If you need a package stat, you can often have it sent to your temporary place of abode where it will be held for you. Mail comes to hotels, too.
Recently, I needed a dress for a wedding shipped off to the hotel I was staying at in Portland. Because I’ve been traveling for the past two weeks straight, having it sent to my house would have been cutting it close, since I would have had less than a 24-hour window to pick it up before heading back out again.
It was time to cut the middleman out. (Don’t come between a girl and her clothes.)
In the past, I’ve had plenty of success having packages mailed to hostels, hotels and other places I’ve stayed at. Before I ever send anything over, I’ve always called ahead of time and asked if it was possible to send a package and, almost every single time, it's never been a problem.
This time I called the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Oregon who pretty much a-OK'ed it. Which is great, ‘cause I’m literally bouncing back and forth between New York, San Francisco and Portland.
If you want to be extra safe, make sure to call in and let the hotel staff know that a package is coming after it’s being sent. The more details you can give them—such as your arrival date, the package arrival date and your name—the better.
Most hotels will do free of charge and the ones that charge, well, they just suck.
The mail moniker c/o, which stands for "care of," comes in handy here. Make sure that each package is marked c/o the name of the place you're staying at or the person you're sending it to (and who has presumably agreed to take care of it).
For those of you who haven't sent mail out since the Stone Ages, a sample mailing address would look like this:
Erica Ho
c/o Hotel
51 Address Street
City, State ZIP
Isn’t it great that Amazon Prime has two-day shipping?
