Never Place Your Suitcase on the Bed, No Exceptions

Welcome to Dinogo Answers: where we tackle all your travel-related inquiries. First up: What’s the purpose of luggage racks in hotel rooms?

For years, my packing habits were the same: I’d retrieve my hard-shell roller suitcase from beneath the bed, place it on the duvet, and fill it with clothes. Upon arriving at my hotel or Airbnb, unless a luggage rack was conveniently available, I’d toss my suitcase onto the bed again and dig out what I needed for the night before tossing everything on the floor. But everything changed in 2019.

After the debut of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix, we sought her packing advice. At the end of our chat, Kondo mentioned that whenever she returns from a trip, she unpacks right away and cleans the wheels of her suitcase before putting it back in her closet.

Reading her advice left me in shock. While I’ve attempted (and failed) to unpack immediately upon returning home, I had never considered wiping down the wheels of my suitcase. My thoughts raced back to all the places my luggage had traveled. Its wheels have rolled over sidewalks in New York City and New Orleans, traversed London Tube platforms, and been dragged through sand and mud on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan.

When I finally wiped down my suitcase with Clorox wipes, I was horrified. It took about two or three wipes each to remove all the dirt, grime, and hidden germs from just four small wheels.

Why hadn’t anyone—other than Marie—warned us? I can’t be the only one tossing my suitcase onto a bed. In 2019, a search for “packing suitcase” on a stock photo website yielded over 38,000 results. Of the roughly 100 images on the first page, 31 featured travelers—businessmen, young women, families, and elderly couples—packing suitcases on top of beds. Only 11 showed individuals—including a pregnant woman—packing bags on the floor.

However, in the five years since I first wrote this article, it seems I’ve made an impact. A recent poll of Dinogo staff indicated that most of us now pack on the floor (44 percent), use a luggage rack (38 percent), or employ other non-bed methods (6 percent), such as balancing on top of a hamper. Yet, 12 percent of Dinogo staff still pack their suitcases on the bed. A similar trend emerged from Dinogo’s social media audience. In a poll of just over 2,600 people on Dinogo’s Instagram stories, the majority either packed on the floor (41 percent), on a luggage rack (40 percent), or through other non-bed methods (3 percent). A small fraction of Dinogo’s readers (16 percent) still pack their suitcases on the bed.

For those who still haven’t listened, here’s why it’s essential to utilize the luggage rack in your hotel room. While the exact origin of luggage racks is unclear, they likely gained popularity in the late 1800s when travelers began using hand-held suitcases instead of bulky trunks. Before the advent of wheeled luggage in the 1970s, porters were responsible for transporting suitcases from one place to another. What was once a convenient method to access your clothes without needing to unpack everything into a hotel dresser is now also the best way to keep your dirty bag off the surface where you sleep.

As bedbugs become an increasing global concern, keeping your suitcase on a luggage rack significantly lowers your chances of encountering these pesky critters. However, Rob Anderson, an associate professor who studies blood-feeding pests such as bedbugs at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, takes this advice a step further.

“In theory, avoiding contact between your suitcase and walls, carpets, beds, and so forth might lessen the chances of bedbugs ‘climbing aboard’ since there are fewer contact points, but bedbugs, like most insects, are excellent climbers,” says Anderson. He now advises travelers to store their luggage inside a large garbage bag with a tight seal when staying at hotels.

If using a garbage bag isn’t a practical option, a luggage rack is still better than nothing. If one isn’t available in your room upon arrival, you can usually find one tucked away in the closet. (Special mention goes to the Yotel San Francisco: Due to the compact room sizes, there are no closets for luggage racks. During my stay in 2019, I appreciated the convenient built-in luggage shelf that allowed easy access to my bag without having to place it on the bed.)

Once you return home, there are several alternatives to avoid packing your bag on the floor. If you use packing cubes, the easiest method is to lay out your items and fold them into the cubes on the bed. Then simply organize the cubes into your suitcase on the floor. If you want to keep everything off the floor and don’t mind doing a bit of extra laundry, just spread a spare towel across the bed and pack your luggage on top of that.

Amazon offers a range of luggage racks for under $100; consider keeping one in your closet to easily access it when packing. It’s also a good idea to have one for your guest room: it’s much easier than explaining to your mother-in-law why her suitcase can’t go on your pristine white comforter.

This article was originally published online in 2019; it was updated on March 14, 2024, to reflect the latest information.