Many hotels in Europe and Asia (I haven't seen them in the States...yet) require you to insert your hotel key into a slot on the wall to keep the room's power turned on. The idea is that when you leave the room, you take the key, and the power gets shut off to conserve. Not a bad idea... but what if you want to leave your camera or laptop in the room to charge while you head out for lunch? You either have to get a second key, or you're screwed.

David Goldenberg of the Business Hacks blog over at Bnet discovered that, after not being able to secure a second key from hotel staff, each and every card in his wallet worked to keep the lights on.

It's important to remember that hotels put these systems in place for a good reason. Conserving energy not only saves them money so they can charge you less on hotel rooms (we'd love to truly believe this), but it also helps the environment. Or something.

[via gridskipper]

Filed under: Hotels and Accommodations