Travel First Aid Essentials Guests Need
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.
You have most likely heard this before. Maybe you’ve even said it. Either way, that means you know someone getting hurt is inevitable, which is why it is so important to stay prepared.
Including for your guests.
With a plethora of outdoor activities, adventures around town and more to do, guests are likely on the go for a good portion of their vacation, and when kids are in the mix, accidents become increasingly likely.
The good news is, everything they need is available at their rental because you left them the necessary travel first aid essentials! Below are eight Modern Innkeeper advises keeping handy to stop the bleeding.
Both literally and figuratively.
Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer may not treat an unexpected injury a guest suffers, but it is a great preventative measure for overall health!
COVID taught us the importance of washing and sanitizing our hands; walking in and out of restaurants and other public places, you now see hand sanitizer available because people prioritize it more.
Traveling is notorious for getting people sick, so guests need help staying healthy. Provide hand sanitizer so they accomplish this, and then, start bracing for the worst.
Cold Pack
Even though swelling is the body’s way of healing itself, you cannot leave it alone because that leads to other side effects we will refrain from getting into because we are in the hospitality industry.
Because swelling can occur in so many different places, do your guests a favor and have ice packs of all sizes like these.
Like the next item on our list, we hope an ice pack is all that’s needed to get rid of any pain.
Tweezers
Typically, when a situation calls for tweezers, it looks worse than it is. For example, one of your guests’ children takes a fall into the rose bushes while playing in the garden. He comes running in the house crying at the sight of a few thorns stuck in his arm.
Little does he know, he doesn’t have to worry! His parents have the tweezers you keep on the property for a situation like this.
If it is more than a few thorns lodged in his arm, guests have what’s below to protect the wounds.
Bandages
Not only must your vacation rental have a full supply of bandages, but they must be readily available. Even the smallest cuts have the potential to lead to excessive bleeding, and stopping them as soon as possible is an effective way to treat them.
Like you’re going to do with the cold packs, purchase different sizes so guests can patch up any cut, but before they do that, make sure they have what’s next to avoid infections.
Antibiotic Ointment
Your guests might be the type who wipe off the blood with whatever’s available before slapping on a bandage, and then wonder why their cut looks crusty and gross after taking it off.
That wouldn’t happen if they used the antibiotic ointment you provided!
Antibiotic ointment prevents and heals minor skin infections from injuries like scrapes and burns. The less serious the issue becomes, the better their vacation is, so make sure guests have some.
If they have to use the following item, unfortunately, things may not be looking up.
Disposable Thermometer
Guests who need a thermometer are probably dealing with something more serious than any of the aforementioned essentials can handle. While the good-old-fashioned hand test (back of someone else’s hand against the forehead) can spot a fever, it is smart to have science confirm it with a thermometer.
This way, guests can monitor the fever to determine if it is getting better or, we hope not, worse. In the case of the latter, be sure they know where the nearest hospital is.
Our last recommendation doesn’t address anything too detrimental to one’s health, but if left untreated, it is detrimental to an enjoyable vacation.
Cold Relief/Cough Suppressant
No worse feeling than waking up with a nasty cough and other cold symptoms on vacation. Guests planned to have an active day exploring a new town, but can’t because a cold is bogging them down.
Get some daytime and nighttime cold relief and cough suppressant (Advil, Tylenol, etc.) so guests defeat their bug before it’s time to go home.
Keep Guests Healthy and Happy
You have no control over guests getting hurt or sick during their time at your vacation rental, but you can help them get better! Provide these travel first aid essentials so they beat any injury or sickness trying to drag them down, and remember, communicate where you keep them and where the nearest hospital is, just in case.