I have some of the worst stories from the road. Places where I thought I would fall asleep and probably not wake up because of the location and overall safety of the place where I was.

Unless you can trust the place, always ask to see a room before putting down your credit card.

And totally skip the turndown…save money. After a hectic, people filled day, no matter how charming, I don’t want to be disturbed. I also concur with a comment before mine. I actually have stayed in one hotel that required the maids to re-set the radios to “easy listening” or classical stations before leaving the room. And I appreicated that the next morning!

An easy to find and read TV/Cable Guide is necessary for obvious reasons…if one wants to catch up with the news or find something to watch/listen to for relaxtion or getting ready for the next event.

And how many of us have lost sleep from air conditioner and heating units that “groan”? On the road for business especially, sleep is a necessary component of being as fresh as possible for the next day, and calling the Front Desk in the middle of the night due to a non-functioning unit is not even possible. Unfortunately, one may not know there is a problem until after a late night and on the feet all day for a conference or convention. Getting through the night in these circumstances is a challenge!

I do have a suggestion for extra pillows…use them to put under the covers with you and sleep with your feet, from the knees down, on top of them. You will be surprised when the new day arrives. More hours on the convention/meeting or tradeshow floor? - I guarantee your day will begin with more smiles to share!

My top three desires are:

1. counter space and decent lighting in the bathroom

2. an HVAC system that allows me to get the room temperature down to 65 degrees so I can sleep in a room where the windowsdon’t open.

3. no opportunistic or excessive charges: that means no surcharges on 1-800 calls, no charges if I move things around in the minibar so that I can put my own stuff in there, no charge for using the in-room safe, and not charging me $5 for the half-liter of water sitting on the desk when I can buy the same bottle in the gift shop for $2 (except that I checked in so late that the gift shop is closed).

I’m in a room for at least three nights, and maybe as many as eight, so I use my room as an oasis after nine hours in a meeting or twelve hours on the convention floor. I never leave anything lying on the floor or the bed, and I try to keep my room easy to clean. In return, I wish that the housekeeping staff would leave my toothbrush in my empty water glass rather than putting it on the bare countertop; leave my face-down opened book on the night table instead of moving it and losing my place; and leave the radio set to the classical music station that it took me 15 minutes to locate, so that I’m not awakened at 4:00 in the morning by a blast of rap music when I was expecting Mozart.

We were just at a very nice all-suite hotel 1 & 1/2 blocks from the beach in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Everything was great, except the baby next door’s wailing was piped into our room via the vent system in the middle of the night.