Extended Stay Hotel

[khaiqha]

Has anyone ever stayed in an extended stay hotel with their bird? I might have to travel for work for 2 weeks to 2 months, was wondering if taking my bird with me would be a good idea.

 

[SailBoat]

There are a couple of levels to the Extended Stay Hotel 'Concept!' The actual chain 'Extended Stay Hotel' is a very basic offering with a very basic price structure. Their 'Pet' policies, store to store, are different, so you will have to contact the one you will be staying. From the position of the room, the only staff that you will interacting with is 'house keeping.' I do not believe that they clean every day, so interaction would be limited.

If you have one near you, it would be well worth your time to visit it and talk to its manager, see a room, and get a feel for what their policies are prior to calling the one near where you will be working.

 

[khaiqha]

Thanks. My greatest concern would be how would I house him. I would have to fly there, and travel cages arent really built for alexandrines.

 

[Loko]

You could look into some of the cheaper collapsible cages. I know they arent exactly built for a beak of an alex. But for a short time it might just have to do rather than having him stuck in a travel cage. They fold up easily and they have some decent sizes for a short amount of time. Im not sure about specific hotels and extended stay hotels but when coming down from NY I stayed somewhere with my sun and had no issues, so it is possible. It might be a good idea to ask the front desk to put you somewhere where noise is less likely to be complained about to avoid those issues.

 

[BeatriceC]

Residence Inn by Marriott has the best pet policies for birds of any of the hotels I've used (I have a different recommendation for people with giant breed dogs, but other than that, I recommend this chain). I do put a "Please don't touch me, I bite" sign on the cages for the housekeepers if we have to leave them in the room for any reason, and alert the management that birds can and do bite, so they can let their staff know not to approach the cages. They've always been great about it, so I can recommend them without hesitation. Their 1 and 2 bedroom suites are actually more like small apartments, with full kitchens and everything, and the studio rooms have partial kitchens, so you don't have to go out for every meal, which means you'll have more time to spend with your bird, so that's also a plus.

I don't have any advise on the travel cage part.

 

[Loko]

Residence Inn by Marriott has the best pet policies for birds of any of the hotels I've used (I have a different recommendation for people with giant breed dogs, but other than that, I recommend this chain). I do put a "Please don't touch me, I bite" sign on the cages for the housekeepers if we have to leave them in the room for any reason, and alert the management that birds can and do bite, so they can let their staff know not to approach the cages. They've always been great about it, so I can recommend them without hesitation. Their 1 and 2 bedroom suites are actually more like small apartments, with full kitchens and everything, and the studio rooms have partial kitchens, so you don't have to go out for every meal, which means you'll have more time to spend with your bird, so that's also a plus.

I don't have any advise on the travel cage part.

Now that I think of it, it was a marriot residence inn. I can second this.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Just a thought could anyone of the forum help you out? Worth a shout isnt it?

 

[Kentuckienne]

Have stayed in many of these extended stay places for work and classes. When on a corporate travel budget, I liked Residence Inn. Clean, safe, well maintained, experienced with animals in the room. I used to clean it myself and just reques fresh towels etc. as needed. When traveling for bookbinding classes, I picked a less expensive Extended Stay America or or another similar place that had kitchenettes. My experience with those places was they were less clean and had more of a problem with insects, as in roaches, so they sprayed regularly. Management and staff can be hit or miss - some are great and some are truly not great. At least one of the places I stayed was used by the city to house transient populations, and I didn't always feel secure - especially because the door locks were problematic. I never left anything valuable in the room without locking it up and chaining it down. I don't see how to lock up a birdie safely. If I were traveling with a bird now, I'd look first for a rental on VRBO or airbnb ...

 

[Loko]

Have stayed in many of these extended stay places for work and classes. When on a corporate travel budget, I liked Residence Inn. Clean, safe, well maintained, experienced with animals in the room. I used to clean it myself and just reques fresh towels etc. as needed. When traveling for bookbinding classes, I picked a less expensive Extended Stay America or or another similar place that had kitchenettes. My experience with those places was they were less clean and had more of a problem with insects, as in roaches, so they sprayed regularly. Management and staff can be hit or miss - some are great and some are truly not great. At least one of the places I stayed was used by the city to house transient populations, and I didn't always feel secure - especially because the door locks were problematic. I never left anything valuable in the room without locking it up and chaining it down. I don't see how to lock up a birdie safely. If I were traveling with a bird now, I'd look first for a rental on VRBO or airbnb ...

AirBnB COMPLETELY slipped my mind. Last time I made a trip thats what I used. Finding pet friendly ones might be a little more difficult depending on where youre going, but youre renting out an apartment or part of a house so you dont have much to worry about. I would definitely recommend this above all else if possible, I dont know how I forgot to mention it. Last time I used it I rented out the lower half of a two family house for about $150 a night, 2 bedrooms, kitchen and everything. If you find something smaller and need it for a while you can try to contact them and set up a fair deal.

 

[cnyguy]

For a few months between selling my old house and moving to the apartment where I live now, I stayed in several extended-stay hotels with George the YCA. He became a popular guest at all of them. The housekeeping staff at all the hotels enjoyed chatting with George, and couldn't get over the way he'd laugh and sing when they ran their vacuum cleaners. One of the places I stayed for a short time actually had a no-pets policy, but they decided to allow George to stay.

 

[khaiqha]

My company is quite...frugal, so airnb is most likely out lol. I've taken my bird in hotel rooms before, but only for two nights max at a time. I'm dreading a two month stay, as i just dont know how he would feel being in a smaller cage while i work.

If it's two weeks i can leave him with caretakers, 6 months or more and the company would just set me up with an apartment.

If it's two months i might just order a cage on amazon and have it delivered to the hotel.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Something that has just popped into my head is if hotel/motel cleaning staff do come into the room and clean, you cannot police what cleaning agents are used and they would not know what is OK and what is not for your bird ie spraying the room with air freshener etc.

 

[BeatriceC]

Something that has just popped into my head is if hotel/motel cleaning staff do come into the room and clean, you cannot police what cleaning agents are used and they would not know what is OK and what is not for your bird ie spraying the room with air freshener etc.

This is also a point that the management at every location at my preferred chain has worked with me on. One even went so far as to get a list of every cleaning product they used and let me decide which ones to use, or not, and agreed to use just diluted vinegar if nothing else was acceptable. For shorter stays, they just came in and replaced towels and took out trash at my request. There's a reason I recommend that chain. I've used them across the country, and the management has always bent over backwards to accommodate requests like that.

 

[Loko]

Something that has just popped into my head is if hotel/motel cleaning staff do come into the room and clean, you cannot police what cleaning agents are used and they would not know what is OK and what is not for your bird ie spraying the room with air freshener etc.

Ive worked in a few hotels and my advice to you is, dont even let them do any cleaning. Just towel refresh and go. Having worked (front desk/concierge) in hotels and seen how utterly careless some of the cleaning staff was, I would never trust them around my bird. Not saying all cleaning staff is like this but if you get the one that is, and he or she decides to spray the bird and his cage with lysol, well all they can do is say sorry and offer you something. Not worth the health of your bird imo. The housekeeping supervisor is not with each cleaner constantly, and while it may say on her memo not to do something, they may not understand it, forget, or just blatantly not care. Cleaning staff is usually rotated also, so one morning a different cleaner may be assigned that room and a different supervisor is on staff and forgets or doesnt realize to tell them. There was one incident where a guest told them to just refresh the towels, the cleaner didnt speak a word of english and thought they meant make sure you change the towels (in addition to cleaning) and when the guest came back their expensive cigars were in the dumpster(among many other, thank god I didnt work in that department!) Other people may have different experiences, and with a dog or other less sensitive pet I wouldnt worry so much as with a bird since they can get respiratory issues easily. If you do have them clean, tell the on staff supervisor every morning what not to do, and leave a note in the room (in english and spanish, if you need help with that I can tell you what to write.)

 

[Scott]

Something that has just popped into my head is if hotel/motel cleaning staff do come into the room and clean, you cannot police what cleaning agents are used and they would not know what is OK and what is not for your bird ie spraying the room with air freshener etc.

Something that has just popped into my head is if hotel/motel cleaning staff do come into the room and clean, you cannot police what cleaning agents are used and they would not know what is OK and what is not for your bird ie spraying the room with air freshener etc.

This is also a point that the management at every location at my preferred chain has worked with me on. One even went so far as to get a list of every cleaning product they used and let me decide which ones to use, or not, and agreed to use just diluted vinegar if nothing else was acceptable. For shorter stays, they just came in and replaced towels and took out trash at my request. There's a reason I recommend that chain. I've used them across the country, and the management has always bent over backwards to accommodate requests like that.

Something that has just popped into my head is if hotel/motel cleaning staff do come into the room and clean, you cannot police what cleaning agents are used and they would not know what is OK and what is not for your bird ie spraying the room with air freshener etc.

Ive worked in a few hotels and my advice to you is, dont even let them do any cleaning. Just towel refresh and go. Having worked (front desk/concierge) in hotels and seen how utterly careless some of the cleaning staff was, I would never trust them around my bird. Not saying all cleaning staff is like this but if you get the one that is, and he or she decides to spray the bird and his cage with lysol, well all they can do is say sorry and offer you something. Not worth the health of your bird imo. The housekeeping supervisor is not with each cleaner constantly, and while it may say on her memo not to do something, they may not understand it, forget, or just blatantly not care. Cleaning staff is usually rotated also, so one morning a different cleaner may be assigned that room and a different supervisor is on staff and forgets or doesnt realize to tell them. There was one incident where a guest told them to just refresh the towels, the cleaner didnt speak a word of english and thought they meant make sure you change the towels (in addition to cleaning) and when the guest came back their expensive cigars were in the dumpster(among many other, thank god I didnt work in that department!) Other people may have different experiences, and with a dog or other less sensitive pet I wouldnt worry so much as with a bird since they can get respiratory issues easily. If you do have them clean, tell the on staff supervisor every morning what not to do, and leave a note in the room (in english and spanish, if you need help with that I can tell you what to write.)

Very good points! I've entered rooms and nearly turned around to flee from the powerful chemical odors. Seems fewer new hotels offer windows that open, and if it is a high-rise that will be limited to an inch or so. My other peeve is energy-efficient AC and heating units are often designed to run as little as possible. Thus, purging the noxious fumes can be very problematic.

One bit of advice from someone who stays at a hotel on average 3 nights per week: Try to avoid the bottom floor - ground level windows offer thieves a greater chance of a "smash and go" operation. When you are absent from the room, leave the TV or radio *on* and sufficiently loud to be barely heard in the hall. This connotes a sense of occupancy, so a potential invader might move to a more silent and less problematic room.