Travel Safety Tips For Women Travelers

[aaren34]

Hi

CHOOSING A HOTEL

1. Smaller is smarter: you want the staff to be familiar with guests and with you. The smaller the lobby, the more noticeable the loiterers.
2. Aim for a well-trafficked street (neighborhood restaurants and late-night stores mean traffic, corporate offices mean darkness). Affluent residential areas tend to have more reliable transportation and fewer threatening street people.
3. If you're still concerned about the area, ask a female employee--not one in reservations--whether she walks around at night. (Call the restaurant, for instance.)
4. A reception and concierge desk near the entrance, and/or the elevators, is more likely to deter non-guest undesirables.
5. There should be privacy for guests checking in: no one should be able to overhear a name, room number, or other personal information.
6.Room numbers should be written on the key envelope, not mentioned aloud or inscribed on the key--this way, anyone finding your key won't have access to your room.
7. Look for a parking lot that is well lit and secure. Find out if there's valet parking . . . and if it will be available when you need it. Use it, even it costs a little bit more.
8. Does the hotel gym have an attendant? Being alone and semi-dressed in the basement is not good for your health.
9. The hotel should have sufficient staff to walk you to your room late at night. Inquire when you book and you'll get an idea of how woman-friendly the hotel is.

Keep sharing and reading

Thanks

[benii]

As long as the hostel staff are not the ones you should be worried about....

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by aaren34

Hi

CHOOSING A HOTEL

1. Smaller is smarter: you want the staff to be familiar with guests and with you. The smaller the lobby, the more noticeable the loiterers.
2. Aim for a well-trafficked street (neighborhood restaurants and late-night stores mean traffic, corporate offices mean darkness). Affluent residential areas tend to have more reliable transportation and fewer threatening street people.
3. If you're still concerned about the area, ask a female employee--not one in reservations--whether she walks around at night. (Call the restaurant, for instance.)
4. A reception and concierge desk near the entrance, and/or the elevators, is more likely to deter non-guest undesirables.
5. There should be privacy for guests checking in: no one should be able to overhear a name, room number, or other personal information.
6.Room numbers should be written on the key envelope, not mentioned aloud or inscribed on the key--this way, anyone finding your key won't have access to your room.
7. Look for a parking lot that is well lit and secure. Find out if there's valet parking . . . and if it will be available when you need it. Use it, even it costs a little bit more.
8. Does the hotel gym have an attendant? Being alone and semi-dressed in the basement is not good for your health.
9. The hotel should have sufficient staff to walk you to your room late at night. Inquire when you book and you'll get an idea of how woman-friendly the hotel is.

Keep sharing and reading

Thanks

For women who go on tours overseas tell the hotel desk clerk who you are going with and when you should be expected back. Some women use a cell phone camera to photograph the guide and vehicle and send the photo to their friends or pretend to do that! Also keep your friends or relatives up to date by email on where you are going and with whom. Just another small piece of protection you can consider.

Some of the cheap hotel rooms I stay in overseas still use room keys, often with large, clunky room number tags on them. When I am in my room I jam the key in the crack over the door and if someone opens the door the key falls to the floor making a racket. This way I don't leave the room and forget to take the key with me too! I know some people who take an empty coke can and put a few coins or pebbles in it for a crude alarm. You balance the can on the door knob or lever and if someone turns the knob the can falls and alerts you.

Good luck.