I’ll share a hotel room with my husband. I’ll share a room with members of my immediate family – my sisters, parents, niece and nephew. That’s it.
There are wonderful people out there. I love spending time with them d
uring the day, and over dinner. When it’s time to sleep, I don’t want to be with anybody who doesn’t share my DNA or whose name is not listed as “husband” on my marriage license.
I have friends I have known since high school. I would give them a kidney. If they needed blood I’d tell the nurse to tap a good vein and take whatever was necessary. I’d even loan some of them money. However, I would not share a hotel room with them.
Perhaps this is a character flaw on my part, but I’ve reached a certain age where I like having my own space at night.
I don’t normally do anything crazy in hotel rooms. I read, plan my day, shower, watch television, go online, and sleep. After a busy day I like to do these things alone.
When people tell me things like “I’m going to Las Vegas with a bunch of friends and we’re sharing two hotel rooms for a week” my body goes into panic mode.
Vegas is fun. However, a week with people you may or may not know well, in two small hotel rooms, can be a recipe for disaster.
Think about this for a minute.
- Do any of these people snore?
- Are any of these people space hogs (dressers, closets, counter tops, etc.)?
- Does anybody plan to Skype with their kids/honey/coworker for two hours every night?
- Does everyone go to sleep at the same time?
- Does everyone get up at the same time?
- Does anyone plan to excessively “partake of the vine”?
- Are there group members who have no qualms about parading around naked for extended periods of time?
- Who shares which bed?
- How are you paying for the room?
If none of these strike you as problematic, than share away. If any of these cause you to cringe, even a bit, than I encourage you to think twice about sharing a hotel room. At the very least, you need to have some clear expectations in place ahead of time.
I understand that paying extra is a major issue for many people. I get that. I’ve been there. At this point in my life, I’d rather not go than share.
Please take these things into consideration before committing to a room share. It can be the difference between a great trip and absolute hell.