While it can vary depending on the airline and its country of operation, most flight attendants get to enjoy their own hotel room – especially for U.S. carriers.
Flight attendants get their own hotel room and don’t have to share due to the stringent regulations concerning crew rest and safety.
It would be difficult to get the proper amount of rest needed if flight attendants shared a room.
Sharing a hotel room with strangers, even though they might be colleagues, would also be awkward and draining, especially if done repeatedly on every layover.
Flight Attendants Can Only Stay in a Hotel for Free During Layovers
Flight attendants can only stay in a hotel for free for the duration of their layover.
However, in many cases, flight attendants can sign up for hotel reward programs and earn hotel points for every night’s stay.
These points can quickly add up and result in free stays.
Flight Attendants Stay in Pretty Nice Hotels
Flight attendants don’t usually get to stay in the most luxurious, 5-star hotels, but the hotels they stay in are usually quite nice.
On some layovers, flight attendants are lucky enough to stay in some very nice hotels that anyone would love and be lucky to stay at when on vacation.
Typically, flight attendants stay in 3-star and 4-star hotels.
On short layovers, these hotels are usually located near the airport. On longer layovers, hotels that flight attendants stay in may be located closer to the city center.
Most airlines work together with flight attendants as well as pilots, a marketing team and corporate security to evaluate and negotiate a contract with a hotel.
So a committee that features flight attendants means that flight attendants have some input in where they stay, but do not get to pick hotels on an individual preference basis.
Flight attendants do not have a choice of hotels to choose and pick from.
Airlines Pay for the Hotel
The airline a flight attendant works for pays for the hotel flight attendants stay in.
As airlines need to find suitable hotels for a high number of flight attendants, the airlines work together with the hotels to get a good deal that is beneficial for both the airline and hotel.
Flight attendants often get completely free flights when flying domestically and may have to pay a very small fee when flying internationally, which can include the taxes levied on the ticket.
Flight attendants also get to enjoy the following:
Patricia is a senior flight attendant with over 20 years of experience working for a major U.S. airline, primarily on international long haul flights.
Patricia is passionate about sharing her knowledge and expertise about the unique lives flight attendants lead, offers valuable insights on what it takes to become a flight attendant and what the job entails.
Patricia has been quoted or mentioned in major publications, including Newsweek.
