Flight Attendant Consultant

Airline Flight Attendant Career-Hotels

While you are working a trip, airlines will pay for your hotel room, transportation to/from the airport, but will not pay for meals.
You will always have your own hotel room, while working a trip. No sharing a room, or roommates allowed.

When I became a line holder with Chautauqua Airlines, I was able to bid on the trips I preferred, even trips which included some of my favorite overnight stays and hotels. I will say, not all chain hotels are the same. Even though the hotel may be a Sheraton, or Hilton, the level of customer service can vary greatly.

For those airlines which will not pay for your housing during initial flight attendant training, the inflight
instructors, inflight managers, or recruiters, should have information on temporary housing. My advice is, once you have been invited to attend initial flight attendant training, try to set up your housing situation as soon as possible.
Then, if possible, ask to get in touch with some of your classmates to see if any of them would be willing to share the apartment, hotel, or house with you during training. You may be able to rent a house for the 4-6 weeks, and have several roommates sharing the house,
and the cost of rent with you. There are some long term, hotels which offer 2-3 bedroom "suites".

However, the cost of long term hotels, can cost $300 or more per week.

However, a long term hotel might be preferable as compared to trying to rent an apartment, or
house for the 4-6 weeks of training.

A few long term hotels include:

http://www.extendedstayamerica.com/

http://www.marriott.com/marriott/temphousing.mi

http://www.marriott.com/towneplace-suites/travel.mi

http://www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/reservation

http://www.mainstaysuites.com/

http://www.staystudio6.com/

http://www.intownsuites.com/

http://homewoodsuites3.hilton.com/en/index.html

http://www.crestwoodsuites.com/hotel-monthly-rates.html

http://www.crosslandstudios.com/about/hotel-rooms.html

http://www.suburbanhotels.com/

http://www.hawthorn.com/

As an airline flight crew, we stayed at some nice hotels. However, living out of a suitcase can get old. It is not easy having to repack every day, re arrange your suitcase, and make sure your uniform is clean and neat.

Everyone has their favorite (or non favorite) airline crew hotels. My main consideration was, the room had to be clean, and did not contain an ajoining door to a guest room next door. Anytime I was assigned with a room with an ajoining door, I would try to change rooms. Rooms with an ajoining door are less secure. Plus, anytime I was in a room with an ajoining door the guests next door, were always noisy. Which meant, I would not receive a good nights rest. That was until, I finally invested in a pair of Bose noise reduction headsets. Yes, the Bose noise reduction headsets, really do eliminate all the noise. I found earplugs did not really help too much.

I found the noisest nights in hotels were often on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Often, there would be large groups staying at the hotel. On Saturdays, sometimes there would be a wedding reception taking place.

Most hotel restaurants, are expensive. While most hotel restaurants gave airline flight crews a 20%-50% discount, often this was still too expensive. Plus, some of the hotel restaurant food choices were limited.
For these reasons, whenever possible, the pilots and I would walk to a restaurant, to
eat lunch or dinner.

While many people enjoy eating at restaurants, as an airline flight attendant, eating out will become a way of life.
While there were restaurants I enjoyed more than others, I was always glad to get home, and cook my own meals.

Most hotels offer free internet access to hotel guests. However, the television channel selection can be limited. For this reason, I always had movies ready to view on my laptop computer. If we had an overnight stay on a Sunday during the NFL Football season, sometimes the pilots and I would go to Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, Hooters Restaurant, or a sports bar to watch the games.

As you gain seniority, and become a line holder, you will be able to select trips (and overnight stays) you prefer most.
Once I became a line holder, there were certain hotels I tried to avoid. But again, everyone has their hotel preferences.

Upon check in at your hotel, some hotels will add "points" to a frequent stay/loyal guest program card.
Always ask the front desk agent if that hotel will allow airline crew members to earn "points" to a frequent hotel stay program. If yes, if you stay at the same hotels frequently,
you could earn enough "points" for a free or reduced hotel room when you are on a vacation.

Here are a few hotels frequent stay/loyal guest programs:

https://www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/rewards-program.mi

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/index.html?language=en_US

http://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/rewardsclub/home

https://www.bestwestern.com/rewards/

http://www.radisson.com/section/gpp.home/gpp.sidemenus

http://hhonors3.hilton.com/en/index.html

 

Anytime you are inside your hotel room, keep the door closed and locked. If you leave your room, even to get a bucket of ice, or a soft drink, take your airline ID badge, and room key, with you. Never leave your airline ID Badge in your hotel room. If you go out for lunch, dinner, etc...again take your airline ID badge with you. While the hotel restaurant will usually offer a airline crew discount, some restaurants close to the hotel, will give airline crews a discount. However, over the years, these discounts
became less and less frequent.

If you do go out for lunch, dinner, etc.....and plan on drinking alcohol, do not wear your flight attendant uniform. With Comair, there was a rule which stated, we were not allowed to wear our flight attendant uniform when consuming, or purchasing alcoholic beverages. So, even if you are driving home after working a trip, stop at a grocery store, convenience store, etc...and purchase alcoholic beverages, do not wear your flight attendant uniform. The reason being, if people see an airline flight crew member purchasing alcohol, it will convey a very negative impression. If you do plan on drinking alcohol during a trip, or purchasing alcoholic beverages on your way home from working a trip, at least wear a different shirt, take off your tie, and do not wear your airline ID Badge around your neck. In other words, you do not want to stand out, or let people know you work in the airline
industry when consuming or purchasing alcohol.

Remember, the airline "12 hour bottle to throttle" rule. Do not consume alcohol within 12 hours of reporting for duty. Even if you are on reserve, do not consume alcoholic beverages within 12 hours of the beginning of your reserve time. With Comair, and Chautauqua Airlines, a .02 or higher alcohol test reading, can mean a suspension, and even termination. Anytime an airline flight attendant or pilot is on duty, he or she is subject to random alcohol/drug testing at anytime. It is simply not worth taking the chance to drink alcohol within 12 hours of reporting for duty. Yes, I have known flight attendants and even a few pilots, who failed the random drug/alcohol tests.

To Summarize:

1. When working a flight or trip, the airline will pay for your hotel room.
2. While working a trip, you will always have a room to yourself. No roommates.
3. To offset noisy hotels, I highly recommend investing in a Bose Noise Reduction headset.
4. When checking into your room, check to be sure the entire room has been cleaned, including the bathroom. If not, immediately contact the hotel front desk.
5. While in your room, always keep your door locked, including the deadbolt.
6. Hotel rooms with ajoining doors, are simply not as safe or secure, as compared to rooms without an ajoining door.
If you are assigned a room with an ajoining door, ask to be moved to a room without an ajoining door.
7. Never leave your Airline ID Badge in your room. Always take your airline ID badge with you.
8. Before you check out of your hotel room, take a look everywhere in your room to be sure you did not leave anything behind.
9. When checking out, leave your room key at the front desk.
10. Try to be in the hotel lobby, at least 15 minutes prior to your scheduled van time, to take you
and your flight crew, back to the airport.