15 things I learned about hotels and Airbnbs after traveling the world for a year

I spent a year traveling the world as Business Insider's international correspondent.In that time, I stayed in nearly 100 hotels and Airbnbs that ran the range from ultra-budget to mid-tier to luxury. Some of the most important things I've learned include checking the electric kettle when you enter a hotel room, always asking for late check-out, and cross-checking prices between Booking.com and Airbnb.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Over the last year, I've spent 300 days or more on the road. That's a lot of nights in hotels, Airbnbs, guesthouses, and everything in between. Still, every time I walk into a hotel room or an Airbnb in a strange city, I get excited. I love the feeling of trying to turn a strange city into home, even for a few days.That being said, I've definitely made a couple mistakes along the way. In February, I assumed a luxury hotel I was staying in had a noon checkout, like nearly every other hotel I've stayed at in the world. I was wrong. In Tanzania, the standard checkout is 10 a.m.Here are the hotel and Airbnb lessons I've learned and the tips I've picked up after a year of traveling around the world.