How to Choose the Best Luggage Storage Option for Your Travel Needs
Getting a vacation on the calendar is an exciting event, but it comes with a large amount of planning. From deciding on what activities, you are going to partake in, building a budget that gets you through your vacation, and determining which type of transportation and accommodations you need, there is a lot to figure out. On top of all of this, the last thing a person needs to be worried about is what to do with their luggage.
What is Luggage Storage?
When just stopping into a location for a single day or when on a layover, having to carry all of your luggage can be a headache. Pre-pandemic, the luggage market in the United States was valued at around 22 million per year, going to show just how common it is to carry luggage on vacation. Secure luggage storage facilities are pop up locations in cities around the world which allow you to drop off your luggage for as long as you’d like.
Once you are done exploring, dining, or whatever else you may have been doing, you can return and have peace of mind that your luggage has been cared for in a secure environment. There are a multitude of reasons for why a person may choose to store their luggage, but few people today currently consider the option when traveling.
Why is Luggage Storage Necessary?
In some cases, while you are traveling you may not be staying in a location for an extended period of time. Whether it’s a layover or you are utilizing a service such as a hop-on, hop-off bus, there are a variety of reason you may not have accommodations for an evening. However, before your journey continues to its next destination, you may have time to kill. Rather than carting all of your luggage around everywhere you go, a luggage storage service allows you to store your suitcase or other items.
Luggage Storage vs. Carrying Bags: Which is Better?
While it may be tempting to simply carry your bags around as opposed to using a luggage storage service, there are many reasons why secure luggage storage is better:
- Museums, restaurants, and other parts of destinations may not allow bags inside
- You may not be able to take certain types of transportation if you have too many bags
- You may be limited in what you can do during the day if you are carrying bags around
- You won’t run the risk of drawing attention and potentially becoming a victim of crime
- There are luggage storage applications which can help you find locations around the world
If you don’t have any sort of accommodation that holds luggage on your behalf, there really is no reason to cart around your luggage all day. Make every effort to find an effective and secure luggage storage service in your area.
5 Benefits of Luggage Storage
In many cases, the price associated with luggage storage is less than that of a cup of coffee depending on how long you leave your belongings. In addition to this low price, however, there are a number of benefits to luggage storage that make it a viable option for many:
1. Increased level of safety
One of the biggest possible benefits that luggage storage offers is an increased level of safety compared to bringing your own luggage with you. When exploring a city, you can’t always keep an eye on your luggage, which means thieves could potentially steal your bags. On top of this, carting your luggage around could potentially make you a target to thieves who might believe you have valuables inside.
2. Luggage storage is affordable
Compared to other options, storing your luggage can help you save money on your trip. The cost for this storage can be as little as a dollar per 10 minutes, meaning you may only need to pay around $6 per hour on average.
3. You won’t get tired quickly
Being forced to carry your luggage everywhere you go will quickly tire you out which can make your trip less enjoyable as a whole. The faster you get tired, the faster you are going to want to speed through your vacation which is just a recipe for disaster. Instead, utilize effective luggage storage facilities for your items so that you can stay active.
4. You have more flexibility planning your trip
Needing to account for the fact that you have a large amount of luggage you need to bring everywhere restricts what you are able to do on your journey. Instead, remain flexible by storing your luggage so that you don’t need to account for bringing all of your supplies.
5. You can explore your destination hands-free
Finally, the biggest benefit that comes from storing your luggage is that you can explore wherever you want without having full hands. By not needing to stand around luggage, you won’t be limited in where you can go and what you can do.
Choosing a Luggage Storage Service: Tips to Remember
As you start to evaluate the different luggage storage options available to you, consider the following pieces of advice when making your decision on which to settle on:
- Evaluate the closest luggage storage service to the part of the destination you are visiting
- Read about the customer service reviews that the luggage storage service received
- Consider the price offerings for the luggage storage service and if they are broken down by hour, minute, or some other rate
- Think about the different types of luggage storage services available
The Bottom Line
Finding the right luggage storage can be difficult, but it is a great way to free up your hands so that you can explore wherever you are. Keep in mind that some parts of the world frown upon bringing bags around places for either cultural or security reasons, so storing your bags may not be just a smart choice, but a necessary one as well.