In today's blindingly obvious tip of the day, here's how to keep the lights on when you're gone. I've also been traveling for the past 48 hours, so you can cut me some slack for once.
So, if you've ever stepped outside American borders, you might have encountered these electricity-saving babies at one point in your travels. Quite simply, in Europe and Asia, hotel key wall slots are used to save electricity and energy, like the one on https://suburbanenterprises.com/electric/, while you're out of the room. In the Sheraton, you will see these not.
They function by enabling electricity when the hotel key is inserted into the wall slot. This means, that occasionally, that it could be a while before you can enjoy your glorious, glorious air conditioning. Boarding Area explains their disadvantages quite simply:
You go to dinner and want your laptop to charge while you're away, only to come back to find to a dead battery. This downside irks many travelers especially because they don't realize that most of the power in the room has gone off. Same thing with the heating or air conditioning; this may go off once your room key is removed so expecting to come back to a cozy room may not quite happen.
The best way, however, to solve this dilemma is by inserting a piece of paper that has been folded several times over, or by using an old hotel key or a plastic card. If that doesn't work, oftentimes a card with a magnetic stripe will do the trick. But then again, I suppose you could always ask management for an extra key.
It's a decent enough fix for the one or two times that you really need the electricity on for whatever reason, though generally we think you probably don't need those things on in most cases when you're out and about on the town. For the sake of conserving energy, those hotel wall slots are there for a reason.
