Considering the present realities of our time, one should be mindful of health, safety and security, which should be top among the conditions for choosing hotels to stay in this Easter holiday.
While the world seems to be winning the war against the coronavirus pandemic, with countries now removing some safety measures that prior existed and kept people back from travelling, there is still need for caution as new waves and variants (though less harmful) keep emerging since the outbreak till date.
The development calls for serious concern and demands that guests should be very conscious of their health and safety while staying in hotels.
As expected, hotels now assure of safety measures to woo guests, however, guests should confirm, insist on immediate upgrade of such measures when lacking or look for other hotels where safety of the guests is paramount.
But even when health and safety are guaranteed, hotel safety experts advise that guests should reduce contact with hotel staff and other guests.
According to them, guests can order room service instead of visiting the restaurant; use a bathtub instead of a swimming pool, use mini bars in their rooms and can lounge in open spaces with less crowd.
To ensure contactless service while in the hotel, guests are advised to always put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door handle to scare hotel staff from visiting their rooms unnecessarily.
“Bedding and toiletries can always be changed and restocked at your convenience or take all you need while checking in to avoid later contact”, they advised.
They also advised that guests should insist on online or contactless check-in and check-out from their electronic devices to avoid unnecessary contact with hotel staff.
Apart from health, guests are also advised to be safety conscious as criminals often disguise themselves as hotel staff or can also be found among hotel staff.
Access to your hotel room by strangers, and protection of your belongings, are the basic issues of hotel security. This is where the question of electronic door locks and key control comes into play. It is a virtual certainty that people unknown to you such as the cleaning staff will enter your room when you are not present, and the door will be left open for a period of time each day. Hence, your safety matters.
Despite elaborate security procedures in place to control who is issued a key by some well-managed hotels, as a guest, you should make sure they are working and take further precaution.
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Some hotels can monitor when and with which key a room is entered, and there are usually regulations about staff room cleaning procedures to thwart intruders. Out of the way hotels in foreign countries, and hotels in less developed countries, often do not have secure door locks. In some cases, the hotel staff may actually target you and your belongings. Your level of security awareness and the precautions you take must be adjusted for each city and area you visit, but there are standard minimal precautions that apply almost anywhere. Here are some tips to protect yourself and your belongings in your hotel room when you travel:
Do not leave valuables in your room when you are absent. Use the hotel safe, and get a receipt for what you leave there. Professional thieves and hotel staff are usually aware of every possible hiding place for valuables. Some hotels provide a safe in each guestroom for storing valuables. Be aware that there could be an insurance liability coverage issue if you use a guest room safe rather than using the main hotel safe (your credit card loss/theft policy may not apply if you use the room safe). When you are in your room, lock the door, use the chain lock, and use your door peephole to identify people who knock at your door. In countries where there may be no chain lock and no peephole, you should carry a good quality traveler’s door lock, a doorstop alarm that wedges against the base of the door, or a motion detector. Do not open the door for unexpected visitors. Call the front desk to verify that someone claiming to be making a service call is from the hotel. Where a language barrier may complicate such a call, you should definitely carry your own interior door lock so that even someone with a key may be barred from entering when you are in the room. Some hotels and motels that do not have their own dining facilities allow food to be delivered to your room from outside the hotel. It is best to have such deliveries made to the lobby. Delivery to your room allows an outsider to meet you, know your room number and determine whether you are alone. It is especially perilous for women traveling alone to have such details known by an outsider. Also, be careful about the leftovers you leave on a tray outside your door. A single drinking cup with lipstick marks and/or remnants of a single meal can alert passersby to the fact that you are alone in the room and can help them to determine your level of vulnerability.
When you are sleeping, make sure that your deadbolt lock and chain locks are in place and that no window or sliding door will provide access by an intruder. When you are not in your room, you may want passersby to believe that it is occupied. If possible, find out the hours for maid service, so that you may place the ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign on your door and leave the TV or radio on at an audible level. Most security specialists advise you to keep your room key with you at all times in and out of the hotel so that no one (including hotel staff) can see by checking the front desk that you are not in your room. If you decide to use a hotel fitness room or pool, it is a good idea to leave your key at the front desk rather than with your belongings.
At some foreign destinations, hotels require you to turn your room key in as you go out. In some countries, a concierge at the end of each floor of the hotel is responsible for holding and dispensing room keys as guests come and go.
With a few simple precautions, you can improve your personal security and protect your belongings even if there may be criminals lurking about your hotel, as well as, stay safe from coronavirus while on trip.
It is also advisable to get your vaccinations, but also bear in mind that being vaccinated does not give a guest the right to be careless as new variants of the Covid-19 keep emerging and questioning the efficacy of the vaccines.
Happy Easter in advance!
