Your room number and the hotel floor’s layout are major factors in whether you’ll be subjected to noisy elevators and foot traffic.
Many experts believe that in general, travelers hoping for a quiet stay should avoid hotel room numbers ending in -01 or -02. The claim is that those rooms are often placed closest to the elevator, stairwell, housekeeping, and service areas (such as ice or vending machines) on each floor.
However, while this may be true for some hotels, it’s not true for all. In fact, at some properties, rooms ending in -01 and -02 may be the farthest from each floor’s busy areas.
Because it’s case-by-case, a traveler’s best bet is to politely request a different hotel room number if necessary. They can call in advance of their stay to ask if someone at the hotel’s front desk can place their room in the quietest part of their floor. Instead, a guest may prefer waiting until they’ve been able to physically scope out their floor’s layout before deciding they’d like a different room.
Regardless, the switch of one’s hotel room number will be subject to the property’s availability at that moment. Additionally, to avoid rooms in noisy areas, accommodations on higher floors (away from ground-floor lobby areas, restaurants, etc.) can be even quieter.
Is The Hotel Room Number Going To Impact My Stay?
Different room numbers may correspond to different room types and associated amenities. With that in mind, it’s important that your room type matches the one you booked and its nightly rate (unless you got a discounted stay or an upgrade upon arrival).
Often, properties divide odd- and even-numbered rooms on the left and right sides of elevators on each floor. If you have a preference for either side, it’s worth asking the front desk before your arrival or during your check-in whether that can be arranged.
It’s generally a bad practice for the front desk to announce a guest’s hotel room number aloud. The rule is to maintain your personal safety, so others within earshot don’t know where exactly you’ll be staying. The front desk attendant will likely write your room number down so you have it handy. Moreover, many hotels offer “mobile check-in” via their app. In that case, you’ll receive your hotel room number privately through the app.
Guests should never share their hotel room number with strangers. Additionally, they should be cautious about who they bring into their hotel room and wary of even sharing their floor number or the property’s name with people they don’t know.
Reasons a hotel may unexpectedly change your room number include a last-minute cleanliness issue, an operational concern, or another significant problem that would otherwise negatively impact your stay.
