By David Lee Miller, FOX News correspondent, Jersualem Bureau

The Israel-Gaza conflict has changed the rules when it comes to booking a hotel room.

As a globetrotting reporter I have stayed at some of the swankiest hotels and slept on army cots. (For the benefit of FOX accountants, more cots than luxury bedding.)

Yes, real down pillows, a fluffy bathrobe and a complimentary fruit basket are always a welcome sight. But at a certain hotel in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, less than a 15 minute drive to the Gaza border; I have had to change my list of requirements for a room to earn five star status.

Upon check in at most hotels the conversation goes like this:

Clerk: “Welcome to the Five Seasons.”

Me: “Thanks. Can I have a no smoking room with a king size bed, away from elevators, far from vending machines and with no adjoining door?”

Clerk: “Uh, let me get my manager…”

In Ashkelon, I have different priorities.

Clerk: “Welcome to Ashkelon…”

Me: ” Thanks. Can I have a room in the ‘no shrapnel’ section of the hotel?”

Clerk: “Sorry, we only have rooms facing south…”

Due to the nearby conflict the hotel is packed with journalists from around the world. And everyone one of us wants a room facing any direction except south. South is the direction of Gaza which is where militants have been firing rockets on a daily basis. Rooms with a southern exposure have the greatest risk of being hit.

At least one of my colleagues has covered his window with a spare mattress to offer some protection from the risk of shattered glass. But the best protection when warning sirens sound is racing to one of the hotels reinforced safety shelters. Guests have about 30 seconds before the rocket hits somewhere in the city.

That’s one kind of room service I can do without.

Keep checking back for more behind-the-scenes blogs from the Gaza border!