Updated February 2024

Yosef chose the hotel he was staying in for its many amenities, not the least of which was the free Continental Breakfast it offered its guests. Surely, when kosher symbols on products are becoming more and more prevalent, he wouldn’t starve! The breakfast menu included cereals, pancakes, waffles, muffins, pre-cut fruits and vegetables, hardboiled eggs, as well as hot coffee and juices. Can Yosef eat anything offered on the Continental Breakfast menu, or should he prepare his own breakfast using the microwave and coffeemaker in his hotel room?

Chana’s brother’s bar mitzvah, held in a hotel during Shabbos, turned out to be a real nightmare! The closet light went on automatically when she opened the closet door; the housekeeper had turned off the light in her room, preventing her from reviewing her Parsha notes; she drank a bottle of water from her room’s ‘refreshment bar’ which unbeknown to her set off an electric sensor; and her bathroom’s toilet and sink were controlled by an electric eye. These were just some of the many Shabbos issues Chana faced. How could she have prevented them?

We live in a time in which keeping a kosher home is relatively easy. However, when travel plans interrupt our regular routine, we frequently encounter situations we do not normally experience at home. In this article, we will outline how to deal with some of the challenges facing Jewish hotel guests.

Our discussion focuses on hotels in the U.S. that are not kosher certified.[1] Staying at a kosher certified hotel alleviates many of the issues mentioned here. However, the consumer should be aware that while some kashrus agencies ensure that the entire hotel experience is ‘kosher,’ including the food, other agencies may certify the food only. They may not feel it is their responsibility to ensure that the eruv around the hotel, the swimming pool or other amenities are halachically acceptable.

The following guidelines are written for hotel guests, but many of the principles apply to rental homes as well.

A. GENERAL KASHRUS

Continental Breakfast  

Many hotels offer a variety of foods for breakfast. Prepared foods (e.g. pancakes, waffles, or bakery items) may not be eaten due to the ingredients and preparation utensils used; however, fresh whole fruit[2] or any sealed item bearing a reliable kosher symbol may be eaten. Plastic cutlery may be available upon request for guests to cut their produce. Pre-cut fruits or vegetables should be avoided, since they may have been cut with a knife that was used for non-kosher food.[3] Cooked eggs, even in their shells (hard/medium/soft boiled), are forbidden due to Bishul Akum.[4] Unflavored coffee is acceptable, as is milk (for those who drink milk that is not Cholov Yisroel).[5] Hot water from an urn may be used. Waffle mixes, even with a reliable certification, may not be used because the griddle may have been used with other mixes and rendered non-kosher.

Kosher Meals

Hotels may be able to order kosher frozen ‘airline meals’ upon request. Some hotels keep them in their inventory, should the need arise. The hotel must leave the wrapping intact for the guest.

Microwave

One must assume that hotel room microwaves have been used for non-kosher food products. Therefore, any kosher food that is heated within them must be enclosed in two separate leakproof wrappings.

Refrigerator

One may use a clean refrigerator in which to store kosher food. Meat, fish, and non-mevushal wine require a proper seal if they are left alone while the guest is away and the room is to be cleaned.[6]

Coffeemaker in Room

Hotel rooms provide a coffeemaker and kosher coffee. Many of the coffeemakers use individual hot cups into which the coffee drips. The machine is used for coffee only and, therefore, one may make coffee in this type of machine.[7]

However, if the coffee drips into a carafe, it is suggested that one should not use the coffeemaker carafe. Although most people who stay in hotels do not pack food to heat up in the carafe (this is generally a kosher traveler phenomenon), it is still possible that it was used for non-kosher products. Therefore, it is recommended that one refrain from using the carafe.

Ice Maker

One is allowed to use the ice in the hotel, as the ice machines are dedicated to making ice.[8]

B. SHABBOS

(This includes Yom Tov, unless otherwise noted.)

One must check with the hotel prior to his Shabbos stay, in order to assess whether or not he will encounter any of the issues described below. He should then devise a course of action through which he can avoid or circumvent their occurrence. Upon arriving at the hotel, he should meet with the personnel to discuss his special needs. Oftentimes, staff is very willing to cooperate when approached in a friendly manner. For example, housekeeping should be asked not to turn on or off the lights in the hotel room on Shabbos morning; rather, they should leave the lights as they found them upon entering the room. (Putting out the “Do Not Disturb” sign should prevent the staff from entering the room.)

Sensors for Lights and Heating/Air Conditioning

Since guests tend to leave the heating and air conditioners running while they are away from their rooms, some hotels are now installing energy-efficient thermostats. When it senses that the room is unoccupied, the thermostat adjusts the climate to an energy-efficient setting. When the guest opens the door to re-enter the room, the thermostat readjusts to the original setting. The sensor may also turn the lights on or off, depending on whether or not someone is in the room. It can also alert housekeeping that the room is empty and may be cleaned. One may not stay in such a room on Shabbos unless these sensors are disabled by the staff prior to Shabbos. Further, opening a balcony door may turn off the air-conditioning. If so, one must avoid opening the balcony door on Shabbos.

Hallway and room lights may be motion-sensitive and turn on or brighten when a guest enters.[9]  Additionally, some hotels require the room key to be inserted into a slot in the room to keep the lights and AC active. When one leaves the room, the key is removed. As a workaround, before Shabbos, one can request the staff to leave his hallway lights on continuously over Shabbos and to provide him with a duplicate key that can be left in the slot throughout Shabbos.

Lastly, one must ensure that a light in the refrigerator does not turn on when opening the refrigerator door. If it does, one should unscrew the bulb before Shabbos or tape down the light switch. Remember to undo these actions after Shabbos.

Pre-stocked Refrigerator

The hotel room may have a pre-stocked mini-bar. The hotel charges a per item fee for each refreshment product that is used by the customer. Generally, the housekeeping staff is responsible for monitoring these items. In this case, it would be permitted to remove a product from the bar during Shabbos, since such assessment would not be performed at that time.[10] The purchase is recorded and charged whenever the staff checks the room.

Some hotels now use electronic sensors which confirm each sale at the time of purchase and automatically post charges to the guest’s account. In this case, since the customer is directly initiating the purchase, as well as the electronic recording, no product may be removed during Shabbos.

One must also ensure that a light in the refrigerator does not illuminate upon opening the refrigerator door.

Hot Food

It is a mitzvah to eat hot food on Shabbos, especially for the daytime meal. If the hotel is amenable, one may use a hotplate in his room and place cooked food on it before Shabbos.[11]

Many hotels offer morning coffee to their guests. If the hotel caters to non-Jewish clientele, then we may assume that the coffee is prepared for them and nothing is added for the Jews who comprise the minority of the guests. In this case, one may partake of the coffee even on Shabbos.[12] However, if there is a contingent of Jews staying at the hotel, and there is a special place such as a “Kiddush room” set aside for them, then the coffee there would not be permitted to those individuals on Shabbos; however, it would be permitted on Yom Tov.[13]

Electronic Locks and Doors

Although electronic door locks are commonplace, certain hotels, especially those near large Orthodox communities, still have a few rooms set aside that use simple mechanically cut keys. It is worthwhile to attempt to find these hotels.

Electronic card keys may not be used and are muktzah on Shabbos. Hotel guests may arrange with non-Jewish staff to open the door for them on Shabbos. Ideally, any arrangements should be made prior to Shabbos.[14]

Some doors have automatic locks on the inside of the room that may appear mechanical, but actually contain a mechanism that is activated when a guest turns the lock a quarter of an inch. An internal motor will cause the lock to complete the turn. This should be checked before Shabbos.

When walking into or out of the hotel, one should use non-electronic doors. Service or staff doors are likely to be non-electronic and may be available to guests with special authorization. If there are no non-automated doors, one should wait until a non-Jew triggers the electric-eye door with his movement and then proceed after him through the doorway. Due to the difficulty of coordinating one’s movements with those of another person, caution should be taken to avoid unwittingly activating the door.

Bathrooms

Hotels may be equipped with sinks and toilets that are controlled by an electric eye, particularly in the lobby. Bathrooms may have automated lights that are activated when the door is opened or one walks inside. We suggest avoiding hotels on Shabbos that do not offer a different system.[15]

As always, toilet paper should be prepared before Shabbos. Boxes of tissues should be checked that the tissues are fully separated from one another. (Sometimes, cut sheets are still partially attached.)

Security Cameras

There may be security cameras in the hotel. It is best to avoid being videoed by such cameras on Shabbos, since the image is projected onto a screen. However, if this is difficult to avoid and one has no interest in being seen by the cameras, then he is permitted to walk past them.[16]

Shabbos Candles

Even if one lights many candles at home, common custom allows the lighting of two candles while away.[17] If one will be eating in the hotel’s dining room, he should arrange to light the candles near the table where he will be dining.[18] An electric light should also be left on in the hotel room (or bathroom, if it can shed light in the room) so that one will not stumble in the dark.[19] If it is not possible to light candles in the dining room, or if one is eating in his own room, then he should light the candles in his sleeping quarters. (Do not leave the candles unattended.) If the hotel does not allow the lighting of candles in the room due to the potential fire hazard, then Halacha prohibits one to light there.[20] Instead, one should light with a bracha an electric incandescent lamp or an incandescent flashlight[21] in his room.[22]

A man who is away from home in a hotel room cannot rely upon his wife’s lighting candles at home, and is obligated in hadlakas neiros with a bracha.[23]

Carrying

An eruv chatzeiros[24] might be necessary to permit carrying within the hotel premises (e.g. from a room to an enclosed hallway) on Shabbos. One should check with his rav.[25] However, if there is only one Jew or Jewish family among the hotel guests, an eruv chatzeiros is not needed.[26] A motel is usually comprised of rooms that open up to the outdoors. Since there is no proper enclosure, one may not carry outside of his room.

Elevators

Hotels are often comprised of many floors. Use of an elevator involves a number of issues, including:[27]

1. Elevator doors are equipped with a mechanism which prevents them from closing when people are in the elevator entranceway. One who triggers this mechanism is transgressing a Shabbos prohibition.
2. One generally presses a button to reach a specific floor. This starts the elevator and may cause the button to illuminate.

Therefore, if at all possible, one should book a guest room on a lower floor so that he does not require use of the elevator on Shabbos. If there is no alternative, he may use the elevator by entering immediately after a non-Jew to avoid activating the door through the electric eye. (This is not easily accomplished since, due to limited space, the electric eye might unfortunately be triggered.) He should not ask anyone to press a button for him; rather, he should exit on the nearest level and walk to the desired floor.

In some elevators, a buzzer sounds every time a person breaks through the electric eye. Therefore, entering after a non-Jew is not a viable solution since the buzzer will sound as the Jew enters. One who requires use of this type of elevator may ask a non-Jew to stand in the doorway.

In case of need, one may use a ‘Shabbos elevator’ which stops on each floor and remains open for a short while. One should enter or exit the elevator as soon as the door opens. He should not block the elevator doorway, as this will activate the electric eye.

Escalators

May be used on Shabbos.[28] Some escalators are  ‘on-demand’ and stop or are slowed until someone steps on them; others have a counter triggered by breaking an electric eye sensor. These may not be used on Shabbos.

C. DAVENING

A man should try to arrange his hotel stay in an area where he will be able to attend a minyan. If there is a minyan within 18 minutes of his hotel, then he is obligated to attend that minyan. If he does daven by himself, he should daven Shmoneh Esrei at the same time as the local minyan.[29] One should face towards Jerusalem. If he cannot determine the proper direction, then he should mentally gear his thoughts towards Jerusalem. One should not daven facing a mirror or painting. According to some authorities, if there is a Gideon Bible in the room, it should be placed in a drawer prior to davening.[30]

D. PASSOVER

(1) Kashering

A hotel kitchenette requires the same method of kashering for Passover as a home kitchen. One should secure permission from the hotel before kashering.

Ideally, all kashering should be completed before the end time for eating chometz on Erev Pesach. Sometimes, a person might not arrive at his hotel room until later on Erev Pesach, or on Chol Hamoed Pesach. Following are guidelines for kashering at that time, using the procedures in the STAR-K Pesach Kitchen Guide.

Erev Pesach

An oven and stovetop grates may be kashered. A sink may be kashered as long as one can ascertain that the sink is aino ben yomo, has not been used with heat for 24 hours prior.[31]

Chol Hamoed

One can kasher only with libun chamur, a blow torch that makes the utensil red hot.[32] This is not recommended unless one is specially trained and is, therefore, not practical for most situations.

(2) Bedikas Chometz

One who is staying at a hotel and did not bring any chometz into the room should perform bedikas chometz without a bracha.[33]

Some hotel rooms have a “mini-bar” that is pre-stocked with drinks and snacks by the hotel. If there are food items in the mini-bar which are not Kosher for Passover, one should ensure that the staff removes those items. Alternatively, the mini-bar should be sealed off and the staff informed that the guest bears no responsibility for those items.[34]

Ice from the icemaker may be used, but the ice bucket in the room should not be used. The coffeemaker also may not be used.

(3) Kiddush

In a hotel there is often a Kiddush before the day meal. To fulfill the mitzvah of Kiddush, one must eat a kezayis of mezonos to create “Kiddush b’makom seuda”. On Pesach, this creates a unique issue since often no gebrokts foods are served. The cakes are typically Shehakol, made from potato starch or nut flour and not matzah meal.

If there are no Mezonos cakes, or one’s custom is not to eat them, one could fulfill the Kiddush b’makom seuda by drinking a revi’is (3.8 fluid oz) of wine or grape juice. Each person listening to Kiddush must drink this amount. (The one who recites Kiddush should drink at least 5 ¾ oz. (This is slightly more than a half-revi’is to be yotzei Kiddush, and then another revi’is for b’makom seuda of wine or grape juice).[35]

E. RENTING AN AIRBNB

Anyone considering renting an Airbnb should review “Navigating the Ins and Outs of Renting an Airbnb,” published in a recent issue of Kashrus Kurrents.

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We eagerly await the days of Mashiach, when “each man will rest securely under his grape vine and palm tree.”[36] At that time, people will not need to vacation in a hotel for pleasure, as the home will provide spiritual and physical contentment.

REFERENCES

[1] At Israeli hotels, other issues arise. For example, even raw fruit may not be eaten without kosher certification since tithing and shemitta need to be addressed.

[2] Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, as well as potentially infested vegetables, should be checked before consuming.

[3] The Rema Y.D. 96:4 is lenient under certain circumstances; however, those conditions are not fulfilled in a hotel setting.

[4] Y.D. 113:14. Also, the pots used to cook the eggs are non-kosher.

[5] At hotels in New York City, one should be aware that unfiltered water may contain copepods – small but visible crustaceans.

[6] Due to the prohibitions of basar shenis’alem min ha’ayin and stam yeinam.

[7] Even if the machine was used previously for non-certified coffee, it may be used by the kosher traveler for kosher coffee. Kashrus concerns relating to coffee are such that one who is traveling on the road may be more lenient in this regard.

[8] See also footnote 5. One may not remove ice on Shabbos if this requires activation of the machine.

[9] It should be noted that some closets also have an automatic light that is activated when the closet door is opened. At times, this is controlled by a sensor that notices movement inside the closet. To disable, there may be a plug near the light which should be unplugged before Shabbos.

[10] Shulchan Aruch O.C. 323:4. All halachos regarding opening packages on Shabbos must be followed. Unflavored bottled water does not require kosher certification.

[11] On Yom Tov cooking is allowed.

[12] See Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasa (S.S.K) 30:48. One must ensure that no lights are activated when removing coffee from the machine, and that water does not enter automatically when coffee is removed. As mentioned above, unflavored coffee is acceptable without certification.

[13] If the Jews comprise the majority of the guests, then the coffee prepared for them is not permitted on Shabbos in any case.

[14] Some guests opt to leave their door unlocked – for example, by covering the opening in the door frame with strong tape (the bar-coded tags applied to luggage handles at the airport are fairly strong and can be repurposed here) so that the bolt or latch can’t engage.

Others try a more covert method: they close the door as usual, but securely tie a long string to the inside handle and push it through the bottom of the door, so that the string sticks out slightly into the corridor. Then, on Shabbos, while standing outside the door, they pull on that string. This opens the door handle from the inside of the room. But since these ideas involve some risk (as they leave the room accessible to intruders), STAR-K cannot take a position on recommending them.

[15] A sink controlled by electric eye can be disabled by covering the sensor (it may on the bottom and/or the top) There may be an exhaust which is activated by a motion sensor. The sensor should be covered before Shabbos. Additionally, the vanity light in the bathroom may be activated by movement. Unplugging the control, which is usually located under the sink, deactivates the light. Remember to uncover and plug everything back in after Shabbos.

[16]Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, in a personal conversation with Rav Moshe Heinemann (also cited in Orchos Shabbos 15, note 55).  See also Responsa of Rav Shmuel Vozner quoted in Orchos Shabbos pg. 513, and Shulchan Shlomo 340: note 12b citing Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach.

[17] S.S.K. 43:3. One would also fulfill the mitzvah with one candle.

[18] S.S.K. 45:9. See note 44 where he frowns upon lighting in a separate room near the dining room.

[19] M.B. 263:2.

[20] One should not light candles if the smoke detector will be activated. However, a knowledgeable hotel staff member stated to the author that in their hotel, lighting candles is not prohibited and the smoke detectors would not be activated due to merely one or two candles.

[21] One should ensure that there are fresh batteries in the flashlight so that they will last until after dark.

[22] Toras Hayoledes 38:5. See S.S.K. 43:4, note 22, Responsa Tzitz Eliezer 1:20:11, and Responsa Yabia Omer O.C. 2:17. If the light was already on, it should be turned off and then turned on again specifically for Shabbos.

[23] M.B. 263:28 and Biur Halacha (Bochurim), Toras Hayoledes 38:2, Chovas Hadar pg. 88. A man recites the bracha before lighting.

[24] An eruv chatzeiros refers to matza or bread set aside to allow carrying between different areas inside, and is distinct from what is commonly called an eruv, constructed of poles and wire which allows carrying outside.

[25] This question hinges on a dispute between the Igros Moshe (O.C. 1:141) who permits carrying without an eruv chatzeiros in a hotel, and the Dvar Avraham (3:30) who takes a strict approach. In any event, no bracha is recited in deference to the opinion of Igros Moshe.

[26] Shulchan Aruch O.C. 382:1 and M.B. 3. Unless one knows otherwise, one may assume that the other guests are not Jewish.

[27] S.S.K. 23:49 writes that going down in an elevator is more problematic than going up. However, there are various types of elevators, as well as changing technology, and this point is not applicable everywhere. See also Shevet Halevi 6:39.

[28] S.S.K. 23:52.

[29] For further details, see Orach Chaim 90:9,16, Kehilas Yaakov – Brachos 3, Halichos Shlomo 5:18, Shaarei Zmanim 18.

[30] Derech Pikudecha (Lo Sa’aseh #11: Hagah), Shailos U’teshuvos B’tzel Hachochma 2:84.

[31] For example, if the hotel is managed by a frum person, one could ask them for this information. An alternative is to be pogem the sink first, but that process is beyond the scope of this article.

[32] Pri Migadim (MZ 452:4)

[33] The rooms may be like a makom she’ein machnisim bo chometz. One must also check his car, clothes pockets, and luggage without a bracha. For further discussion, see Piskei Teshuvos 437:1. If a guest was eating chometz in the room before Erev Pesach, he should do a bedika with a bracha.

[34] Otherwise he may have achrayus, responsibility, for the chometz should it be damaged or stolen, and one may not take responsibility for chometz on Passover.

[35] Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasa 54:23, also see Shaar Hatziyun 273:29.

[36] Melachim 1:5:5.