More Tips for staying safe at a hotel

Hotel Room SecurityYour hotel room is your home away from home, so the more you can do to make yourself feel safe and secure, the better your stay will be.

Begin as soon as you enter the room, by immediately conducting a quick "5 point" sweep. Look in the closet, the bathtub, behind the curtains and under the bed to be sure there are no uninvited visitors. You should also check the phone to make sure it works.

Why the phone? If there is an emergency, you'll need to contact the front desk and won't want to waste time by trying to dig your cell phone out from the bottom of your purse.

Be sure you know how to get out of the hotel in case of a fire. Don't trust the map on the back of the door. Instead, the next time you leave your room find the closest exits and count the number of doors from your room to the exit. Remember, you may be trying to find your way to the exit in the dark if a fire occurs.

Finally, secure the door bolts and chains - and then relax.  

As always, if you find that anything about the room The Woman Road Warriordoesn't meet your standards or you're the least bit uncomfortable, tell the front desk to move you to a different room. You are paying for the room, and the last thing you want is to compromise a good night's sleep because you don't feel safe and secure but didn't speak up.

More on hotel security and safety next week with Kathleen Ameche, Woman Road Warrior.

Have a security question for Kathleen? Post your questions here and she'll answer them in a future post.