Living in a hotel sounds like a vacation—but when it’s home for a few weeks with two adults and two big dogs, the charm wears off fast. Before we officially launched our full-time RV life, Lisa and I found ourselves in a transitional phase: the house was sold, the RV wasn’t ready yet, and we had nowhere to live but a hotel.
Here’s how we navigated the cramped quarters, the noise, the downsizing, and the emotional prep work to leave our sticks-and-bricks life behind and hit the road full-time.
This post contains affiliate links. As a participant in Amazon Associates and various affiliate programs, we are compensated when qualifying purchases are made through our referral links at no additional cost to you. Full Disclosure
Why Were We Living in a Hotel?
For about four years, Lisa and I had dreamed of selling everything, buying an RV, and traveling the country. After the passing of my dad in October, we knew it was time to stop dreaming and start doing.
Once the house sold, we had a few weeks to wait before closing, paying off debts, and picking up our new rig. So for 3 weeks, our entire life was packed into a 200 sq. ft. hotel room—shared with two 70-lb chocolate labs. A night or two in a hotel might feel like a treat. But three weeks? That’s a whole different experience.
The Real Challenges of Hotel Life
💸 The Cost
We went from spending about $40/day in our home to $88/day at the hotel. That added up fast.
🔊 The Noise
Hotels are busy places. Constant hallway noise, the click-click-click of rolling luggage, and the stomping footsteps of neighbors above made peace and quiet hard to come by.
🐾 Dog Logistics
Our pups were used to having a yard and a doggie door. Now, every potty break meant getting leashed up, taking the elevator or stairs, and hoping the patch of grass was unoccupied.
🧳 Tight Quarters
Even compared to our RV, the hotel room felt cramped. We had a kitchenette and some storage—but nothing like the freedom of our soon-to-be motorhome.
Where Did All Our Stuff Go?
Short answer? Gone!
We sold, donated, or gifted the vast majority of our belongings. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay became our go-to tools—though not always profitable. (I once sold an $80 cookie jar and paid $5 out of pocket after eBay fees and shipping.)
The downsizing process took about four months. We tackled it in phases:
- Unused or unnecessary items went first.
- Then came clothing, furniture, tools, and even one of our cars.
- A few sentimental items went into a 5×10 storage unit—which, in hindsight, could have been a 5×5.
What Did We Bring to the Hotel?
We tried to be strategic about what came with us and what was boxed up for the RV. Here’s what made the cut:
- Clothing for 7–10 days each (plus my suit for a family wedding)
- Kitchen basics and canned food
- New cookware for the RV’s induction stove (we sold the old Circulon set)
- My fly-tying and fishing gear
- Hiking gear and tools
Even in our compact hotel room, we had a little breathing room. And we knew the RV’s basement storage would give us a bit more flexibility.
How Long Will We Be Doing This?
This is the question we get the most—both “How long are you staying in the hotel?” and “How long will you live in an RV?”
Hotel life only lasted three weeks. RV life? That’s our future. We’re in it for the long haul. There’s no end date, no deadline, and no planned exit. We’ll stop when we’ve seen everything—or when we’re ready to settle down again. For now, everywhere is on the list.
Final Thoughts – From Hotel Life to RV Freedom
Living in a hotel was tough—mentally and emotionally. But it gave us a transition zone between our old lives and our new RV lifestyle. Going from 200 sq. ft. of hotel room to 300 sq. ft. of RV now feels like moving into a mansion.
If you’re preparing to go full-time in an RV, temporary hotel life might be part of your journey, too. It’s not glamorous—but it gets you one step closer to freedom, mobility, and a life lived on your own terms.
So away we go…
If you’re looking to build your own home-based business like we have with this webpage, check out Wealthy Affiliate.
Wealthy Affiliate is an all-in-one platform that you can build your whole affiliate marketing business on. It combines training, software, and website hosting into one. This makes the whole process of starting an online business from scratch much easier, especially if you’re new to building a website.
