Free hotel shower caps have a bunch of other uses when traveling. Dutch flight attendant Esther Sturrus said on her TikTok that they can be used to protect remote controls from dirt, keep dirty shoes in a suitcase, and muffle the sound of dripping water in the shower at night. Also, experts from StyleDegree say you should use them to cover food bowls to keep out insects, protect your phone from rain, use them as swim caps, and prevent cosmetic liquids from leaking. Deborah, who used to work in hotels, said that shower caps used to be a must because people washed their hair less often. Now, though, many hotels leave them in rooms because they’re cheap and good for keeping guests’ hairstyles in place.
Shower caps are usually included in the set of free toiletries you get in a hotel room. One flight attendant said they can be used for more than just keeping your hair from getting wet in the shower. Express has the story.
On TikTok, Dutch flight attendant Esther Sturrus shared three other ways to use a shower cap. Her first suggestion is to put the cap on the remote control, since “they get dirty.”
She says shower caps can also come in handy to muffle the sound of water dripping from the shower at night and to protect shoes in a suitcase.
Meanwhile, travel experts at StyleDegree shared some other creative ways to use a shower cap while on vacation abroad, including as a “food cover.”
“If you’ve got a bowl with some food left over and you don’t want the flies to come in, just put a shower cap on the bowl to use as a lid,” they said.
Shower caps can also be used as swim caps, go with your beachwear, prevent liquids from spilling, store dirty clothes, or protect your phone during bad weather.
Why do hotels provide free shower caps?
A former hotel employee named Deborah said that people used to wash their hair less often, so shower caps were used more often and were pretty much standard.
But some hotels have stopped giving them out automatically, though you can still get one if you ask for it.
“A lot of people love to take showers but don’t want to get their hair wet. Maybe they want their hairstyle or other look to last longer, for example. But some hotels still have them in the rooms. It’s not too expensive to keep them there, since they’re pretty cheap, and a lot of them are never opened, so they don’t need to be replaced every day,” Deborah explained.