Poste restante

Upgrade: Travel Better has posted a nice summary of some options for shipping items to yourself ahead of time when you’re traveling. I’ve shipped boxes to myself at hotels many times when going to conferences, and even had exhibit furnishings such as chairs delivered by Staples to a hotel room. The built-in tracking, insurance, and delivery date guarantee from FedEx Ground and UPS Ground are appealing, and overall a bit more reliable than checked baggage (more likely to arrive on time, with slightly less physical abuse and less theft). Shipping ahead also allows you to take care of some travel logistics ahead of time, rather than worrying about everything at the last minute. I’ve never used poste restante (held mail, or general delivery) at a post office, since FedEx and UPS don’t usually like to deliver to post offices.

I was amused to see that someone with my name had already posted on Upgrade: Travel Better what my comment would have been: be aware of hotel fees for receiving packages. When these fees became common 10 years ago, it was typically $3-$5 per package. The hotel that I shipped packages to last month: $25.