How to make UK work hotel stays easier?

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I'll be travelling more with work soon. UK only for 1-2 nights in a hotel at a time and always a different town, about once a month. Its been years since I had to travel for work and I recall taking an extension cord to use my laptop and charge my phone! Any top tips of what things you take/do to make hotel/work life easier?

Separate phone charger for travelling, looooong usb cable and separate plug adapter.

Separate wash bag with duplicates of main stuff so not unpacking and repacking each time.

I travel a lot for work and some things that have helped me are:

Buying doubles of everything so my case just needs clothes and I'm done - hairdryer, toiletries, chargers

A stand up mirror with LEDs (hotel mirrors are invariably too high / poorly lit / too far from plugs)

Online pilates subscription so I can do a workout in my room.

I buy a salad and some chicken from a supermarket and avoid the hotel menus as it's usually deep fried rubbish. I also take a couple of coffee bags and a nice hot chocolate sachet as the coffee portions are usually awful.

Do life admin so time at home is less frenetic - shopping deliveries, sort out insurances, research holidays etc. Sometimes I arrange to call a friend and catch up.

Nice nightwear ( somehow makes it feel like a treat)

I sometimes do my nails, use a sheet mask or foot mask, just something to make it feel like me time

I also have a small fan heater in a bag in the car as hotels are often really cold and have incomprehensible heating instructions.

I do the wash bag thing. It jist goes straight into my case as is. It depends on your hotels more than anything but I always try to squeeze a bottle of water and a few snacks (dried fruit and cereal bars) in my pull case. And on that note get a really good case. Especially if you're travelling by train

Join all the loyalty cards. And if you are able to influence booking try and use the same chain in the main. You'll build points.

Oh and I also have some little dots that I stick over standby lights on TVs as I find the light really annoying.

Are you travelling by train or car?
If it’s by car I would allow myself some home comforts like a pillow, one I like always helps me sleep, and a decent mug

I travel a lot for work. I have lots of little bags - one for wash things, one for chargers and cables, one for bedside table things, one for jewellery etc. then I can pack and unpack v quickly.

and always take a big scarf or wrap (ideally wool or cashmere) in case the room is cold or your outfit isn’t quite right or you want to sleep in the train or plane.

Is it the same locations repeatedly? Is there a chain of gyms with a branch in all (most) of the locations? I used to have a boss that covered 3 offices in the N of England. He’d only stay in places with a swimming pool.

The tape for lights is something I always forget and it really annoys me. I take a spare plastic card so I can leave the electrics in the room on if I want to. Some hotels it just died the lights, which is fine, but others it switches off the plugs as well.

I have a moulded eye mask in case the curtains are annoying. Earplugs. I always request a quiet room, no idea if it makes any difference.

I pack some hot chocolate sachets and my own teabags. If I'm there in winter I've been known to hang a pint of milk out the window. I have tiny (30ml silicone) bottles for toiletries. It's my gym kit toiletry set but means I can just grab it from one bag and ditch into another. I also love packing cubes.

You can get additional locks for your door so that they can't be opened from the outside. Amazon used to sell them. They can be dangerous if there was a fire and the fire brigade can't get in your room.

I used to be cabin crew in another life. I know you have asked what to take but we got some good advice that I still use now.

We were always told that the company wouldn't book a room on the ground floor so that someone couldn't get in through the window. We stayed in decent hotels too. We were advised to put our case against the door to give the room a quick check too when entering, to make sure there was nobody in there, it can happen and is more than likely accidental but best to be safe.

Always have at least a bottle of water and somethingto snack on in your bag. You never know when the hotel kitchen could have issues. Slippers or flipflops for the room (even if the carpets look brand new, i wouldn't go barefoot). Make sure you can cast your phone/ laptop/ ipad or get a cable to hook up to the tv. Toiletries just for your case so you don't have to repack them. If you won't be spending your free time socialising then skin care/ books/ swimmimg costume (if they have a pool and spa).

I love a solo hotel stay! I take all my bath stuff, turn the heating up and have a diy spa evening. Headphones and an audio book, a small bottle of wine, some nibbles and I lounge about in my pjs. I always take some extra milk and a full sized travel mug for the morning as there's never enough in those little uht pots/ sachets. A night to myself without snoring OH or needy cats is absolute bliss!

Own tea and coffee, and a nice travel mug. Decent breakfast - depending on where I am staying, I might take a yoghurt/bircher/fruit with me and eat in my room (also means I can have a lie in and leisurely shower, and not have to get down to breakfast at 7am).

I have a series of small glass screwtop jars that I decant moisturiser etc into; if you're only away for a night or two it saves hauling full size items around, ditto saving the travel shampoo bottles, even if you don't use the contents, to put your own product into. I usually take a door wedge and a 4-way extension lead as well.
As per PP, if you're travelling by car, you've got a lot more leway with items to take, such as your own pillow etc.

I make a point of unpacking, hanging everything up and arranging things on the shelf, in the bathroom etc. It takes a little more time when you're packing up, but I like it better than leaving everything in your case and rootling through it.

If it's up to me where I book, I usually go for a Premier Inn, but try to find ones with opening windows rather than aircon only, as I like a cool room to sleep and having the aircon on full blast is very noisy and dries the air out.

I always have a travel knife/fork/spoon set in my case. I’ll frequently get an M&S salad, chicken, fruit, yogurt etc. for dinner rather than, yet another, restaurant meal or room service.

A wash bag that is ready to go with everything I need stays in my case - no decanting/sharing toiletries from the main bathroom. I also have some make-up duplicates to save taking my usual make-up bag. Very random but I also have good tweezers with me - hotel bathroom lighting is brilliant for doing eyebrows! I also make sure I’ve got some emergency drugs in my wash bag - paracetamol, packet of Lemsip, Imodium, gaviscon etc. - anything that might be tricky to get hold of if you’re not well while you’re away.

A good water bottle and thermal coffee cup. Coffee bags and/or good teabags are a game-changer compared to hotel sachets of Nescafé.

Someone’s already mentioned chargers and extension leads. If you’re going to be in the car an ‘emergency kit’ is helpful - change of clothes, shoes, some toiletries (including tampons).

Depends on your work but as a regular traveller I tend to stay in the same hotels - that makes a difference, especially if they have a gym or pool. I always try to get outside for a bit - it’s very easy when travelling to go from airport/car to office to hotel and back - a 20 minute walk in the fresh air makes a massive difference to my wellbeing.

Make sure you know your company expenses policy inside out - partly so you claim everything you’re entitled to but also so you don’t get caught out.

I have the duplicate toiletry bag that others have mentioned too. If I have a spell of no travel I’ll use up or rotate those products so they don’t go off.

always always have slippers with me that live in my case - not all hotels provide them and I will not be going barefoot in hotel rooms. If you’re staying somewhere a bit nicer and they provide slippers I’ll take them home as well as the spare pair so I always have a stash available for trips. Ditto shower caps.

I take a mini hot water bottle with me. I can’t sleep if my feet are cold and, for some reason, they often are when I’m staying in a hotel.

Research what's available to do in the area and go for walks, theatre, shops/restaurants that aren't available in your home town.

Keep a packing list so you don't worry about forgetting things.

Do something more productive in the evenings than doom scrolling, read a book or even just binge watching a series you don't normally have time for, something for you, not work or home/life admin. Conversely, if you have the type of job where you're generally expected to work long hours, use the time you have available to try and get ahead, so you can spend less time working when you're at home/in the office.

Stay in the most beneficial hotel you can within your expenses policy. So this might be one with a spa, or located in a town centre so you can go out to eat easily or just a nice on site restaurant so you can eat well and not spend too much time thinking about getting food.

Use your expenses policy wisely and consider staying in a serviced apartment instead of a hotel sometimes. We can spend a certain amount per meal/day which goes a lot further if you're not paying restaurant prices. So I will sometimes buy all the nice looking but expensive things from M&S such as the £7 nutrient dense ready meals, prepared fruit, deli pots, £3.90 bags of crisps etc, all the treaty things that most people would wince at the price of, if paying for with their own money.

Thanks everyone. Some brilliant ideas. I've ordered coffee bags among other things in my next shop to take along! Some answers:

-Majority of the time I'll be travelling by train but if there is easy parking then I'll drive
-It will be a different town each time, so not the same hotel. Our expense limits also mean it may not be the same chain of hotels
-I'm unlikely to have much spare time to see the town, museums, use a spa etc but I shall be looking into those too.