HomeTravelI’m a flight attendant — here are my secret travel tips

I’m a flight attendant — here are my secret travel tips

April 19, 2023

You’ll never look at a hotel shower cap the same way again.

A flight attendant has gone viral on TikTok after sharing the ingenious travel tips she has picked up during her years on the job.

Esther Sturrus, 22, started working for British airline TUI back in 2019 and has spent much of her time on the move ever since.

The blond beauty, who hails from Rotterdam, Netherlands, has become a seasoned pro at packing a suitcase and making her way around a hotel room and decided to divulge her handy hacks online.

Sturrus’ video quickly racked up more than 1.2 million views, with thankful travelers fawning over the flight attendant’s tricks of the trade.

“These are really cool ideas. Thanks for sharing!” one fan cheered beneath footage that shows the airline worker repurposing a range of commonplace hotel items including coat hangers.

Below, Sturrus spills additional details on the best travel hacks she’s acquired on the job.


Esther Sturrus, 22, started working for British airline TUI back in 2019 and has spent much of her time on the move ever since.
Esther Sturrus, 22, started working for British airline TUI back in 2019 and has spent much of her time on the move ever since.
Jam Press/@esthersturrus

Savvy traveler: Sturrus' video quickly clocked up more than 1.2 million views, with thankful travelers fawning over the flight attendant's tricks of the trade.
Savvy traveler: Sturrus’ video quickly racked up more than 1.2 million views, with thankful travelers fawning over the flight attendant’s tricks of the trade.
Jam Press/@esthersturrus

Use a shower cap for your shoes

Travelers often pack special shoe bags to take on their international flights, so that they can safely separate their unclean kicks from their clothes.

But Sturrus’ viral TikTok clip shows that she doesn’t waste her money buying those bags.

Instead, the clever flight attendant wraps her shoes in shower caps provided free of charge at hotels.

“This way, your clothes won’t get dirty when you put your shoes in the suitcase,” she told NeedToKnow.online.

Use a shower cap to cover your hotel remote

Sturrus also shared that shower caps come in handy in a another way.

The flying Dutch woman revealed that she wraps her hotel TV remote in the protective elastic plastic in order to avoid channeling any germs.

The flight attendant claimed the remotes are often left uncleaned by maids, and she wouldn’t touch one with her bare hands.


The clever flight attendant wraps her dirty shoes in shower caps to keep them separate from her clean clothes and personal items.
The clever flight attendant wraps her dirty shoes’ soles in shower caps to keep them separate from her clean clothes and personal items.
Jam Press Vid/@esthersturrus

The Dutch beauty revealed that she wraps her hotel TV remotes in the protective plastic in order to avoid picking up any germs.
The Dutch beauty revealed that she wraps her hotel TV remote in protective plastic in order to avoid channeling any germs.

The blond beauty, who hails from Rotterdam, Netherlands, has become a seasoned pro at packing a suitcase and making her way around a hotel room.
The blond beauty, who hails from Rotterdam, Netherlands, has become a seasoned pro at packing a suitcase and making her way around a hotel room.
Jam Press/@esthersturrus

Use a clothes hanger to properly close your curtains

Sturrus also regularly repurposes another commonplace hotel item: a coat hanger.

The flight attendant told NeedToKnow.online that she was frequently frustrated by the fact that her hotel curtains never properly closed, letting light pour in through the gaps.

As she frequently needs to sleep during daylight hours, Sturrus now uses a coat hanger with metal clips to fasten the curtains closed, effectively turning them into blackout blinds.

“Are your curtains not closing properly? Use a clothes hanger!” she shared. “You clip this on the curtain so that no more light comes in between.”

Leave a shoe in a safe

Many hotels come complete with a safe for vacationers to safely store their precious items, including passports and credit cards.

But all too often, guests forget to empty the safe and leave their valuable items behind.

“My biggest tip is to leave your shoe in the safe,” Sturrus shared in an interview with NeedToKnow.online.

“This way, you will never forget anything from your safe,” she explained. “You will notice when you want to leave that you are missing a shoe. It’s also quite a funny one!”

Soak a small towel when you get to your hotel

Airplanes are renowned for their dry air, meaning that passengers dehydrate faster than normal. Hotel rooms also recirculate air, which can wreak havoc on the skin.

“Being on planes means you always suffer from the dry air,” Sturrus explained. “And it is not nice if you also have dry air in your hotel room.”

“So another big tip of mine is, when you arrive at your accommodation, soak a small towel and place it in front of the radiator. That water evaporates, and in a small hotel room, that can bring just a little relief.”


"These are really cool ideas. Thanks for sharing!" one fan fawned over the flight attendant's handy hacks.
“These are really cool ideas. Thanks for sharing!” one fan fawned over the flight attendant’s handy hacks.
Jam Press/@esthersturrus

Sturrus also believes that hotel sinks are never properly cleaned, so she advises against leaving her toothbrush lying around.
Sturrus also believes that hotel sinks are never properly cleaned, so she advises against leaving her toothbrush lying around.
Jam Press Vid/@esthersturrus

Don’t put your toothbrush on the sink

Sturrus also believes that hotel sinks are never properly cleaned, so she advises against leaving her toothbrush lying around.

“I turn a paper cup upside down and stab my toothbrush into it,” the flight attendant declared, saying it works as a makeshift toothbrush holder. “That way, I don’t have to put it on the sink.”

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