Hotel Safety Tips for Female Travelers

07 Mar Hotel Safety Tips for Female Travelers

As a Travel Director, I always feel fortunate when my programs take me to fabulous hotels in great cities.  I love the feel of a beautiful hotel lobby and welcoming front desk.  I never, though, take my safety for granted once I have checked in.  As a woman traveling on my own, I take the necessary precautions for hotel safety.  It starts at the front desk.  I always assure that my room is near an elevator.  Some people may be turned off by this due to the noise.  The noise, generally, doesn’t affect me and I feel it is a good trade-off to know that I will not need to walk down long, narrow hotel corridors at night when returning to my room.  I always have my key out and in my hand when I step off the elevator and into the hall.  I do not want to spend time lingering outside my room fumbling for a key.  Of course, I always enter the room cautiously.  If I ever feel particularly vulnerable I will call my husband on the phone and he stays on with me while I get into the room, and do what we call a “security check”.  I put my things down and check the vulnerable areas – shower, closet, behind curtains, under beds.  If my husband is not available, I call a friend.  I have also requested an escort from the hotel to my room if it is really late or I feel unfamiliar or scared.

On my last program, I worked on a team of ten women.  During one of our planning meetings I asked the group if they had any tips, tricks, or rituals they perform when staying, as a traveling businesswoman, in a hotel.  After all the years on the road, it’s worth asking what others are doing and I always appreciate learning something new.  A big shout out to Travel Director, Carmela, who taught me a great trick.  She told our group that she travels with a rubber door stop.  Once inside her room, she stops the door from the inside.  It’s a $10 investment and seems well worth it.  I’ve since added this to my list of travel safety rituals.

I found the following piece on https://gutsytraveler.com/ by Marybeth Bond.  It includes some great ideas for hotel and travel safety for women.

Keeping Women Business Travelers Safe
by Marybeth Bond
Women now constitute almost 50 percent of all the business travel in the United States, and spend $175 billion on 14 million trips annually. Women also have safety concerns that men don’t. Here’s a collection of safety tips.

• Place the “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door to discourage anyone from entering your room while you are away.
• When staying in hotels, always check the window and door locks.
• Bolt the door to your hotel room and don’t open it for anyone without first checking with the front desk.
• Make sure the sliding door to your hotel room is locked.
• Use your baggage to hold the door to your hotel room while you check the closets. Even better, ask someone from the front desk to accompany you to your room while you check it out.
• If the desk clerk mentions your room number out loud and there are other guests around to overhear, request that you be given a different room and that the clerk not mention the number.
• Keep the curtains in your room closed.
• If it’s very late and you’re alone, go to the front desk and ask security to walk you to your room.
• For peace of mind when traveling alone, choose national hotel chains with interior room entrances. More and more women are also choosing small inns and B&Bs where the proprietors will know where they’ve been for dinner and when to become alarmed if they don’t return by a specific time.
• When arriving at night, rental car agencies and hotels can arrange for someone to accompany you to and from parking lots.
• When alone (particularly at night), walk with the crowd and act as if you’re part of the pack.
• Carry your passport, plane ticket, traveler’s checks and cash in a concealed money belt worn around the waist.
• Look and act confident. Get directions ahead of time and know your destination. If you are unsure of your location, use an app for directions like Google Maps or Wayz.
• Be aware of your surroundings (people, cars, doorways, stairwells, etc.) and have a plan in case you get into a dangerous situation.
• On all flights, count the seats and rows to the nearest emergency exit. If there ever is a need to make an emergency exit, you will know exactly how far you need to crawl (if necessary) to reach the exit.
• Travel with a small, high-powered flashlight in your briefcase when you’re out, and on your bedside table at night for emergencies.
• Use laminated business cards as luggage tags. Anyone checking the address will not know your home address and telephone number.
• Leave your good jewelry at home. Don’t draw attention!
• Be proactive, not reactive.
• Never volunteer the fact that you are traveling alone. Lie if necessary.
• Plan your trip before traveling in a rental car.
• To ward off unwanted male attention, especially in male-dominated foreign countries, carry fake engagement and wedding rings to be used as necessary; make hotel reservations as if married.
• Do not use room service breakfast door hangers because they ask for number of guest(s). You don’t want anyone to know you are alone.

About the Author
Mary Jane is a Senior Project Manager for Meeting Alliance who specialized in food and beverage. She has extensive experience in the restaurant industry and is the point person for all things F&B. Mary Jane is recognized for creative menus, knowledge of current trends, and frequently brings her expertise on the road as a Travel Director, but her true passion is at home – her husband and three sons.