Travel Safety Tips

•   When leaving your hotel room to go out on the town for dinner, work, etc., make sure you do the following before leaving:

1. Always have a card from the hotel with the address and phone number on it. You can often pick up the hotel’s managers card at the front desk.
2. Make sure you write your room number on the back of the card in code. Example: (I like to code mine up a number, for example if I am in room 103, I will write on the back of my card the numbers 214. I make the 1 a 2, the 0 a 1, and the 3 becomes a 4.) When you travel a lot, it is very easy to forget your room number, and you never want to look lost when traveling. Looking lost is equivalent to looking like a victim, which you may become.
3. ALWAYS turn your TV on when you are away from your room. This makes thieves believe someone is occupying your room.
4. Lock your door when you leave and put a, “Do Not Disturb” card out for everyone to see. This will make thieves believe the room is occupied.
5. As you are leaving the room, yell to an imaginary person in the room that you will be right back. (Example, Hey Joe, I will be right back, sit tight!)

• When driving to and from college, high school, and work we can all get exhausted. Often sitting down to drive becomes a time of rest, which can be dangerous. We can keep ourselves from falling asleep at the wheel of our vehicle by wearing a Nap Zapper on our ear. The below device can be found at the following web site: http://www.preventsecurity.com/productdetails.asp?c=25&sub=-1&p=558

•  When out of town, know the way to your hotel.

• Be aware that most hotel thefts are done by the employees at that particular hotel. Therefore, make sure that you advise management immediately about any stolen property. They may already be keeping tabs on a potential employee (thief) and may be extremely helpful in the recovery of your stolen items.

•  Before traveling by air always visit http://www.tsa.gov for lasted travel tips and information. This information could save you a plethora of time during your airport travels.

•  What to do if you are in a foreign country and a crisis hits can be found at the following U.S. Department of State website:   http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/emergencies_1187.html

•  Go to the following website for security risks in other countries you may be traveling to: http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html

•  When you get into an elevator, stand near the floor button panel, with your back against the adjacent wall. So if you feel threatened by anyone on the elevator, you have access to hit all the buttons, stopping the elevator at the closest floor for your immediate departure. In the diagram below, your back should be against the brown wall and put a large suit case, to be used as a barrier, between you and the people entering the elevator.

•  Stay in hotels where there is a guest desk, security desk, or concierge near the entrance of the main lobby. Make sure that all other hotel entrances are room key/card access, for safety purposes. Make sure the hotel has an adequate security camera system.

• Make sure you have a well lit parking lot at the hotel in which you are staying.

• Check out the local news online for the area you are traveling to. This will ensure that you do not fall pray to dangerous activity in the area, which may be prevalent at that particular time.  

• When preparing for overnight travel, make sure to bring additional locking mechanisms for your hotel doors. You can purchase wedges that slide under your door, which will add extra security to your hotel.  You can find wedges like the one listed below at the following web address:

http://www.preventsecurity.com/productdetails.asp?c=-1&s=-1&sub=85&p=513

 Super Door Stop Alarm

Ideal for use in hotels, dorms, and apartments. Alert, warn and stop intruders all in one. Best door alarm ever!

• Make sure the hotel front desk has a valuables safe, so you may lock up your expensive items.