It will change the way you look at hotel shower caps.
A flight attendant is going viral after sharing some creative travel tips she’s picked up over the years on the job on TikTok.
Esther Staras, 22, started working for British airline TUI in 2019 and has spent a lot of time on the road since then.
The blonde beauty from Rotterdam, Netherlands, has become such a pro at packing suitcases and navigating hotel rooms that she’s decided to share her handy tips online.
Starlas’ video quickly garnered more than 1.2 million views, with grateful travellers praising the flight attendant’s skills.
“Such a great idea, thanks for sharing!” cheered one fan after seeing the video of airline employees reusing various common hotel items, including coat hangers.
Below, Starlas shares more about the best travel hacks she’s picked up through her job.
Esther Sturrus, 22, started working for British airline TUI in 2019 and has spent most of her time on the road ever since. JAM Press/@esthersturrus Smart traveller: Sturrus’ video quickly garnered more than 1.2 million views, with grateful travellers praising the flight attendant’s skills. JAM Press/@esthersturrus
Use a shower cap on your shoes
Travelers often bring special shoe bags on international flights so they can safely keep their dirty shoes separate from their clothes.
But a look at Stalas’s viral TikTok video shows that she’s not wasting her money on those bags.
Instead, clever flight attendants use shower caps provided free of charge by the hotel to wrap their shoes.
“That way, you can put your shoes in your suitcase and they won’t get your clothes dirty,” she told NeedToKnow.online.
Use a shower cap to hide the hotel remote control
Staras said shower caps are useful in another way too.
A Dutch woman who travels by plane has revealed that she wraps her hotel TV remote control in protective elastic plastic to keep out germs.
The flight attendant claimed she would not touch the remote control with her bare hands as it is often not cleaned by flight attendants.
The clever flight attendant wraps the soles of her dirty shoes in a shower cap and keeps them separate from her clean clothes and personal belongings. Jam Press Vid/@esthersturrus The Dutch beauty revealed that she wraps her hotel TV remotes in protective plastic to keep germs out. The blonde beauty from Rotterdam, Netherlands, is a seasoned pro when it comes to packing a suitcase and navigating a hotel room. Jam Press/@esthersturrus
Use hangers to keep your curtains neatly closed
Staras also regularly reuses another common hotel item: coat hangers.
Flight attendants told NeedToKnow.online that they are often frustrated by hotel curtains that don’t close properly, letting light in through the gaps.
Because Starlas often needs to sleep during the day, she now uses coat hangers with metal clips to fasten her curtains and use them as blackout blinds.
“Are your curtains not closing properly? Use a hanger!” she advised. “You clip this onto your curtains and the light doesn’t come through the gaps.”
Store your shoes in a safe
Many hotels are equipped with safes where travelers can safely store their passports, credit cards, and other valuables.
However, all too often, guests forget to empty the safe and leave valuables behind.
“My biggest advice is to keep your shoes in a safe,” Staras said in an interview with NeedToKnow.online.
“That way you won’t forget anything in the safe,” she explained. “You’ll be ready to go out and then realize your shoes are gone. That’s pretty funny!”
When you arrive at the hotel, wet a small towel.
Planes are notoriously dry, causing passengers to become dehydrated faster than usual, and even hotel rooms have circulating air that can take a toll on your skin.
“When you’re on a plane, you’re constantly dealing with dry air,” Staras explains, “and it’s unpleasant when the air in your hotel room is dry as well.”
“My other big tip is when you arrive at your accommodation, soak a small towel in water and place it in front of the radiator – the water will evaporate. It can provide a little relief in a small hotel room.”
“That’s a really great idea, thanks for sharing!” one fan exclaimed in delight at the flight attendant’s handy trick. JAM Press/@esthersturrus Sturrus also believes hotel sinks aren’t cleaned properly, so she advises against leaving your toothbrush lying around. JAM Press Video/@esthersturrus
Don’t put your toothbrush in the sink
Staras also believes hotel sinks are not cleaned properly and advises not leaving your toothbrush there.
“You turn a paper cup upside down and stick your toothbrush in it,” the flight attendant said, explaining that it served as a makeshift toothbrush holder, “so you don’t have to put it in the sink.”
