Heading on holiday has always involved some expense, but nowadays many of us are feeling the costs more keenly than before.
Flights and hotels are one thing, but then there’s the activities and grub to consider too.
As far as food is concerned, accessibility can be the trickiest element when you’re hunting down some munch when you’re abroad, unfamiliar with the local shops, and potentially short on the language to make things easier.
With that in mind, those hotel room snacks and mini fridge delights can get all the more tantalising, and the savvy among you will know that those convenient treats come at a significant premium.
However, it turns out there’s a way you can avail yourself of some hotel treats without spending any cash or resorting to the five-finger discount.
Julia, sharing the hack via her @thejuliaalexis TikTok account, said: "This is your sign to have your mum called the hotel. Every time I'm traveling, my mum calls the hotel to do something special for me, even if it's not a special occasion.”
She continued: "I'm in Vancouver right now traveling for work and my mum called the hotel and had them put together a little gift basket."
Then she shared the treats she scored from this little trick.
"Look at this. Literally from my mum for free," she said. "Not only did I get free snacks, but they also wrote me a little card.
"If you or your mum isn't calling the hotel every single time you travel, you're doing something wrong."
She captioned her post: "My mum always makes travelling feel special - even when she’s not with me."
In a follow-up, Julia shared exactly what her mum said to score a free bottle of Prosecco along with ‘really adorable’ chocolate treats.
"Okay, mum, the internet wants to know what you say to get free hotels snacks," she said.
"Well, first, I give them a phone call,” said her mum. "I try to build rapport with the person who answered the phone, tell them a little bit about myself and who I would like to send a little gift to and just see if there's anything that they can do to help make the stay a little bit more special for the person."
"So you don't ask for anything specific?” asked Julia. “You just ask if they can do something?"
"I just ask if they can do something," said Julia’s mum. "I'll just say, 'Oh, there's an anniversary' or, for example, Valentine's Day and [say] 'I'm not there and I kind of miss my loved one, if they could send something special'.
"You don't get if you don't ask."
Now we just have to hope our own mums are as obliging as Julia’s.
Featured Image Credit: Oleg Breslavtsev/Getty ImagesTopics: Social Media, TikTok
Rachael Davis