10 Ways to Stay Safe in your Hotel Room
It's always important to stay safe as a solo female traveler but now more than ever with the prevalence of hidden cameras and clever predators. Use these 10 tips to stay safe in your hotel room.
1. Leave the door open for a room check
Use your suitcase to prop open the door while you check out the room. Check everywhere in the room, i.e under the bed, in the closets, in the bathroom, left right up down. Check all cabinets, closets, and behind curtains and make sure no one is lurking in there or any other suspicious activity.
2. Check the Locks
Make sure the doors and windows are able to lock properly before you get settled in.
3. Stash your valuables
If the hotel doesn't have a safe to hide valuables you can hide things where no one will think to look, i.e. under a desk drawer or inside of an ironing board.
4. Choose your room wisely
Don't stay on the ground floor, there is too much easy access to anyone who wants to break in. Research the location and neighborhood before booking the hotel.
5. Extra Locks
Investing in a travel lock is a great idea. I personally use this Portable Door Lock and it works fantastic by making it nearly impossible to break into. There are also door stoppers for the bottom of the door that have an alarm using both of these would be great and they are lightweight and easy to travel with!
6. Use the ironing board
Jam the the ironing board in the door handle at night so it cannot be pushed in, adding an additional layer of security.
7. Turn on the TV
Whenever you leave your room, leave the tv on and put the do not disturb sign on the door that way people always thing there is someone inside.
8. Cover the Peephole
Nowadays, Any random person can walk up to your door, hold up a reverse peephole viewer, and look inside your hotel room. Use a piece of paper or even a tissue to cover the peep hole.
9. Check for Hidden Cameras
Check your hotel rooms for hidden cameras. Hidden cameras get smaller and smaller and some common spots for hidden cameras are inside the alarm clocks and inside the outlets.
Pro-tip: Turn off all lights and use your phone camera to check for hidden cameras. If there is a light near any vents or mirrors there could be a hidden camera there. You can also purchase a "hidden camera finder" specifically for this purpose.
10. Online Security
Hotel WIFI is not secure. It is important to always use a VPN or wait until you are in a more secure location to handle sensitive data like banking, etc.
