Rick Steves' Tour Guide Recommends Asking For This Item At Your European Hotel Right Away

A good night's sleep or lack thereof can make or break a day of sightseeing. Unfortunately, there are plenty of things that can get in the way of your recommended eight hours while traveling abroad. Jet lag, time changes, and the strangeness of sleeping in an unfamiliar bed can all contribute to a little bit of sleeplessness — but for hot sleepers, nothing ruins sleep faster than a hot, stuffy hotel room. 

Cameron Hewitt is one of Rick Steves' top travel guides, and a regular contributor to guidebooks and the blog on Steves' website. He is full of genius travel tips and has some great advice on how to cope with overly warm hotel rooms in Europe. He wrote about his top European travel tips on Steves' website, and one of them is to ask the front desk for a fan as soon as you check in to your room.

Hewitt has worked for Steves' Europe Inc. for over 20 years, and during that time he has spent about 100 days of each year traveling through Europe. He had a hand in most of Steves' best selling guidebooks, and published a travel memoir of his own in 2002. To put it simply — he's a professional when it comes to exploring Europe, and you can trust his travel tips are the real deal. If you're someone who is used to sleeping with ice cold air conditioning, you might want to take a page out of his playbook during your next European getaway.

These days it seems like there's nowhere to escape the effects of global climate change. "As our world's climate changes, Europe often faces record-breaking summer temperatures, as well as unseasonal heat waves year-round," Hewitt wrote on Steves' website. He's not wrong. In 2024, southeastern Europe experienced its longest heatwave yet. It lasted 13 days. 2024 was the warmest year on record across the continent.

High temperatures are becoming more common, but historically, summer's were more mild in much of Europe, which is one of the many reasons that many hotels and homes don't have air conditioning. Only around 20% of homes in Europe are equipped with AC. According to Hewitt, another reason AC is less common is because, "Europeans are more mindful about energy consumption than us Americans," and because energy costs are quite high. If you're going to visit Europe during the summer, it's important to double check that your hotel or AirBNB has air conditioning before booking.

Before booking a hotel with air conditioning in Europe, be aware it may not be that powerful. Hewitt reminded readers that, "even if your hotel has air-conditioning, it may not blow as cold as you're used to back home." Additionally, the use of air conditioning is restricted during certain times of the year in parts of Europe. "During a hot snap in April, a Venetian hotelier explained that he's required to turn off the heat on April 15, and can't turn on the AC until May 15, unless the mayor declares an emergency," Hewitt wrote.

If trying to sleep in sweltering heat doesn't sound like your idea of a relaxing European getaway, you're not alone. Luckily, Hewitt has a simple solution sure to make your trip more comfortable. "If the weather's hot, upon checking into my hotel, I quickly assess the AC situation. If it seems stuffy, I go straight back to the front desk to ask politely if I can borrow a fan," he wrote.

Don't wait until night falls and you can't sleep to ask hotel staff for help. According to Hewitt, the fan supply is often limited. "Most hotels have only a few, and they're first-come, first-served ... so if you wait until you're going to bed, you might have to just sweat," he wrote. If you miss out on one of the few fans, you can always ask to be put on a waiting list. Taking a cool shower before getting ready for bed, wearing breathable cotton pajamas, and ditching heavy comforters in favor of a thin sheet will also help you stay cool and sleep well.

If all else fails, embrace the heat. "Rather than get upset about how Europeans refuse to over-cool, develop an affinity both for their approach to energy conservation ... and for tolerating the heat," Hewitt suggested. Check out Steves' top-tier travel tips for more ways to make your European getaway smooth and comfortable.