One way to get a free gift basket of goodies delivered to your hotel? Ask your mom for help.
In a video posted on TikTok, Julia Baird, a 27-year-old from Toronto, Ontario, shares her trick for getting free gifts while traveling, saying, “This is your cue for your mom to call the hotel.”
“Every time I travel, my mom calls the hotel to do something special for me—even if it’s not a special occasion,” says Baird.
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Then she talks about what her mom did for her during a recent work trip to Vancouver.
“My mom called the hotel and told them to put together a little gift basket,” she says, then points to the bed as she enters her room, complete with a basket full of fresh fruit, soda water, a bag of popcorn and various other snacks.
“Not only did I get free snacks, but they wrote me a little card,” Baird says in the video. “If you or your mom aren’t calling the hotel every time you travel, you’re doing something wrong.”
Speaking to PEOPLE, Baird says her mom has been “leaving little surprises” in her hotel room “for as long as I can remember.”
How Baird’s mom does it is pretty simple, she adds.
Julia Baird gift basket.
thejuliabaird/TikTok
“When I’m traveling for work, she’ll call ahead and see if I can leave a free snack or two in the room (which often turns into a little gift basket),” she says, adding, “I honestly think the ‘hack’ is to be nice .”
She continues: “When he calls the hotel, he literally just says ask if I can do something special. It doesn’t always work out, but more often than not it has a little surprise waiting for us in the hotel room.”
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Julia Baird gift basket.
thejuliabaird/TikTok
So far, hotels have never charged Baird’s mom for gifts, and even if they say it will be expensive, she doesn’t budge.
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Sometimes gifts are simple and sometimes more complex.
“When my fiancé and I traveled to celebrate our anniversary, she bought us champagne and chocolate covered strawberries,” Baird tells PEOPLE. “The biggest gift basket I got was when I was on a college field trip for Valentine’s Day. My mom gave a huge gift basket made out of chips, chocolate, sleep masks, T-shirts, and a reusable water bottle.”
Baird continues, “This hotel was close to the University of Florida so I think they had a lot of college stuff available. It was such a nice surprise to share with my friends. My mom is really the best!”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education