15 Personal Security Tips for Hotel Stays

While airport and airline security seems to always be in the news, there are additional security issues that travelers need to be aware of.  Traveling frequently means hotel stays, and taking safety precautions there is every bit as important to your personal security as it is at the airport. 

Here are some easy steps to take to protect your personal security, whether you’re traveling alone or as part of a group.

1. When checking in, make sure that the front desk does not say your room number aloud.  If they do, ask for another room and request that the number not be announced.  Most hotels are very conscious of this issue, so it’s rare to have it happen.  However, I find that most hotels are training their personnel to use a guest’s name at check in.  This may present additional complications.  While most men have said that they like this personal touch, most women that I have talked to do not like it.  My conclusion is that most women traveling alone prefer to keep a lower profile for safety reasons.
2. If you’re checking in as part of a larger group, be careful about your lobby conversations.  It’s easy to call out and ask a friend what room s/he is in, but it’s equally easy for someone to overhear that information and use it to your detriment.  Same thing goes with conversation about what time everyone is meeting for dinner.  Speak quietly, or you have just let others know what time everyone will be out of their rooms.
3. If I’m traveling alone, I always avoid a room on the ground level.  A higher floor means one less way to enter or leave a room surreptitiously.
4. If you’re traveling as part of a larger group, request room assignments near fellow travelers.  Make note of who is in which room just in case you need an emergency resource.
5. When first getting to your hotel room, prop the door open with your luggage and check out the room to make sure no one is in there.
6. If you arrive at your room and find an “occupied” card hanging on the door, return to the front desk, or use a house phone (usually located by the elevators) to call the front desk, and ask for another room.  It is not up to you to verify if someone is actually in the room, or if it is an error. 
7. Don’t hesitate to ask hotel security to escort you to your room, or to the parking garage.  It’s their job to make sure that guests are safe.
8. Don’t get into an elevator or stairway with anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable.  If you’re already in the elevator and someone gets on, just get off on that floor.  Mumble an excuse if you feel you have to say something.  But you don’t. 
9. When you’re in the room, use all locks.  Check windows and sliding doors to a balcony also.
10. Never open your room door without first verifying who it is.  Use the peephole.  If no one is there, or you can’t get a good visual, ask the person to identify him or herself.  If it’s someone from the hotel staff, and you didn’t request anything, call the front desk to verify why the person is at your door.  In most cases, it’s entirely benign, but always, always check.
11. During room service delivery, keep the room door ajar.  If there’s a flip latch, you can flip it over so the door doesn’t close.  If there isn’t, try to engage the deadbolt so that it sticks out and won’t allow the door to shut all the way.
12. Know where the fire exits are located, and the evacuation route from your room.
13. Keep your key in the same place.  ALL the time!  Best bet is on the nightstand next to the bed.  If you wear glasses, keep them in the same place as well.  If you need to evacuate, or leave the room in a hurry, you can reach out, grab what you need, and be out the door, saving precious minutes that would have been spent looking for your items.
14. Leaving the television on has been a debatable deterrent.  It’s become so commonplace, that it may have become relatively benign.  It probably won’t hurt, but it also probably won’t help.  But for heaven’s sake ““ don’t leave the television on so loudly that it disturbs the neighbors.
15. Same debate for the room “occupied” card.  Probably effective during evening hours, but if it’s hanging up during the middle of the day, it’s not likely to be believed.  If you doubt that, just try taking a nap one afternoon, hang the occupied sign out, then wait till housekeeping knocks on the door.  If it’s out during the day, people will assume you’re really gone from the room.

Don’t let fear paralyze you from enjoying a travel experience.  Try a few of these suggestions, and before you know it, they’ll become routine.  I follow most of the suggestions every time I check into a hotel room.  When I deviate from them, it’s for a specific purpose, and with backup plans in mind for my personal security.

It can be a cold, cruel world out there, but you don’t have to let it ruin your trip.