Why do women go to extreme lengths to secure hotel rooms?

Fitzpatrick believes some social media hotel safety tips are especially helpful for lower-end accommodations. “For example, placing a chair in front of the door can provide some peace of mind,” she says.

Like most creators, he advocates covering door keyholes, using a hotel safe (as long as it’s bolted and not removable), and possibly bringing a portable door lock or door stop alarm for an added layer of protection. organizations. However, according to Fitzpatrick, hotel staff also need to take steps to make guests feel safe.

“If you feel unsafe, inform the hotel reception and do not hesitate to request a room change or ask to be moved to a different floor. Hotel security should also be told as they are trained to resolve this situation if other guests make you feel unsafe. “If the hotel doesn’t have security and you’re worried, always call the police,” he says.

personnel problems

Hotel staff should always ask for identification and never reveal room numbers at check-in or breakfast, according to Carolyn Pearson, CEO and founder of travel safety training and consulting provider Maiden Voyage. However, this is not always the case. There is no universal, formal vetting process for hotel staff (they are rarely subject to DBS checks in the UK) and they can sometimes even be responsible for problems such as nuisance phone calls or theft from rooms.

Pearson highlights the room show as a potential concern. “I always recommend that hotel staff hold the door open when showing guests around the room, but if the guest has a door wedge they can do this themselves as there have been cases of inappropriate behavior during the room check-in process.”

Like McIntyre, he recommends checking for unwanted intruders when first entering a room and making sure the locks work. He also avoids connecting rooms and writing his name and room number in guestbooks at the gym or swimming pool.

caught on camera

When it comes to hidden cameras, they are usually There’s a bigger problem with Airbnbs According to Kody Kinzie, a field security researcher at Varonis and host of the YouTube channel SecurityFWD, while security cameras are now banned from the company’s listings, there’s much more to it than just hotels. He admits that he usually does not control the cameras himself, although there are exceptions.

“Any plugged-in device pointed at a sensitive area receives extra scrutiny. If there’s an alarm clock, lamp, wall outlet or other electrical object pointed at the shower or bedroom, I want to look immediately for any signs of a lens,” he says.

“But as a hacker, I pay more attention to the Wi-Fi environment, and this is where I’ve found unwanted IoT (Internet of Things) devices before. By scanning the guest network and detecting suspicious IoT devices around me, I am more likely to discover Wi-Fi connected cameras.”

But while some security measures make sense, experts point to a problem with regimes like those in the most extreme online videos. The more precautions you take to secure a room, the harder it will be to get out.

“Even with a door jammer or door wedge, if someone has a heart attack, then people can’t get in that easily; it’s going to take some brute force and pushing for those things to finally collapse,” says Pearson. “So you need to weigh that in any secondary device you use, including hotel locking. If you are in an area with an earthquake or wildfire, or if you have a medical condition, you need to weigh whether there is anything that makes you uneasy about your personal safety, such as strange behavior from a staff member. or people wandering around the reception watching the guests. Weigh what the best course of action is, what your risk is, and what you will do to reduce it.