Five Tips To Survive Sharing A Room For A Festival

Sharing a hotel room can be a great way to save some cash, build new bonds, and strengthen old friendships. But, staying with your comrades can prove to be challenging sometimes. Check out our five tips to survive a shared room in order to secure a weekend of festival bliss!

Let’s be honest. music festivals are probably the best thing to ever happen since sliced bread but attending a weekend festival is not only incredibly life changing and emotionally uplifting but can also be incredibly draining and challenging. After multiple hours of gyrating on the dance floor, running from stage to stage, singing along to your favorite tracks on the top of your lungs, and socializing with a vast array of human beings with personalities and energies that run the gamut, the moment you arrive back at your hotel, sometimes those good old PLUR vibes suddenly seem to fade away while sharing a room.

It isn’t easy to gather up a bunch of ravers and plop them all together in closed quarters during a weekend of dance music shenanigans even if your roommates have been part of your inner circle for a long time. For some, the choice to bring on a roommate culminates in the joining of souls who have never met before but have been long time buddies on a social media platform. And for others, it may have been a completely random move, answering the call of a stranger who is searching for a place to lay their head at the end of a long festival experience.

No matter how you choose your hotel buddy, there will always be multiple levels of energy and personalities in play and can often become very challenging if you don’t go into it with the right state of mind and establish some very basic ground rules. So check out our five tips to survive a shared room and get ready to have the most epic weekend of your life!

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Five Tips To Survive A Shared Room

1) Make sure that you choose the right accommodations for the number of ravers who will be joining you in your quarters.

Your festival tickets have been purchased and now begins the planning. Choosing the perfect hotel for your wild festival weekend is one of the most important parts as many of us will be traveling from out-of-town and sometimes even out-of-state or country. If you plan on staying together as a group, your journey begins with choosing the best accommodations that best suits everyone’s needs and desires.

Figure out what type of accommodations are the most affordable for everyone in your group.

When choosing a hotel room it is going to be important to choose a room that everyone can afford. Get everyone together that you plan on rooming with and discuss their financial limits. While some of us can afford the 5-star luxury hotels, there are others who can’t. And that’s ok. What’s more important than a 5-star rating is that you find a room that won’t break the bank for each and every one of you in your group.

Finding affordable accommodations will also allow you to free up some cash that you can use at the festival or around the city if you plan on doing some exploring. Also, take into consideration that if one of your friends is struggling with coming up with the funds, helping to cover some of the extra cost could have a great impact on your karma. But, remember, if you do help to cover someone else’s cost, don’t hold it over their head. Good deeds will always come back full circle.

Choose the correct number of beds to ensure the greatest amount of comfort.

Let’s look at this on a realistic level. Most basic hotel rooms are supplied with one or two beds. So, unless you plan on breaking out the big bucks for a multiple room suite, then I would highly suggest limiting your group to four people. Keep in mind that if you are going to share a bed with someone, it better be with someone whom you don’t mind rolling over onto you in the middle of their REM cycle or someone who you can tolerate when they snore like a lion or break out into a little bed time flatulence! Be honest with yourself because these issues can and will come up. If you are the type of person that can only get a good night sleep if you are in a bed by yourself, then maybe packing your room to the max is not the route you want to take. And that brings us to my next point.

Don’t over pack your room even if you are a social butterfly. Know your limits and the hotel’s limits.

It’s time to party, right? So, why not invite everyone you know to come celebrate with you, whether for a pregame drink or a late night after party. While this seems wonderful in theory, most hotels have a max limit of people who can stay and will even deny visitors who try to join their friends in their rooms. Remember, you are renting these rooms. You do not own them. It is important to know the specific limits for the hotel you choose and comply with these rules as breaking them can and has led to eviction and loss of the money that you put in to securing your room. Getting kicked out of your hotel is a quick way to ruin a fantastic festival weekend!

Bonus tip: Make sure that everyone in your room has their own room key! If you become separated from your friends at the festival making sure that you are carrying your own key will help avoid the panic of trying to find your friends in a sea of ravers when it’s time to head back!

2) Lay down some ground rules and boundaries before arriving at the hotel.

We all have different personalities and we all function on different levels of energy. Laying down some ground rules before even stepping foot inside the hotel will help to get everyone on the same page and avoid unnecessary conflict. Maybe you are the type of person who needs their beauty rest. Or maybe you have different ideas as to what you deem as appropriate for alcohol or other recreational activities. We all have our own values and needs and if there are specific issues that you want to avoid, speak up. But do it before you arrive so that potential issues can be put to rest.

Find out what everyone’s needs are in regards to quiet time and sleep.

Some of us can party for days on end with limited amounts of sleep, while others can only survive staying awake for shorter periods of time without getting struck by the cranky bug. Make sure you talk to your friends about what your sleep needs are and negotiate a plan for when those late night/morning hours come creeping in. If you are a fan of sleep and you are staying with a group that loves to burn the midnight oils then it would be wise to plan appropriately. Bring an eye mask and some ear plugs to muffle the noise in the room if your friends decide to keep the party going.

On the flip side, if you are one of those party animals but you are staying with someone who needs adequate rest and relaxation, be courteous and keep your vocal outbursts to a dull roar. You can even take your party to an alternate location to allow your roommate some time to recuperate in peace.

Have a talk about your limits and tolerance if anyone from your group plans on partaking in any type of “party favors”.

If we are going to be real, when it comes to music festivals, alcohol and drugs may end up coming into the equation. But remember, if you are planning on partaking, find out how everyone in your group feels about certain extra curricular activities and respect their values. Also, keep in mind that drugs and under age drinking are illegal and if you are caught by the hotel, you could end up losing the room and possibly even face some jail time.

Always practice safe and responsible partying and never make someone in your group feel like they have to partake. If you are the type that is against the use of substances but you know your friends love to party, then maybe rooming with them may not be the route you want to take. Your best bet is to find out how everyone feels about this issue and set up ground rules from the start.

If you are the type that is against the use of substances but you know your friends love to party, then maybe rooming with them may not be the route you want to take. Your best bet is to find out how everyone feels about this issue and set up ground rules from the start. This will help to cut off uncomfortable interactions before they even start.

Discuss it with your other roommates before inviting others to join you in your room throughout the weekend.

So you made a ton of new friends at the festival and you want to offer them an invite to come party back at your room. Or maybe you met a new lady or guy that you have fallen head over heels with in lust and you want nothing more than to have a late night romp under the sheets. This is all great in theory but remember, it’s not just you who is staying in the room. You have a group of friends that may not be down to watch you get your freak on or they simply don’t want to deal with a packed house in your tiny hotel room.

Ask your friends if it is ok with them before you extend the invite and if you do invite people over, make sure you stay consistently aware of what is happening around you. This may be the first time you have ever met these new friends and it is of the utmost importance that you make sure that they are respecting your roommate’s personal space and property at all times.

3) Leave your stress at the door.

Life can get very stressful sometimes and often we kind find ourselves at a heightened state of anxiety before we even begin our festival journey. Between packing, prepping, figuring out travel logistics, dropping your pets off at the kennel, dealing with airports, or spending multiple hours in the car as you travel to the event, by the time you make it to the hotel, your emotional health may be just a bit rough around the edges. Remember, festivals are our time to shake the stresses of life away and focus on the fun things in life-like friends, dancing, music, and love. Before you walk into your hotel, take a deep breath, shake off your blues, and focus on positive vibes only!

Had a hard week at work? Don’t take the stress with you when you arrive for your festival weekend.

Your boss is a jerk, you hate your job, everything that could go wrong at work has happened and has got you tied up in an emotional pit fall. Guess what! You are on vacation and it’s time to forget about work and dance your aggravation away! Each and every one of us faces stressful situations every day but your hotel room is your sanctuary away from all the crud that has built up in your life. So, instead of wallowing in your sorrows, check your stress at the door and try not to think about work while you are surrounded with your friends and dance music family.

Heated discussions about significant others, politics, family issues, etc., should be left out of play. No one wants to deal with negative energy, stay positive!

There are a time and a place to sob over significant others or debate about pressing world issues. We spend most of our waking hours dealing with opinions and feelings so why not take your extra special weekend to take a break from griping about “who did this to you” or “who did that to you”. While we all should care about our friend’s personal struggles, getting into distressful conversations can sometimes feel like you are biting into a lemon. Especially if you are trying to turn up and have a great time. Always be aware of what you bring up into conversations and take the time that you have together to build your bonds and lift each other up in a positive light.

Not feeling well physically? Don’t take it out on your roommates.

You wake up with a pounding headache or you find yourself praying to the porcelain gods after a long night of festival shenanigans. We have all been there and it can be the most miserable experience! But, don’t drag your roommates down with you. Be honest with them about your physical condition and don’t try to push yourself to keep up if you simply cannot. Your friends will understand and if they are true friends then they will come to your aid and help you to recuperate. Falling back into a grumpy state of mind can make things really uncomfortable when it is not your roommate’s fault that you feel so awful.

If you know that you are the type that gets a hangover from even smelling alcohol, then prepare accordingly. Make sure you bring your medicine or anything that you use back at home to help you through your physical ailments. Be aware of your physical limits and don’t try to be super human.

4) Be Respectful Of Everyone’s Time And Have Spacial Awareness When Getting Ready For The Day

You are all here to enjoy each and every festival moment and in order to keep the momentum moving, you will all have to work together to ensure that you don’t get stuck missing out on some epic sets because of unnecessary extended prep time. Be self-aware when it comes to cleanliness and organization and respect each and everyone’s personal space. Get on the same page with your group and always remember, you are here to party, not to get stuck in the confines of your hotel room!

Try to stay neat and organized. Keeping an orderly room will help to make your prep time fly by in a breeze.

It’s time to start getting ready to head out for day one of the festival, but one look around your room and it’s as if a bomb had gone off. Pieces of clothes here, fluffies over there, make up scattered all over the floor, and where did you put your running shoes? Without some sort of order in the hotel room, preparing for the day can become quite the task. Everyone scrambling to find what they need at the last-minute can bring out some major aggravation.

Keeping a tidy room will help to avoid such stress and allow for a much easier transition to get you on your way a lot faster! Not to mention when the festival weekend has come to a close and you are completely exhausted. There is nothing worse than having to muster through all the mess when it’s time to leave.

Respect everyone’s bathroom time and don’t be a hog!

So there are four people sharing a room and only one bathroom. While this can be less than ideal, the reality is that you may have to come up with a little compromise. Don’t be that person that hogs the bathroom for hours while others are doing the “pee-pee” dance outside of the door. I would also highly suggest purchasing some air freshener because let’s be honest, no one wants to smell what you just “dropped off at the pool”. Talk with your roommates and lay down some ground rules for bathroom sharing. And please, always remember to flush!

Talk with each other and decide on an agreed time that you are all planning on leaving to head to the festival and then stick to the plan.

The festival starts in an hour, and you are chomping at the bit to head out and begin your festival journey. You are ready but your roommates are still lounging around in their pajamas. Problem is, you have all decided to share a vehicle and you really don’t want to head out on your own. This may result in aggravated feelings and tempers as you begin to realize that you are going to miss your favorite DJ who is opening the show!

To avoid this issue from coming up, have a discussion about what time everyone wants to head out and practice appropriate time management. If you know it takes you an hour to put your face on, then start getting ready two hours prior. If you ever get stuck in a situation where your friends are dragging their butts, then have a second game plan prepared. Join a car pool with your friends from another room or if you are confident in traveling to the festival alone, then come up with a meeting spot where your roommates can join you later.

How To Survive Sharing A Hotel Room — Photo Credit: Insomniac

5) Remember that we are all here to celebrate dance music and make memories that will last a lifetime!

At the end of the day, the reality is that you have chosen to share your festival experience with your friends and other like-minded individuals. Take the time you have with your roommates to build on the excitement, secure your bonds, and strengthen your relationships. While every tip that I have discussed is vital in designing a positive shared room experience, remember that becoming a full on control freak may come back to bite you in the butt.

Let your hair down, and allow your friends to let theirs down too! You chose to be a part of a group, so don’t treat them like they are an inconvenience or an annoyance!

Preparing for success will be vital, but as in every shared room experience, issues may and will arise. But, as long as you go into the experience with positivity and treat everyone in your group with respect and kindness, then I promise you that others will follow suit. You have arrived for a weekend that just may change your life! So, go on and have blast! And don’t forget to capture your interactions on camera (with permission) as you will want to look back on your experience with your roommates to relive every wild, wacky, and weird moment!