A flight attendant has shared invaluable advice about how to check if an unwanted person is hiding under your hotel room bed.
For those of us with a lingering childhood fear that the under-bed shadows may hide something or someone unpleasant, aviation pro Esther has some advice.
The cabin crew member, who flies for European airline KLM, explained that travellers should simply "throw a bottle under it".
If the bottle doesn't reappear on the other side of the bed, further investigation is needing to confirm whether there is indeed someone lurking there.
If the bottle does pop out on the other side of the room, you can carry on as normal, confident that there is no intruder.
Esther has plenty of other pieces of advice for when you're staying in a hotel, something her jet-setting lifestyle regularly requires.
One tip is to turn the paper toothbrush cup in the bathroom upside-down and put the brush through the bottom to stop it falling over constantly.
Another is to hang your clothes up on a hanger in the bathroom when you're having a hot shower, so the steam causes the wrinkles to fall out, then blast the items with some form of deodorant or fragrance, so that they're "like new".
For those who want to get the hotel room party started but haven't packed some serious speakers, Esther recommends putting their phone in a mug so that it can amplify the sound.
It's not the first time that Esther has shared her travel hacks - including always putting a shoe in your hotel room safe.
"Worried about forgetting something from your locker? Put your heel or shoe in it and you won't forget it!" she said.
If you're not carrying more than one pair of shoes, place whatever item they think you wouldn't leave without in the safe, such as your jacket or coat.
She's not the only flight attendant to share her secrets.
Former flight attendant Nassim previously told the Express: "When I started flying I heard of a story where a crew member had gone into their hotel room and not checked it out properly and someone had hidden in the room.
"They got attacked so every time I got to a hotel room I would use my luggage case to keep the hotel door open. I then go inside and check everywhere.
"I would check the bathroom, under the bed, inside the wardrobes, under the table and behind the curtains to make sure that no one was in there. I would never ever enter a room without doing that."
