What is a travel bug hotel?

[+TheRoadWife]

I see them all over the place in the listings....what are they? I went to one and it was just like any other cache (including wrong inventory! LOL). Are they suppose to be something different/special?

[+The Blorenges]

I think the original idea for Travel Bug Hotels was that they would be a good-sized traditional caches, placed in convenient but secure locations, close to main travel routes (freeways/autobahns/motorways etc) with easy nearby parking so that trackables could be dropped off/collected quickly by those on long journeys.

 

In reality, any cache owner can call their cache a "Travel Bug Hotel" if they want to. Similarly, any cache that meets the above criteria works well as a TB Hotel even if it doesn't have that in its name.

 

I know of TB Hotels in really odd non-convenient locations and some which are multis or puzzles. Not my idea of what a TB Hotel should be but... hey ho...

 

MrsB

Edited January 4, 2012 by The Blorenges

[+Mark+Karen]

And a lot of them have a requirement that you take a TB that you leave one, which defeats the purpose which IMO is that you should look at the inventory (on the site) and then see if any have goals which match your current travel plans, and if so you can take the bugs. Similarly you can drop off any bugs you have if you happen to be in the area.

[+NanCycle]

And a lot of them have a requirement that you take a TB that you leave one

 

This restriction is not permitted as it results in not a "hotel" but a "prison." If you come across a cache with such a restriction, feel free to ignore it and/or report it, as you choose. I keep hoping to find one with a lot of trackables imprisoned so I can stage a massive "prison break."

[+NeverSummer]

Travel Bug Hotels are intended to be good places to drop and pick up trackables. Sometimes this means they are good places to drop or pick up a trackable. Sometimes this means they are "prisons" or get plundered for their geocoins.

 

No matter what, they were usually designed for the former, not the latter. Just be aware of where you drop trackables. Good examples of travel bug hotels are near airports, train stations, or the like. The idea is to get trackables moving "easier".

 

Enjoy the hunt!

[jholly]

Regardless of the name, the only good TB Hotels are located along or near a heavily traveled corridor. Ones in a nice park in town, might get some action, but few TB drops or exchanges. Eventually they end up being pretty empty of TB's. And as DoubleBent mentioned, there is nothing more satisfying than cleaning out a Travel Bug Prison and setting all the inmates free. I did that once and some bugs were in there for over a year.

[+BlueDeuce]

Here is a link to my favorite "travel bug hotel": Robin Hill Cemetery Cache.

 

The things that make it perfect for bugs are:

1. It is not listed as a TB hotel. It's just listed as a regular cache, and has other trade items in it as well.
   
2. If you look at the yahoo map on the bug page, you can see that it is right near the intersection of two major interstate highways, so it is convenient for people who are traveling long distances and who want to take a short caching break. (Since it's so close to the two highways, it will appear on "Caches Along a Route" lists pretty frequently.)
   
3. Although it is very near these two highways, it is not directly accessible from either one; it's not in a rest area that hundreds of people pass through every day. You have to take an exit off of one of the highways and then drive away from the cache before coming back toward it on a side road. No one is likely to find this cache unless they are looking specifically for it.
   
4. It's in a wonderful location, back at the far edge of an almost-vacant cemetery from the 1800's. What few gravestones there are make for very interesting reading. A short walk from parking, and suddenly you feel like you're back in time, in the middle of nowhere, even though there are cars and buildings and highways just a short distance away.
   
5. It's an ammo can, so it has plenty of room for bugs, and it keeps them safe and dry.
   
6. Since it's just listed as a regular cache, there is never that big buildup of bugs that sometimes accumulate in "official" TB hotels. So the chance of multiple TBs getting lost at once is very low.
   
7. Since it's just listed as a regular cache, people feel free to pick up bugs or drop them there all the time without worrying about angering the cache owner for not trading. There's often a bug or two there, and they tend to move very regularly. When I have pick up a bug that wants to go somewhere far off, I'll often drop it in this cache, and more often than not, its next stop is in a new state.
   
8. Since it's just listed as a regular cache, no one ever gets bent out of shape when there happens to be no bugs in it. Finders don't complain about an "empty hotel". No one calls the previous cacher "greedy" for taking the last bug. And the cache owner never restocks the cache with more bugs. All of the bug throughput is natural, not forced.
   
9. This cache has been in existence for four years. It gets visited several times every month, all year long. It has had over 250 finders, and more than 100 bugs have passed through. Unlike other local caches at which visits drop off significantly after all of the locals have found it, this one continues to attract people at a steady pace. As far as I am aware, the cache has never been muggled or vandalized.
   

So, if you can manage to make a cache like this one, it'll be perfect

 

[+Thrak]

I usually cringe when I see a cache listed as a Travel Bug Hotel. Many are in locations that are NOT conducive to moving bugs along. Often the bugs are missing. Some of these caches are fine but many are just places where travel bugs go to die or disappear.

[+TheFlatline]

I tend to avoid travel bug hotels. Sometimes they work alright, but in my experience they've ended up being black holes for travelbugs.

 

Then again I'm 0/4 when it comes to travelbugs. They always disappear on me, to the point where it just doesn't feel worth it to try any more.

[+hzoi]

We used to own a couple TB hotels (one was specifically a GC exchange, though TBs were fine with us). When one of them got muggled and eight coins disappeared, I took the TB gathering out of the description, because I didn't want them to be targets for coin poachers.

[+TheRoadWife]

Thanks everyone.

[diggingest_dogg616]

And a lot of them have a requirement that you take a TB that you leave one

 

This restriction is not permitted as it results in not a "hotel" but a "prison." If you come across a cache with such a restriction, feel free to ignore it and/or report it, as you choose. I keep hoping to find one with a lot of trackables imprisoned so I can stage a massive "prison break."

I don't know why "Travel Bug Prison" makes me laugh but it does! Such cute little things shouldn't be imprisoned.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Regardless of the name, the only good TB Hotels are located along or near a heavily traveled corridor.

 

And I've made use of a few travel bug hotels that are near airports. The first TB hotel that I encountered was located next to an airport hotel near Shiphol airport in Amsterdam. It's since been archived but it was a very convenient spot for bringing travel bugs in and out of Europe. Considering the number of train stations in Europe, assuming a muggle-safe spot could be found, a cache located within close proximity of a train station would make a good TB hotel. Basically any place close to where a lot of people are traveling, and especially travel "hubs", can be a good TB location.

[+threenow24]

I usually cringe when I see a cache listed as a Travel Bug Hotel. Many are in locations that are NOT conducive to moving bugs along. Often the bugs are missing. Some of these caches are fine but many are just places where travel bugs go to die or disappear.

1+

[+Highpointer]

I usually cringe when I see a cache listed as a Travel Bug Hotel. Many are in locations that are NOT conducive to moving bugs along. Often the bugs are missing. Some of these caches are fine but many are just places where travel bugs go to die or disappear.

I agree - I do cringe - I do cringe when I see a cache listed as a "travel bug hotel." I wish the cache administrators to not approve any cache with "travel bug hotel" or similar name (i.e. motel, resort, spa, bed & breakfast, hostel, etc.) in the title.

[+hzoi]

In theory, they're great. In practice, they're only as accurate as the geocachers who visit them (and the cache owners who check up on them from time to time) allow them to be.