As long as your lock is good and you’re not flashing costly gear around, you should be okay. Make sure the latch and lock assembly are sturdy. 

If the room is not acceptable

• Ask for another of the same grade — If the room is in a bad location (perhaps due to noise), ask for a similar room in another part of the building.
• Ask for an upgrade — If the room is too small or the shared bathroom is not acceptable or it’s too hot for just a fan and you need air-conditioning, ask whether there’s a room with the amenities you need.
• Move on — If there is no room that is good enough, you either tolerate a sub-standard room for one night or move on to another lodge. If you booked the rejected lodge online, you will be charged a “No Show” penalty.

Check-in tactics

Checking-in to your room should be simple enough, but it’s not just grab the key and go.

• Local currency — Always book and pay in local currency. If you booked online, the price quote probably defaulted to the currency of whatever country you were in. If you don’t have a clear idea of exchange rates, you might check the price in a currency you’re comfortable with, such as your home currency or USD. But change it to the country of the lodge before you book. (Remember that some booking sites include taxes and some do not.) If you arrive at the lodge without a reservation, be clear about the price in local currency, including tax, before you commit to take the room. Do not accept an offer to pay in dollars or other hard currency, as the exchange rate will always be poor.
• Mode of payment — Determine your mode of payment: cash or card — Note that lodges in many countries will add a surcharge for using a card, ranging from 3% to 6%. If that’s the case, pay in local cash (if the amount is not too worrisome to carry around).
• Have your booking confirmation handy — In case there’s any issue about your reservation or the cost of the room, be prepared to show your booking confirmation. Travelers don’t often get the opportunity to print on paper, so you’ll have to show the reception person on your phone or tablet. Do not pull out a fancy laptop unless you have no other choice — you do not want hotel staff or any casual observers lurking in the lobby seeing a laptop that you will presumably leave in your room when you go out.
• Have your passport handy — On your way from the transport hub to your lodge, you don’t want to carry your passport where it’s vulnerable, especially if you’re on foot. But neither do you want to be fishing down your pants for your travel wallet while standing at Reception. In some countries, it’s common for Reception to keep your passport. It may be a government requirement (in which case a photocopy may do) or the hotel may keep passports as insurance against guests leaving without paying (in which case, prepaying a day or two might be acceptable). Don’t get upset about leaving your passport unless the Receptionist tosses it in an unlocked drawer.
• Is the room the same quality that you booked? — It’s pretty easy for a hotel to tell you that the room is the “Superior” or “Deluxe” you booked, when it is in fact a “Standard.” They can call any room anything they want. If they’re overbooked, they might be tempted to give you less than you’re paying for. Compare the room with the description on the booking website. If it doesn’t match, challenge them and ask for a better room. If they don’t have one, demand a very steep discount to accept the inferior room.
• Be clear about inclusions — What else is included in the room rate? The most obvious thing is breakfast, but there may be other amenities.
• Check the WiFi — If the lodge advertises WiFi, check the signal on your phone at Reception. If it doesn’t work well there, it sure won’t work in your room. (You should check again during your room inspection.)

Check-out tactics

The overarching rule about check-out is Don’t Rush It and account for delays. That can be challenging if you’re dragging yourself out of bed in the pre-dawn to catch a plane, train or bus. In that case, give yourself even more time. You can’t be half-asleep when you get organized to leave and the person at Reception may be asleep, too.

• Have a list of all your stuff — You can keep a hard copy, but it’s much easier to keep a list on your digital device. You can add and delete easily and you won’t need to find a printer or keep a print-out from disintegrating. Then, use the list every time you pack. If there are two of you, both of you should have your own list.
• Take care of the laundry — If you’re doing your own, make sure you give it enough time to dry. If you’re washing technical clothes, overnight should be lots of time, but if you’re washing jeans, you might need a full day. You should not have to pack damp clothes. If the lodge is doing your laundry and know when you’re checking out, you should be okay. But don’t count on it — you should still schedule your laundry to be finished and delivered the day before departure. If it doesn’t appear on schedule, inquire immediately. If you took your laundry to an outside establishment, make sure you have it back no later than mid-afternoon of the day before departure. If you’re stuck for time to get your laundry done, the lodge or the outside laundry may have “express service” for an extra charge.
• Pack in advance — If possible, pack everything you won’t need in the morning the night before departure. This is a blessing for those who are not “morning people.”
• Search the room — This is a given, but it’s surprising how often stuff gets left hanging on the back of the bathroom door, plugged into a wall socket, inside the shower stall, out on the balcony, under the bed or even locked in the room safe. Don’t just cast a quick (and sometimes bleary) eye around the room. Develop a routine and use your list.
• Arrange transport in advance — Better quality lodges may have a vehicle and driver to take you to a transport hub. It might be more costly, but it’s also more reliable and secure. The lodge should also be able to call you a taxi or tuk-tuk. They should also know about nearby public transit. If you need that taxi between midnight and six, try to make an arrangement in person with the lodge and the driver. Lodges mess this up too often… the guy at Reception when you got there forgot to tell the night clerk about your taxi and it isn’t there when you need it.
• Pay in advance — Making payment is a common source of delay. You rush to Reception, only to find there are six other people in front of you. Or maybe the credit card machine can’t connect or there’s something wrong with your card. Maybe the Receptionist doesn’t have the facts of your booking and room rate. If you’re in a mid-range and up lodge, there may be a minibar or other consumables in the room. They’ll want to send someone to check before they let you pay and rush out the door. Give them a few minutes for that, too. There are lots of things that can cause a delay, so why not settle the bill the night before and promise not to use the minibar?
• Inspect the bill — Whether you pay in advance or while you’re about to miss your transport, you have to make sure the bill is correct. While the room rate might be easy enough, there are often mistakes on consumables, services and tax — a common mistake is the lodge adding tax that was already included in your booking price.
• Always pay with a credit card — While some humble lodges may take cash only, you should use your travel credit card for payment. If there is a later dispute about the charge that appears on  your statement, the credit card company will investigate on your behalf.
• Get a receipt — You want an itemized receipt when you leave. If you pay with a credit card, you want to keep it until the charge appears on your account and you confirm it’s correct. If there’s a dispute, you have evidence. If you’re paying in cash, ask for a receipt anyway — it will at least make the lodge pay attention to accuracy.
• Watch your bags — If the Reception area is busy and you’re concentrating on inspecting the bill, one of your bags might leave without you. Your day bag should be over your shoulder and it’s best if you’re in physical contact with your main bag. At least have it nearby and in your field of vision.
• Get your passport back! — It’s amazing how often this is forgotten by both the lodge and the guest.
• Review the lodge — Provide a fair review, preferably to a review system run by the booking site you used. Unlike TripAdvisor, you can provide a review only if you have stayed at the lodge and the OTA can confirm it. Beware some OTA’s that simply use TripAdvisor reviews.