Tourists should avoid booking hotel rooms higher than the fourth floor and avoid the first floor, a safety warning has been issued by ex-military and now travel risk expert Lloyd Figgins.
According to the expert, it is not worth climbing higher in the hotel in search of a better view. The best choice for travelers is the third floor. There are two reasons for this. In an interview with Sun Online Travel, he said that the biggest thing that is not taken into account is the risk of fire.
When you arrive at the hotel, you are in an unfamiliar environment that you think is safe. The problem is if the fire alarm went off, what would you do next? Do we know where the fire exit is? How are we going to get to it and will it lead you to safety? Is it locked or locked?” – asked the logic of Figgins’ reasoning.
On vacation, tourists should not forget about safety, he said: “Always take the fire escape route, counting the number of doors between your room and the fire escape. Make sure you stay between the second and fourth floors of the hotel, as fire escapes rarely go higher than the fourth floor. And the lower floors usually become a target for robbers.”
To be extra vigilant against burglary, the author of a travel survival guide notes that travelers should never say their room number out loud while in a hotel. Moreover, when checking in at the front desk, they should ask the hotel staff to write down the room number, rather than saying it out loud, like at a bank teller with cash withdrawal/deposit.
Hotels attract criminals because there are many people with valuables or property either in their rooms or on them. Reception and lobbies are where they can impersonate hotel guests. This is how they look for tourists who check into the hotel alone – so they can clearly hear which room is allocated to them and be sure that if the tourist has left, then there is no one in the room. For example, the administrator can say: Your number is 301. Then, when fraudsters see a tourist in a bar or restaurant, they know that the room is free and are unlikely to bother them if they enter the room,” the interlocutor explained. At the same time, he added that it is not uncommon for thieves to convince cleaners to open the right door for them by trickery.
Other safety tips are also cautious. Yes, anyone concerned about not being the object of a burglary while in their room should purchase a door wedge before traveling. “Even if you’re in your hotel room and criminals have a lock, a door wedge installed under the door will stop them,” the expert warned.
Continuing the security theme, an employee of one of the hotels also explained why you should never carry the hotel room key card that is given to tourists upon check-in. The reason is clear: after losing it, things and valuables in the room can be taken by thieves who will use this card or resort to special equipment to open the door.
Previously, DIP wrote that “European cities where hotel prices rose the most were named.”