Tizzette

I think "paranoid" is quite an exaggeration. People have reasons based on age, size, gender, level of experience and where they travel and stay. A 100 pound woman might be braver than a 225 pound linebacker but she still has to think differently and be smart about her surroundings to avoid being an easy target.

darthbimmer

With so many people here mentioning paranoia it seems like we should start compiling a list of safety tips for people who ARE paranoid. I'll start:

1) Whatever room the clerk assigns you at check-in, insist on a different one. People targeting you may have already made plans to ambush you in your originally assigned room.

2) Each time you enter your room check it carefully to ensure no intruder is hiding inside. This means look in all closets, in the bathroom, on the balcony, under the bed, behind the sofa, and inside all drawers.

3) Thieves and attackers are known to disguise themselves as hotel employees, guests, and police. Do not trust anyone who looks like them.

4) Room service is a frequent sham criminals use to gain entry to your room. Even if you've ordered room service, spray mace on the person who delivers your food. This will render the person unable to attack you. Take your food once you're sure it's safe.

5) The best way to avoid assault in hotel corridors and elevators late at night is to appear tough and imposing. If you're not at least 6'3" (190 cm) and 245 lbs (110 kg) stay in your room all night.

6) Don't sleep. The time it takes to wake up may make the difference between escaping a fire or an attack, or succumbing to it.

CKA1

First off I have no intention of offending anybody. Let me just say, when traveling on business, I stay at the cheapest practical option if I'm in a small town. This tends to be the same hotel that many young men who work in the oil patch might stay at.

I wasn't trying to say that they would steal from me. I was trying to say that they (and I have stayed in plenty of hotels where there are rig crews) tend to drink and it wasn't a rare occurrence for them to be somewhat rowdy. As with any hotel, I am more concerned about my personal safety than my wallet or sample case.

I am sure the people you work with are 100% well behaved and 100% honest. I simply take precautions to keep people from entering my room mistakenly, or getting pestered by people who may have been drinking for a few hours and want to party.

I've traveled plenty of places all over Alberta. More than once, I've been warned by the front desk that there were rig crews in the bar and that I should simply be careful. Lock your door, even if you're just stepping out for a minute.

You are right, accountants and engineers and rig hands tend to be pretty honest. But I've never gone to a motel and been warned, "There is an accounting company in the bar, they tend to get pretty loud".

If you say your company people tend to be 100% well behaved, I believe you. But I can say, when I was 19 and traveling on business, I was known to have a few drinks, and I doubt a rig crew is any different. You get a bunch of 19 year olds and they're bound to party.

As for leaving a chair at the door? I've been in rooms and had people decide that my room must logically be their room. I have had people bang on my door at 3AM and I doubt they wanted to get together for a prayer meeting. This is rare but, smaller hotels, don't always have proper locks. This has happened 3-4 times to me in the past couple of years. I'm not talking about a Super 8. I'm talking about "Jimbo John's Budget Motel". Therefore, a chair against the door is a reasonable precaution.

It doesn't have to be rig crews. Could be any group of young men with money to spend.

No, they aren't going to steal anything. But I do care about my personal safety.

cblaisd

7. After checking in, turn around and leave the hotel and go home.

Indeed.

But it's made for an amusing thread....

WHBM

Ah. Now I can claim a part in this one.

Went to a pleasant hotel over in the west of Ireland. With a colleague we were working on the following day's presentation in their large and quiet lounge, still in our business suits. Manager came past "Now, gentlemen, there is a group of farmers meeting up here later, they normally come in here". We said that, of course, that was no problem.

Nobody did come in, although several faces peered in through the window.

End of the evening, the manager came back. "Well, gentlemen, you weren't disturbed after all. You see, I told the farmers you were a couple of, ah, hotshot tax inspectors down from Dublin. Ha ha. Now you know what farmers would be with tax inspectors, don't you ? Ah, they kept very well clear all evening, didn't they. Now, would you care for a drink, gentlemen ?".

MSPeconomist

I carry a small flashlight with me when I travel and place it on the nightstand.

I once put a chair up against the door and would have moved the desk too if it hadn't been too heavy. This was after an assistant manager in a local hotel in Italy used a passkey to enter my room at 3 am when I was asleep; there was no safety chain. [I also once had a room service waiter try to kiss me, but that was in a different local hotel in Italy.]

kshanew

I think I'm missing something on this one. In order for someone to swipe the key from your desk - in the room - wouldn't that mean they were already in the room?

Tizzette

Someone who is legitimately in the room such as housekeeping or room service might pick up the key and give it to an accomplice to come back later.

kshanew

Ahhh...the accomplice is what I was missing..

GUWonder

I have seen housekeeping leave room doors open while being busy elsewhere on the floor or elsewhere. So I mostly just do things that minimize the odds of a quick thief getting anything valuable: minimize the valuables and don't make them that easy to quickly find/swipe. Not that it will stop anything but a crime of fleeting opportunity.

A guy I knew would leave the TV, DND and faucet in the bathroom on with the lights on when out; and the valuables would go in a dark bag under the bed or in between the pillows or under the sheets. He had an incident of some friend or relative breaking his work laptop by sitting on the bed; and he had at least two incidents where he caused water damage below or in the room while out. A paranoid type in need of Prometheus and Epimetheus.

5khours

I avoid stepping on any cracks when walking in a hotel.

MaxBuck

I'm certainly not going to accuse anyone of paranoia. And to the extent any of the ideas in this discussion assists someone in feeling more secure in their lodgings, that's an excellent thing.

With all that being said, I'm fortunate in not having anyone in any hotel I've stayed at in over 50 years (with the one exception of the pilfered earrings) associate themselves with any "accomplices" or other such criminals in burgling me. Nor have I been assaulted, accosted by drunken colleagues, scammed or robbed at any place of lodging.

My response at this point is immense gratitude. Sorry so many of you have felt victimized and/or threatened, and I hope I never have to visit perilous destinations where such precautions are essential. Brian Williams needs to visit this thread.

obscure2k

Do not necessarily assume that because you have worked together it is okay to finish the meeting in your room. Have your meetings in public spaces within the hotel.

coopgirl703

As a female traveling alone, it's all about being proactive and aware. I lock the door, ask for 2 keys, stay in higher floors so it's less likely someone will come in via the window. I complain if the invoice isn't all the way under the door. Why? Because it has my name and in some cases, my address and phone number. And yes, I've used the imaginary friend. Some people are f$@* nuts and if I can try to appear less vulnerable, it makes me (and my spouse at home who worries) feel a little more secure. And I'm sure watching Forensic Files and Dateline a bit much does contribute a bit of paranoia, too ��

writerguyfl

I actually write the direction and number of doors in big letters ("right 3") between my room and the fire escape on a piece of paper and stick it on the door. In the event of an evacuation, I wouldn't need to think or try to remember which hotel I was in on that night.