Hotel Booking Guide for Richard Barker
Booking a hotel for Richard's show? This page takes five minutes and makes sure he arrives rested, so your audience gets the best show possible.
Book Richard somewhere you would happily leave your mom
Richard sleeps in hotel rooms, cruise cabins and airports for more than half the year. Travel days are long, and a noisy, dirty or unsafe room means he walks on stage tired. Your audience feels that. The ten points below take five minutes to check with the hotel, and they are the difference between a good show and a great one. Treat him like a family friend you care about.
The 10 point hotel checklist
1. Interior corridors only
No rooms where the door opens straight onto the parking lot or the curb. Guests should pass through a lobby to reach the room. Richard travels with expensive show equipment, and a ground floor room facing parked cars means engine noise, smoke and a theft risk.
2. Away from the pool
No rooms overlooking or opening onto the pool, especially indoor atrium pools. A children's pool party outside the door ends any chance of rest. Ask for the back of the building.
3. Top floor
Please request the top floor where possible. It is almost always the quietest.
4. Away from the noise
Not next to the elevator, ice machine, vending machines, stairwell, laundry, housekeeping store or maintenance room.
5. Clean, and checked
If a room is donated by the PTA or a sponsor, read the recent reviews first. Nobody wants to share a room with roaches or bed bugs.
6. Early check in, late checkout
Please ask the hotel for early check in and late checkout. On late night shows this is essential, see below.
7. Close to the venue
Within a reasonable drive of the venue, and close to a highway or main road.
8. Fridge, microwave and WiFi
Please ask for a room with all three.
9. Air conditioning that works
It has happened in the heat of summer. Please confirm the room has working AC.
10. A restaurant on site
Not essential, but always appreciated after a late show.
Which hotels to choose
Always a safe choice
Marriott properties, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express consistently meet every point on the checklist.
Check first
Best Western, Comfort Suites, Quality Inn and Super 8 are individually owned franchises. Some are great and some are not, so check recent reviews and run through the checklist before you book.
Please avoid
Motel 6, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn and unbranded roadside inns. These usually open straight onto the parking lot and rarely meet the checklist.
Rather we book the hotel for you?
Richard's team can book a hotel that meets every point on this checklist, for under $200 a night, and pass that cost on to you. Most shows only need one night. Just let us know when you confirm the show.
Late night shows: Project Graduation and post prom
When the show runs between midnight and 5 am, Richard sleeps from about 6 pm to 10 pm before the show, and from about 6 am to 10 am after it. That only works with an early check in on the day and a late checkout the morning after. Please arrange both with the hotel when you book, and put it in writing on the reservation.
Hotel questions
A sponsor has donated a room. Is that okay?
Very often, yes. Please run it through the checklist and read the recent reviews before you confirm it. If it fails on security, noise or cleanliness, please book somewhere else.
Can you book the hotel for us?
Yes. Richard's team can book a hotel that meets this checklist, for under $200 a night, and pass that cost on to you. Most shows only need one night. Let us know when you confirm the show.
What should we send once the room is booked?
The hotel name and address, the confirmation number, the name the room is booked under, and the check in and checkout times you agreed with the hotel.
How far from the venue is too far?
Aim for a short, easy drive close to a highway or main road. Richard drives to the venue after check in and back again after a late show.
YOUR BOOKING TOOLKIT
- Technical Rider: Sound, stage, lighting and green room for your AV crew.
- Press Kit: Reels, graphic packs, bio, photos and TV credits to promote your show.
Questions about the hotel?
Call the tour team before you book and we will help you pick the right place.