Shipping a re-stock package to hotel months in advance?
 

We're planning a 6mo trip through South America as soon as CV19 allows it. Both of us have various things we want to carry with us (extra liquids, lotions, vitamins, snorkel gear) that won't fit in our carry-on, or that we won't need for the first 3 months.

Has anyone had any luck sending a care package to a hotel? We would need to send and have them hold it for 3 months until we arrive midway through our trip. I guess we'd be looking at a more upscale hotel for this. They're free to open and look through it. Was looking at Buenos Aires.

Is this 'done' or will the hotel have a problem with this? Do you pay for the service or just tip?

Appreciate it.

Three months is a long time for a hotel to hold something. I have had one hold things for a couple of weeks at most. But in those cases I dropped it off personally and had stayed at the hotel several times in the past.

A better option would be to have someone ship it to you closer to your arrival date to the hotel. The other consideration is there might be custom charges, which if shipping there will not be anyone on the receiving end to pay.

I would probably look at what you really need. For instance during a three month trip I just rented gear instead of hauling my own. As for extra liquids, lotions, vitamins with a bit of searching you will probably be able to find what you need.

If in the end you really want to take these things, bring it with you initially in a duffle and plan some circle backs where you could leave it but for a short time period then pick it up on your way back through.

Hotels aren't set up to accept and hold mail/packages for several months. You can certainly ask, but the likelihood that any hotel would agree to do this is slim to none. It's simply too big of a hassle to take on.

I concur with FlyingUndderTheRadar. Have someone you trust at home hold onto your items and send them when appropriate. Or, simply buy them while abroad.

If you absolutely must have your items, I'd try researching the Argentinian equivalent of the UPS Store. A local store that handles international shipping and local mailboxes will probably be able to accept packages and store them until you arrive.

If a hotel does accept it, I think there is a significant chance that they will agree to do it, plan to do it, accept it in good faith, diligently attend to it, and at some point due to the normal hustle and bustle of running a hotel, misplace or lose it.

I have shipped many things to hotels over the years, and the majority of the time, the hotel had issues locating my packages -- even if they arrived while I was a guest or a couple days in advance. No way would I ever ship anything to a hotel if it arrived more than a couple days before I was due to check in. The likelihood it gets lost or misplaced is extraordinarily high even in the best of circumstances.

There is no uniform answer to your question. There are plenty of high end hotels with regular customers who hold items on a regular basis, e.g., suits and other clothing. They then have those items in the room just before check-in.

Depending on the property you are talking about, it may or may not be reasonably doable. I would call and speak with the concierge during local regular business hours and ask for an assessment as to whether this is doable. You are looking for someone to tell you that it's done regularly.

Put it in your checked luggage. Liquids and lotions in any volume need to go there anyway so put your extra stuff there too.

Wow, brilliant idea. Why didn't I think of that.
Yes, it's easy to carry 6 months of stuff in my carry on. Thank you so much.

Apart from the cosmetics, which you can buy locally, and the snorkel gear, which you can rent, it is pretty easy to put 6 months of stuff in an 18" roller board (focus on socks, underwear, and tee shirts), but why not check it? Doing so obviates the need to worry about finding bin space, and affords the option of bringing some of your favorite lotions with you.

You have received a lot of good information in the responses. I am choosing to quote FlyingUnderTheRadar because some crucial points are noted:

Start by contacting the hotel and seeing if they will hold the items for you but absolutely have them shipped to arrive closer to your arrival date. 3 months is a long time and something can easily get misplaced during that time.
Be sure to have the parcel labeled with your name along the lines of "ElephantGin, guest, arriving May 15, 2021"
Customs charges and customs delays are a real concern as well. Customs rules and regulations vary by country, many have regional specific requirements. You will likely need documentation showing country of origin of the items sent, toiletries may potentially be an issue depending on what they contain.
I concur that you should think about what you really need to ship and what you can purchase locally. Also potentially have a back up plan in case your goods do not arrive or get held up in customs.

I am tangentially involved in situations like this through work (logistics) and have seen something as simple as pens get shipments held up in customs. Alternately I had a colleague ship their ski gear to Chile without issue, similar to what you're doing.
I'd suggest shipping the scuba gear, packing the meds and bringing them along and sourcing anything else upon arrival.

Good luck!

The OP mentioned snorkel gear (as opposed to scuba gear). Even in the case of the latter, I'm personally okay with using loaner equipment that is supplied by nearly all dive operators. Wet/dry suits might be an exception (i.e. think genital contact), but I only dive in warm water myself. Additionally, some people like to bring their own masks, especially if they have prescription lenses; masks are easy to bring with you. But, flippers, snorkels? Come on!

The "brilliant" bit is you check it in - someone else carries it on the long hops and you select what you want to take on any shorter ones/side trips. Also means you can take your preferred liquids and even your snorkelling mask if you're not prepared to re-stock locally.

Not possible (duties and taxes) and not necessary (likely you won't travel any time soon and if you do buy stuff locally). Unseasoned question.

I've had people from the mainland visit me in Hawaii, with enough supplies for a 12 month expedition. We do have stores for every thing. My goodness Buenos Aires has 15 million people, they probably have more stores then Kona. Buy every thing except prescription medicines when you get there.

I agree with respect to Rx meds (easy enough to get at Walmart), but I will tell you that it's not especially hard to get refills here in China. While my initial hospital visit was a serious PITA, refill trips take me less than 20 minutes. I just had to get the drill down: 1. pay to see doctor; 2. see doctor; 3; pay for the meds; 4; pick up the meds. Don't visit during lunch hour (busy) or on holidays (closed).