For anyone traveling abroad, hotel rooms are always a place to exercise caution. This is particularly the case for women travelers. You never know what kind of privacy or hygiene concerns there can be inside a hotel room. So it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Recently, a flight attendant took to TikTok to share the most fundamental steps one should take while staying in a hotel. The US-based attendant repeatedly said that safety always remains her priority, regardless of the country she stays in.
Use a towel in the door safety latch
According to a flight attendant named Cici who posts safety tips on her @ciciinthesky TikTok account, securing your hotel door starts with an item you’ll find in every hotel room: a towel. Grab a small hand towel from your bathroom and put it around the door’s safety latch before closing the latch lock. The towel makes it more challenging for intruders to open the door from the outside using any device.
Pro tip: Keep the towel by your hotel room door so you’ll remember to use it whenever you’re in the room.
Put a rolled-up towel behind the door lever
Clicking the hotel room deadbolt shut should impart a feeling of security. But a thief could still slide a special tool under your door and open a lever-style door handle from the outside.
By taking a bath towel, rolling it up and tightly wedging it behind the lever (in the space between the handle and the door), you render that breaking-and-entering tool useless. The lever won’t budge with the towel in place.
Other Tips For A Hotel Room
This was only one of the precautions. Apparently, the first step she takes is to count how many doors there are between her hotel room and the exit stairwell. She explains that in the case of a fire, and if the area becomes filled with smoke or dark, the knowledge can help her navigate to the exit easily. In addition to this step, she also educated herself regarding the evacuations and security maps that are on display in the corridors. In case of an emergency, these details are what can be most consequential.
The second step she recommends to her viewers is to ensure that the hotel room door is completely shut whenever they exit the room. Cici explains that it is more common for hotel doors to be heaving than usual. As such, they may need a “final push” to make sure it slots into its frame entirely. She also ensures that the peephole is covered. To do so, travelers can use tissues and shove them inside till there’s no way of anyone outside peeping inside.
As a more advanced step, the flight attendant also carries a “personal safety alarm like the Birdie”. This personal safety alarm designed specifically for women makes use of flashing strobe lights and a loud alarm to deter attacks. It is easily available and is quite inexpensive. Cici also advises to be cautious when any housekeeping arrives at the hotel room door, even though you don’t remember asking for anything. In such cases, the recommendation is to immediately contact the reception. Finally, she advises travelers to pick the hotel room in advance, and, if possible, to always choose one with only one adjoining room.
So, let us know if you are trying out these tips the next time you enter your hotel room!
Source: rd.com; secretlifeofmom