Hotel Safety When You Travel

5 min readJul 26, 2021

Updated 8/5/2024

When you travel, whether for business or vacation, you’ll most likely spend time in hotels. Here are some tips to help keep you safer while staying in hotel rooms.

Get a hotel in a safe area, even if it’s further away than you want to be from an event or attraction.

Ask for a room above ground level. It won’t ensure that your room won’t get broken into, but thieves and thugs look for the easiest way in and out. So they tend to concentrate on ground level floors.

Travis Pike, in his article, Self Defense on Vacation: How to Stay Safe While Traveling,” advises getting a room on the third floor. He writes:

“The third floor can be accessed by fire ladders, isn’t too far to take the stairs, and typically offers two floors worth of buffering from events that start on the ground floor. If possible, chose a room closer to the stairs than the elevator”

Check the security at the front desk. Make sure someone can’t get a key to your room just by asking.

Keep your personal information safe

When you register for your room, don’t say any personal information (phone number, address, car model/license number, etc.) out loud if the hotel clerk asks for it. It’s easy for nearby strangers to get your information and use it to trick you into opening your hotel room door (“Do you own a 2020 F150 truck? It’s being towed.”) or even steal your identity. Write the info down for the clerk and then destroy the paper afterword.

Also, don’t accept a key from a reception clerk who states your room number loudly and/or writes your room number on the key card (the envelope that some key cards come in is OK, but not on the card itself). Again, you don’t want nearby strangers knowing which room you’re in. And, if you loose your key card, you don’t want your room number written on it!

If you are a woman traveling alone, ask the clerk for two room keys. Some hotel employees will accept payment from criminals to notify them of single women staying in the hotel.

Asking for two keys gives the impression that you will have someone staying with you. It could save you from being targeted.

If the hotel has elevators, consider these tips

When waiting for the elevator, don’t stand too close to the doors. Someone could push you in and trap you inside. Also, someone already in the elevator could pull you in. Be aware.
Observe the elevator interior before entering. Wait for the next elevator if you are uncertain of any occupant.
If a suspicious person enters the elevator after you, exit before the door closes. (If you feel weird just walking out, you can always mumble that you forgot your briefcase, or sunblock, or whatever.)
When it comes to where to stand while on the elevator, there are two schools of thought. Some people say to stand near the buttons so you can push them if there is trouble. Others say that if you stand near the buttons, you’ve not only put yourself in a corner, but anyone can get close to you, pretend to be pushing a button, and then attack you.
Before exiting from the elevator, observe the corridor for suspicious activity.
If you are attacked and have the opportunity, press ALL buttons. But don’t stop defending yourself from the attack to do so. Keep fighting for your life.
Do NOT press the emergency button. That makes the elevator STOP and now you’re stuck.

Keep your room door locked at all times

When you get to your room, check the locks on all doors and windows to make sure they work. If any do not, ask the front desk to get them fixed or move you to a new room.

Most hotel rooms have deadbolt locks on the door, but double check just in case. And keep the deadbolt locked whenever you’re in the room. Bring along your own door stop alarm that can keep your door secure even if the intruder has a key.

Never leave your hotel room door propped open for any reason even if you’ll only be gone for a few seconds. You could come back to find missing valuables or worse, a predator waiting to hurt you.

If your room has a connecting door to another room, make sure it is locked. Consider putting a wedge door stop/alarm under the door too. Just in case.

Before you go to bed, make sure the door is locked properly and all windows and balcony doors are closed and locked.

Safe in Your Room

If someone knocks on your hotel room door, use the peephole to see who it is. If it’s someone you don’t recognize, do not open the door. Ask who they are. If they say they are delivering something (especially if you didn’t order it), or they need to fix something in your room, or they’re from housekeeping, or any other excuse, call the front desk to verify that the person is a hotel employee and is supposed to be there.

If you get a call saying that there’s a problem with your credit card and they need to verify the info, tell them you’ll call right back. Hang up and call the front desk to verify it was them (to make sure it isn’t someone trying to get your information).

Likewise, if you get a call asking you to come to the front desk for any reason, hang up and call the front desk to verify it was them (to make sure it isn’t someone trying to lure you out of your room).

This is a picture of a peephole reverser. It allows someone to look into your room through the peephole. They are inexpensive and easy to purchase. You might want to keep the peephole covered when you aren’t using it.

I’m not trying to sound paranoid here or cause you to be paranoid. But predators have used the above situations to rob and/or hurt people.

Leaving Your Room for the Day

Make sure any valuables are locked up or hidden.

Ask the front desk for a business card or ask them to write down the name, address and phone number of the hotel. If you get lost and/or want to take a taxi but you can’t communicate with the driver (i.e. in a foreign country), you can use the information to get you back to the hotel.

Always use the main entrance to the hotel when returning after dark. Many hotels have alternative entrances, however, these may not be monitored as the front entrance will be.