6 Common Problems in Cheap Hotel Stays

When you're trying to save money on travel, one of the best areas to cut costs is accommodation. Staying in a cheaper hotel can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars, especially if you travel frequently or are waiting for a long time. However, there are, of course, a lot of implications that come with choosing a low-cost stay.

If you stay in a cheap hotel, you likely get what you pay for, and that usually comes with these common problems in affordable stays: 

1. Noise

Thin walls are common in cheaper accommodations, meaning if you have inconsiderate neighbors, you will most likely hear them from the other room. The best and sometimes only way to solve this problem is to call management, telling the noisy neighbors to keep the noise down.

Outside noise, on the other hand, is often out of the hotel's control. There might be a crane industrial service company conducting operations across the street, or perhaps a colossal traffic jam right out of your window. Whatever the reason for the outside noise may be, there is little you can do about it except close the windows and wear some earplugs to get you through the night.

2. Unclean room

While lack of cleanliness can be a problem in any hotel, it is undoubtedly more common in low-end stays. Lower prices mean a lower budget for housekeeping, which leads to not enough people to clean and, ultimately, lower hygiene standards.

Few things are worse than arriving at your hotel and finding a dirty room. Apart from being uncomfortable, a messy hotel room can also pose some health risks. When this happens, ask housekeeping to clean the room again or request a room change. Even then, it might be better if you avoid drinking from the hotel glasses or sleeping with the comforter on the bed.

3. Reduced safety

Cheap hotels are often found in places where property values are reasonable, which may have higher crime rates. That said, you may not feel safe while staying in the hotel, much less when you go out, especially at night.

Avoid staying in low-cost accommodation if you are traveling solo. If you are traveling with a group and staying in a cheap hotel, practice the buddy system and always be mindful of each other's whereabouts. It is also a good idea to avoid valuables if the hotel is located in a shady part of town. 

4. Pests

Low-end hotels have little budget for pest control, so don't be that surprised if you find a cockroach crawling on the ceiling or a rat scuffling inside the walls. 

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about the presence of pests in your hotel room except to ask housekeeping to get rid of them. Alternatively, ask for a room change and ensure that your new hotel room doesn't have creepy crawlies in them (but if one hotel room has pests, the whole building likely has them, too).

5. Bad mattress

A bad mattress is another common woe in hotels, not just cheap ones. If you flop down on your bed and find that it is disappointingly lumpy or hard, the next best thing to do is to ask management to change your room.

But if moving to a new room is not possible, you can still take matters into your own hands. For a lumpy or sagging bed, insert extra pillows or blankets underneath the mattress to even out the surface and make it as comfortable as possible. On the other hand, if the bed is hard as rocks, put the comforter underneath the sheets to soften it out a bit.

6. Icky food 

When staying anywhere cheap, it's best to avoid the food entirely. Aside from being low-quality, you're not sure what your meal has gone through in the kitchen. And in a cheap hotel, you can bet that the kitchen is as unclean as the rest of the place, if not more.

Instead of ordering room service, eat out or call for delivery. If you want to save money (which is the reason why you're staying somewhere cheap in the first place), shop for groceries and try to cook using what appliances you have in the hotel room. Hopefully, you would at least have a microwave. But if not, try to find one in the hotel's dining area.

Staying in a cheap hotel often comes at the expense of comfort and sometimes even safety. If you want to save money on travel by cutting your hotel costs, be prepared to deal with these common problems.