You'll never look at a hotel shower cap the same way again.
A flight attendant has gone viral on TikTok after sharing some smart travel tips she learned on the job.
22-year-old Esther Sturus started working for British airline TUI in 2019 and has been in the job ever since.
The sunny beauty from Rotterdam, Netherlands is a seasoned hotel room packing and moving expert who decided to post her tips online.
Sturrus' video quickly garnered more than 1.2 million views, and grateful travelers raved about the flight attendant's business tactics.
"This is a great idea. Thanks for sharing," said one fan, as the image shows an airline employee adjusting a number of common hotel items, including clothes hangers.
Below, Sturus lists some of the best travel hacks he's learned on the job.
Table of Contents
Use a shower cap on your shoes
Travelers pack special shoe bags for international flights so they can carefully separate dirty feet from their clothes.
But Sturus' viral Tik Tok videos show that she isn't wasting her money on shopping bags.
Instead, the smart flight attendant wrapped her shoes in a shower cap, which these hotels provide free of charge.
"That way, when you put your shoes in your suitcase, your clothes won't get dirty," says NeedToKnow.online.
Use a shower cap to cover the hotel remote control
Sturus shares that shower caps come in handy in other ways.
A woman flying in the Netherlands said she wrapped hotel remote controls in plastic wrap to keep germs out.
The flight attendant said the remote control was often soiled by cleaners and she never touched it with her bare hands.
Use a hanger to hang the curtains properly
Sturus uses another everyday hotel item: clothes hangers.
One flight attendant told NeedToKnow.online that she is often frustrated that her hotel curtains are properly drawn, showing light.
Because they usually have to sleep during the day, Sturus now uses metal clip hangers to close the curtains, turning them into black curtains.
"Are your curtains not closing properly?" Use a hanger. he shared. "They were tied to the curtains so the light wouldn't go out."
Leave shoes in the safe
Many hotels are equipped with safes to safely store valuables, including passports and credit cards.
However, customers often forget to empty their lockers and leave their valuables there.
"My top tip is to leave your shoes in a safe place," Sturus said in an interview with NeedToKnow.online.
"That way you don't forget anything about your safety," he explains. “When you want to walk, you realize you've left your shoes behind. It's also very cute.
When you arrive at the hotel, dampen a small towel
Planes are notorious for their dry air, which means passengers are drying out quicker than normal. Air is also distributed in hotel rooms, which causes serious damage to the skin.
"When you're on a plane, you always suffer from dry air," says Sturus. "And it's not good if you have dry air in your hotel room."
So another tip is, when you get to your accommodation, wash a small towel and put it in front of the heater. The water evaporates, and in a small hotel room, that's a bit of a relief.
Don't put your toothbrush in the sink
Sturus agrees that hotel sinks don't get cleaned properly, so he advises not leaving your toothbrush behind.
"I turned the paper cup upside down and put my toothbrush in," said the flight attendant who acted as an emergency toothbrush holder. "That way I don't have to put it in the sink."