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Crime Doctor

Making Places Safe

Family Travel Security Plan – How to Choose a Safe Hotel and Room?

April 6, 2018 Chris McGoey

Family travel security plan is needed to safeguard young children.

  • You’re sharing public places with potentially violent criminals.
  • Children should not wander the hotel grounds unsupervised.
  • Family travel security plan makes hotel selection safer?
Hotel Room Security image

You Can’t Assume that an Unoccupied Hotel Room is Totally Secure

Family Travel Security: Planning is Complicated

Our family is at the center of our personal universe. Most people would do almost anything for the sake of their families.

That includes protecting them from known dangers and harm while lodging at hotels or motels. This becomes increasingly difficult, at times, because we live in an open society where we share the same public places as violent criminals like at hotels and motels.

Family Travel Security Plan

Whenever your family travels together, think of ways to make them safer from the violent people in the world. The best way to accomplish this is to hold a family meeting to discuss this plan and play what-if using different scenarios.

  • What if we need to stay overnight in a hotel?
  • What steps should we take to make the process safer?
  • What if we want to go to the swimming pool or gym?
  • What precautions can we take to be safer in the parking lot?
  • What if someone approaches to rob us while walking to our car on the street at night? What would we do and how would we react?
  • Where would we go and who would we notify in case of emergency?

Most people have no such family travel security plan and have not met to discuss what if situations.

  • When or if a criminal assault does occur, will your family be prepared?
  • Without a plan or training, they’ll have to rely on gut instinct in response to the incident.
  • What if their response instincts are wrong or their reactions inappropriate?
  • How can a child walk in an unfamiliar place not get tricked into a car and kidnapped?

Family Travel Security – Hotels and Motels

When traveling on business or pleasure with your family, it may become necessary to stay overnight in a hotel or motel. Your hotel room becomes your home for the night and is your sanctuary while you sleep.

It is important to give some thought to what hotel or motel you select and what room you are willing to accept. The cost of the hotel room is not always a good predictor of how safe the room or property will be.

There are a few rules of thumb that should apply to any hotel room you rent.

Family Travel Security – Room Location

  • Always request a room on an upper floor, if possible.
  • 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 than those below, again because of accessibility and ease of escape.
  • Criminals do not want to be trapped on an upper floor inside a high-rise hotel.
  • High-rise buildings usually have limited ground level access points and are easier for the hotel staff to monitor who passes through the lobby after hours.

Family Travel Security – Room Security Features

  • Hotel or motel rooms should be equipped with solid wood or a metal door for the best protection.
  • Room doors should have a deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt.
  • If the lock looks worn or there are pry marks around the lock area, get another room or move to another hotel.
  • The knob lock should be a hotel-style where you can push a button or turn a lever on the inside to block out all keys.
  • This feature is designed to prevent a former guest or housekeeper from entering the room once you are inside.
  • Hotels with electronic card-access have the advantage of being able to disable former key-cards issued to other guests.
  • The room door should have a wide-angle peephole so you can view who is at the door before opening.
  • Do not rely on door chains or swing bars to secure the doors when you peek out to speak someone.
  • Teach your children not to open the door to any hotel room without knowing the person on the other side.
  • Make sure all windows and sliding doors are secured if they are accessible from the ground.
  • It is a good idea to pull on all windows and glass doors to test if they are secure.
  • Beware of balconies where someone can climb from one to another and enter through an open window or sliding door.
  • If the windows or sliding doors are not securable, ask for another room or find another hotel.

Family Travel Security – Supervise Children

Children should not be allowed to wander the hotel grounds unsupervised. Everyone at a hotel is a stranger and it is difficult to discern who is a registered guest or who has criminal intentions.

Do not leave a child at the pool or gym unsupervised. These are prime targets for predators.

If you are a woman traveling alone or with small children, take advantage of car valet service, if available to avoid the parking lot.

  • After checking in at the desk, ask the bellman or desk clerk to escort you to your room.
  • After unlocking the room, quickly inspect the closets, under the bed, and bathroom including behind the shower curtain before the bellman leaves.
  • When you find a suitable hotel that meets your standards and will cater to your needs, try to stick with it or with the same hotel chain.

Family Travel Security Planning Tips

  • Always request a room on an upper floor, if possible
  • A solid core or steel door with a good deadbolt lock is best
  • Electronic card-access locks minimize key control questions
  • Make sure your door has a peephole and night-latch and use it
  • Use your do not disturb sign whenever you are in the room
  • Inspect the room hiding places upon entering and check all locks
  • Supervise children at all times especially at the pool or gym
  • Ask the bellman for an escort and use valet parking, if alone

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Tagged With: hotel security, security plan

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About Chris McGoey

My biography spans 53 years of studying, evaluating, and developing security plans worldwide. I'm a habitual skeptic, a chronic people watcher, a golf fanatic, and a relentless traveler.
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Podcast Reviews

  • Great information and insight
    June 13, 2018 by djpoland from United States

    I have been listening to this podcast now for several months. It is one of the best sources of information concerning crime, security, and ways of making your home and business safe. Keep up the good work. Thank you for all you do to help so many people. DJ in Scottsburg, IN

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    This is a very valuable service and I appreciate this high level of expertise to keep me knowledgeable, safe and sound. Everyone should subscribe and stay well-informed. Thanks Chris!

  • 10 reasons why burglars might choose your home
    July 28, 2017 by binwoodside from United States

    I am not one of those people who believes there is a bad guy behind every bush but Chris offers good advice that can be very useful to all of us. His tips can prevent us experiencing a home robbery due to our own carelessness. It amazes me that people use social media to advertise their absence from their homes. There are plenty of other points of carelessness Chris describes that also advertises to burglars. His voice is easy to understand and listen.

  • Educational eye-opening strategies for crime prevention
    October 22, 2015 by taylor826 from United States

    He pretty much covers the gamut of high-risk scenario from personal safety to commercial property security. He provides insights to how criminals could perceive potential victims as vulnerable. I don't own commercial property or a business, but the security best practices he outlines which mitigate potential crimes in multiple industries, also increases my awareness to avoid such businesses/locations that don't implement those policies. You don't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  • Excellent content
    July 1, 2015 by Ken Burgin from Australia

    Chris has been the ‘crime doctor’ for many businesses over the years - not much he hasn’t seen and fixed! Great to have his expertise coming to us directly through his podcast interviews. Highly recommended!

  • Crime School Radio is a Winner!
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    As a security expert, Chris McGoey was and continues to be a trailblazer. First, his informative website and book. Now this convenient, cutting-edge and educational podcast. Chris has an uncanny knack for knowing just what the world needs. With this show, he delivers vital information on safety and security in plain language that everyone can benefit from.

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    Chris is an industry expert with real world experience. It is also refreshing to hear a security podcast with crystal clear audio and presented in a professional way.

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    I have seen Chris McGoey several times as a security expert on TV so I was curious to hear his Crime School podcast. As expected the podcast provides valuable information for keeping us safe and useful ideas for everyday life. I plan to listen to every episode. Keep 'em coming Chris.

  • Home Security Safe Room
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    Outstanding! Very thorough. I would like to see police departments link to this audio as part of their crime prevention education of their citizens.

  • Great show about crime and loss prevention
    May 12, 2015 by CrimeRx from United States

    A great resource for new and veteran crime prevention practitioners. I have subscribed so I won't miss and episode.

Chris E. McGoey CPP, CSP, ICPS, CAM
McGoey Security Consulting
Jonesborough, Tennessee
951-461-8950
Chris@CrimeDoctor.com

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