If I want to receive a rather large package at the destination of a trip, what’s the best and safest way? Have it shipped to the hotel, have it held at a UPS depot, or some other method? I’m thinking about buying a used bicycle, and if I could receive it while I’m in the US for a business trip (I live in Japan) I could save on shipping and duty, as well as get to use it during the trip.
Larger hotels will usually accept packages for you. My dad does this with trade shows, he sends his big booth stuff UPS a week ahead of him, and it is there when he gets to the hotel.
Just be sure to call ahead and tell the staff that you are a guest, and you are expecting a package. Otherwise they may deny the delivery. Especially for something as large as a bicycle.
Your original post has been answered, but I wanted to add some additional information for others who may not be staying at a hotel. Ship via USPS General Delivery. On long hiking trips of 8 or more days, I can’t carry all of my food and equipment on my back, so I put together a package and address it as follows, for example:
Evil Hanz
c/o General Delivery
Anytown, NH 03245
"Please hold for long-distance hiker"
"Expected arrival date 06/16/2001"
Of course, if you were travelling by car across the country and knew that you were going to be in Des Moines within a window of a few days, you could address a package similarly. If you are ordering a product, though, most companies will not ship general delivery. Proper identification is required to pick up the package, and I believe the package can be held for up to 10 days. If you call ahead, though, they may be able to hold the package longer before returning it. In my experience, postal employees have been very helpful in this regard, particularly in rural areas.
What stolichnaya said. In fact, you may want to get the name of someone who works for the hotel (a manager, or someone in charge of receiving deliveries) and have it marked with their name as well as yours. We once shipped a package to a hotel, marked it with the name of the recipient (one of our customers) and the name of the conference she was there for, called the hotel and told them the approximate delivery date and who it was for…and the hotel staff refused the package!