Planning Hotels
Kylie McCreary
There are so many beautiful hotels around the world. Although generally more expensive, with a hotel, there are no cleaning fees (like with Airbnb), no arduous check-in processes, and no hidden cameras. All you have to do upon arrival is kick back and you’re pretty much being looked after. However, before you jump into that luxurious bathrobe and turn on ultimate relaxation mode, there is one thing you should do when you arrive at your hotel: Make sure you are safe.
The first thing safety experts recommend doing at a hotel is considering your escape routes and maintaining the privacy of your stay. As always in a foreign environment, it’s important to remain cautious and alert. While most hotels are safe, you’re still away from home, sleeping and storing your belongings under the same roof as tons of strangers. In addition, if there’s an emergency, the route to getting out of these buildings is a lot more complicated than most homes.
Make sure you know your safety plan
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As soon as you get into your hotel room, it’s highly recommended that you think about how you’d get out of there in the case of an emergency. You’ll want to get a strong sense of your room’s, and floor’s, emergency exit options. In the chaos of a natural disaster or violent attack, you don’t want to be scrambling to figure out how to evacuate — you want to be actively evacuating. If you are equipped with your emergency routes, you can follow the proper plan of action even in a state of panic or physical impairment.
Each hotel has its own specific evacuation plan and emergency exit layout. So, beyond just sussing out your room’s location and the nearest emergency exits, you should ask the front desk what exactly this procedure entails. We know, it’s a bit of a downer to imagine the worst-case scenario right off the bat. But, it’s better to be prepared than caught off guard.
Extra precautions to take when staying at a hotel
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There are a few other things you can do to get a perfect night of sleep in a hotel knowing that you are safe and sound, one of which happens while you’re selecting your room. While the bottom floors are more susceptible to crime, the top floors in a hotel are tougher to escape and harder for emergency assistance to get to, too. If possible, book a room on one of the building’s middle-level floors. Whichever you select, always keep this information private.
To limit the number of strangers who know your room’s location, take your own bags up rather than having an employee do so. In addition, whenever you head to your room, take the elevator alone. This ensures no one can make a note of your floor. In the case that you can’t avoid other elevator passengers, get off on a different floor than your own and take the stairs. With these tips, you can put your mind at ease and do what you’re supposed to do at a hotel: Put your feet up and unwind.
