Before your trip

Copy all credit cards, airline tickets, passports and important documents, front and back.

Jewellery and luggage and all valuables should be photographed prior to trip.

What to look for in a safe hotel:

• If possible, select a hotel with has installed modern electronic guest room locks. The majority of these locks automatically change the lock combination with every new guest so there is little chance of someone having a duplicate key to your room. If you lose or misplace your key, ask to have your room re-keyed immediately.

• Is each room equipped with a dead bolt lock and a peep hole?

• Fire sprinklers in hotel rooms, hallways, and meeting rooms likewise for smoke detectors. If each room is not equipped with a smoke detector, are sprinklers systems installed in the hallways or is your only hope the local fire department.

• Each room telephone should allow outside dialling.

• Guest phones located in hallways and lobbies should not allow direct room dialling. Anyone using the phone should have to call the operator and request a room by guest name, not room number.

• Secure locks on windows and adjoining doors.

• Well-lit interior hallways, parking structures and grounds.

• Hotels that have limited access to hotel structure, generally the more limited the access; the less likely a trespasser will enter.

• The parking garage should not have elevators taking passengers to guest floors. It should only go to the lobby.

• Does hotel provide personnel trained in guest security and available for escorts to rooms and auto when requested?

• Is the hotel located in a high crime rate area, especially when travelling overseas? Check with the Embassy's Resident Security Officer in that country and they can alert you of areas to stay away from.

Upon arrival

• Stay with your luggage – if you walk into the lobby ahead of your luggage, it could be snatched. Keep your luggage nearby too, because if the lobby is busy, enterprising thieves can take advantage of the distraction.

• Ask for a room that’s not on the ground floor (it’s too easy to break in). Many safety experts recommend staying between the third and sixth floors – where rooms are high enough to avoid easy break-ins, but low enough to be reached by fire engine ladders.

During check-in

• Most reputable hotels with honest staff know not to give out names or room numbers, but it’s still known to happen. If your room number is compromised (i.e., announced out loud), ask to be given another room. You never know who is listening and your room number is a matter of personal security.

• Don’t set your credit card on the check-in counter – it’s too easy for a thief to capture the numbers with a good camera. And when it’s handed back to you, be sure it’s your credit card and not someone else’s or a bogus card.

• Ask for two business cards with the hotel name and address. Place one by the phone in your room. If there is an emergency, and you call for help, you’ll have the name and address of your location. Place the other in your pocket or purse. If you have to take a cab or get lost, you can show the driver your location and avoid being taken to the wrong hotel.

Higher Floors are Safer

Upper floors are safer from crime, but worse for fire rescue. Emergency rescue is best below the fifth floor. I compromise by picking a modern fire-safe hotel and always request a room on an upper floor to reduce crime exposure.

Ground floor rooms are more vulnerable to crime problems because of access and ease of escape. In a high-rise building, rooms above the fifth-floor are usually safer from crime than those below because of lesser accessibility and ease of escape. Also, rooms not adjacent to fire stairs are safer from room invaders because they use them for escape. Criminals do not want to be trapped on an upper floor inside a high-rise hotel. By design, high-rise buildings usually have fewer ground level access points and are easier for the hotel staff to monitor who passes through the lobby after hours.

Access Control

Do not open your door to someone who knocks unannounced. Some criminals will pretend to be a bellman, room service, maintenance, or even hotel security to gain admittance to your room. Always call the front desk to confirm their status with the hotel and only open the door if you requested the service. Do not rely on door chains or swing bars to secure the doors while you partially open the door to speak someone. These are unreliable security devices. Teach your children not to open the door of any hotel room without knowing the person on the other side and without your permission.

When you leave your hotel room:

• Leave the television on – it gives the impression someone is in the room. Ask the maid service to keep the TV on or turn on the radio during turn-down service.

• The ‘please make up my room’ sign is also code for ‘I’m not here’. Don’t worry about making your bed or needing clean towels – maid service keeps track of the rooms and what’s been cleaned, so they’ll get to you regardless of whether you have the sign on your door. If you don’t need your room serviced, place the “Do not disturb” sign on your door when you leave. This gives the impression you’re inside.

• If you have valuables and don’t have an in-room safe, ask to use the security vault in the hotel. If you have an in-room safe, use it!

Elevator safety

• Women should be accompanied to hotel room and room should be checked

• Observe all passengers in elevators

• It is wise to board last and select floor buttons last

• If possible position yourself near the elevator control panel and if attacked, push as many floor buttons as possible. Keep your back to the side wall.

• If someone suspicious boards an elevator, exit as soon as possible.