SAFETY TIPS

Many municipalities have fire-fighting ladder equipment that is incapable of reaching the upper floors of high-rise buildings. Most do not have ladder and evacuation equipment that can reach beyond the 10th floor. We’ve all seen news footage of fires where people are trapped on the upper floors and can’t be reached by ladders or ground based equipment. By taking a room on the lower floors you can increase the potential for rescuers to reach you or your family through a window in the event of a fire.

Never Walk Alone

• Whenever possible, avoid traveling to and from your room

• If part of a group, try to time your checking in or trips around others in your party.

• Ask the hotel management for an escort or guide to your room. Larger hotels have full time security personnel who will be happy to walk you to your room.

“Keep it down in there…”

Noise from other guest can ruin a vacation or tomorrow’s business presentation. You have to get your beauty sleep but refrain from pounding on the wall or verbally challenging people in adjoining rooms.

Loud hotel residents who have rented a room, don’t really don’t care about being good neighbors. In addition to this, pounding or challenging loud individuals may single you out as a target for possible retaliation. The hotel has a responsibility to handle matters such as loud music or parties.

Call the desk and ask them to address the problem and explain that you prefer to remain anonymous.

In many in hotels, a manager’s compensation and bonus is tied to customer satisfactions. In some hotel chains, a small number of written complaint letters received by the corporate office can result in the manager losing their bonus (in large hotels this may amount to thousands of dollars). Given the opportunity, most hotels will quickly handle the problem.

Don’t Drink to Excess

Remember, by being away from home you give up any home court advantage over a potential attacker. Criminals frequently target intoxicated individuals and rob them. Criminals figure that an intoxicated hotel guest:

• May be unable to put up an effective defense due to the effects of alcohol.

• Will probably relate a poor physical description of their attacker

• Is from out of town and unlikely to cooperate with a lengthy local police investigation especially of it requires returning for a court appearance.

Don’t Flash That Cash!
While it may impress the ladies (or the men), displays of cash or expensive jewelry while on the road also attracts the attention of criminals who are seeking profitable targets. Remember, the young lady sitting next to you may have a boyfriend who works the night shift…in dark alleys!

Think First
Try to research your accommodations. Several sources such as http://www.bestwestern.com  give ratings to hotels and motels based upon the experiences and complaints of past customers. By blindly selecting a spot to lay down your troubles, you increase the chance of picking up a few new ones.
 

SAFE TRAVEL LINKS

 Travel Assist Magazine
http://travelassist.com/mag/a131.html 

Woman Motorist
http://www.womanmotorist.com/index.shtml