Never forget hotel key again with woman's 'game-changing' travel technique

With this clever , you will never again have to endure the embarrassment of asking for another hotel room key.

If you're a frequent traveller, it's likely that at least once, you've inadvertently left your hotel key in your room and had to awkwardly request another from the receptionist. This is a common occurrence, particularly in hotels where you need to insert your keycard into a slot in your room to activate the lights.

However, one woman has devised an ingenious to ensure you'll never misplace your card again.

She confessed she might have been living "on another planet" as several people stated they already knew about the trick - but for those who didn't, it's been a game-changer.

Nia Braidford revealed in a TikTok video that you do not need to use your hotel key in the card slot in your room. In fact, any card you have on hand, such as a coffee shop loyalty card or a library card, will do the job.

She shared: "I might have been living on a foreign planet, but you know when you're in a hotel, and you have to put your keycard in the thing to make the lights work?

"Well, my mother has taken the card so now the lights aren't meant to work. But did you know you could put any card in? How amazing is that? I hope this has helped."

Nia demonstrated a clever hotel room hack, showing that the lights wouldn't turn on without a card in the slot. However, when she slotted in her Holland & Barrett rewards card, the lights and air conditioning sprang to life without a hitch.

This nifty trick means you can leave any old card in the slot, ensuring your actual hotel key is safely with you at all times, thus avoiding the all-too-common scenario of leaving your room key behind.

Viewers of Nia's video chimed in to explain that the slot works on pressure, not by reading a chip in the hotel keycard.

A hotel cleaner even confessed to using coffee stirrers to activate the lights when a card was missing, saying: "I work at a hotel as a cleaner. When a room is missing a card, and we don't have a spare, we just stick coffee stirrers where the triggers are. You can put anything long and slim in there, and it will work."

Another commenter noted: "Yes, it's only a switch. It is suggested you use your room card so you don't forget to take it out of the room, as you'll usually want to switch the lights off."

But some admitted they had never thought to use a different card, with one individual confessing they'd likely "sit in darkness" rather than consider using an alternative card to illuminate their room if left without the key.