I enjoy traveling, although the past week in Switzerland and France has been rather grueling. One of the aspects I like most is seeing how cultures are different, and the practical application of that difference. From the new and unexpected breakfast selections to the odd bathroom appliances, I find the differences a refreshing reflection on the evolution of the human condition.
But one cultural oddity drove me up the wall: the lack of irons in the hotel rooms. Although I’ve seen those videos on how to fold shirts so they don’t wrinkle, I have never been able to master that feat of science. My usual business trip routine is to arrive late in the evening, open up my bag, and iron the shirts I’ll need for that particular stay.
In the U.S. there is always an iron and ironing board in the closet. It can be the Four Seasons or the Motel 6, but they are all the same in this regard. Ok, perhaps with the exception of the quality of the ironing board. I prefer the cedar wood tables of the Four Seasons, but I can iron a shirt just as well on the creaky metal table of the Motel 6, although I sometimes need to put a towel over the stains.
Switzerland, and most of Europe for that matter, is a different story. A story I always forget, otherwise sacrifice some weight and pack another portable appliance. There is almost never an iron in the hotel room. Not only that, you can’t even ask for one. They aren’t available. On this latest trip I stayed in a variety of places, from the Marriott Zurich with the typical hotel chain flavor, the budget Novotel in Besancon, the modern simplicity of the Beaulac in Neuchatel, to the rather over-the-top luxury of the Hotel Kempinski in Geneva. No irons, and no irons available.
The apparent cultural nuance in Europe is to have your shirts pressed by the hotel, at a cost ranging from about $5 to $14 at the Kempinski. It takes a professional a mere minute to press a shirt, so that works out to… well, quite a nice hourly profit. Not only that, but you must get your shirts in by 9am in order to have them back by 5pm the same day. So if you arrive late at night, the chances are you won’t be able to get your shirt pressed in time for your 9am meeting, unless you pay a 100% surcharge after a "discussion" with the hotel service staff.
My time is wasted, other people’s time is wasted, my money is wasted. Yes, I supposed I should learn how to fold a wrinkle-free shirt. But I have no problem ironing my own shirts. I just wish I could.
Mark Graban says
Wrinkle-resistant dress shirts. Pretty widely available.
Philip says
Why not goto Euro-wallyworld or Euro-goodwill and buy a cheap iron? If you’re going to stay a while, and have lots of shirts to dewrinkle it would pay for itself considering the cost to have it done. While you’re out there, you could give the iron to one of the workers as a parting gift when you come home [assuming you’re out there on business]. Or you could bring it home and start your international collection of irons. Better yet, confuse people at your local goodwill with the funky plugs.
Kevin says
I’ve been pretty unhappy with wrinkle-resistant shirts… they generally have that “wrinkle resistant shirt” look with the sheen and all. Plus I also like to cram everything into a carry-on, and not too much can survive a crammed bag on a 12 hour flight without a wrinkle. But perhaps that would be the lean approach. I like the idea of taking international appliances to the local Goodwill. But is it really too hard for a Marriott to have a single ironing set for overly-particular obnoxious people like me?
Meikah Delid says
Isn’t it that travel is the best way to learn different cultures?
Here in my country, you don’t often find do-it-yourself ironing service, but you can find a hairdryer. =)
Mike says
My wife taught me how to make an iron. Take two bath towels, soak thouroughly in very hot water. Roll lay one towel flat on the table or desk (maybe on top of a dry towel). Roll the other towel tightly (you may have to keep soaking this one in very hot water periodically)–you can roll it around a hefty cylinder if you have one, like a wine bottle. Use the rolled towel as you would a rolling pin on pic crust dough. You can get most of the serious wrinkles out of a shirt pretty quickly this way. Hand the now-wet shirt up in the bathroom or closet overnight and it should be serviceable and dry in the morning. You can also hand a wrinkled shirt on the shower curtain bar, turn on the hot water for a couple hours, close the bathroom door, and steam most of the wrinkles out.
Ralph Bernstein says
If you’re talking about shirts you would normally send to the cleaners, here’s a travel tip. Instead of getting my shirts back from the cleaners on hangers, I get them boxed (same price). “Boxed” is a bit inaccurate. What it means is they come folded, usually with a sheet of cardboard inside, and wrapped in plastic. I just take the already-folded shirts I need and stick them in my suitcase.
And if you’re talking about shirts you wash at home, here’s another tip. Shirts and pants generally travel better, meaning they get fewer wrinkles, if you roll them up for your suitcase rather than fold them. Rolling means there are no creases.
Dan Markovitz says
What does it say that you’ve gotten more comments on wrinkled shirts than you have on any other post in the past year?