Your story reminded me that those cheap metal clips are actually supposed to be twisted into place, not pushed straight down like I tried to do the first time. Took me three YouTube videos to figure that out, and by then I had already bent two of them. You're right that the thin foam padding is pretty much useless though, mine started peeling off the first time steam hit it. The $12 ones from Target are the real sweet spot for price and quality.

Isn't it crazy how cheap most accommodations really are?

Ngl, that's on you. Pull tabs have been standard for a decade.

oh man, you just described my entire relationship with battery saver mode. I swear my phone thinks it's helping by turning into a grayscale potato that can't load a single app. the other day I was trying to look up a recipe while my kids were screaming and the screen dimmed so low I just gave up and guessed the ingredients. ended up with salty brownies, which was a new low. the worst is when you need gps directions and it kills the location services so you're just driving in circles like a confused grandpa. at least you made your flight though, right? I'm convinced battery saver is just a way for phone companies to gaslight us into thinking we're saving juice when really we're just making everything unusable.

Does that mean you never take walk-ins at all? Because sometimes the chaos is what makes the night memorable. Sounds like your team killed it, and that's a good feeling.