I put my stuff in the safe not to protect it from outside thieves but to protect it from hotel employees. I don't have any source but I'm sure this represents the vast majority of hotel theft.
Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
121–130 of 236 posts
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#122Kind of cool to read but these are not any tips that a normal (non-paranoid) person will need to follow unless they are traveling to some seriously dangerous locations. Except maybe the tip not to use the hotel safe or leave money under the mattress, those are good. But do normal people really need to write their name down on pieces of paper and pass them across the desk with a wink to avoid their name being said out…
In 2010 I was working at a large hotel / convention center in Nashville, at about 8pm we were preparing for a massive event where a company had bought out one of the venues, the entire hotel was booked solid. In the days prior to this, we had torrential downpours and heavy rain but this was normal, until it wasnt. Out of nowhere we get reports that the underground tunnels in the hotel used for employees to get around…
The more important thing is to have a state of mind where you are willing to recognize the early indicators that a situation is only going to get worse and take action to exit that situation.
Also, if you park a vehicle at the hotel try to avoid spots that would likely be blocked by fire engines.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
In 2010 I was working at a large hotel / convention center in Nashville, at about 8pm we were preparing for a massive event where a company had bought out one of the venues, the entire hotel was booked solid. In the days prior to this, we had torrential downpours and heavy rain but this was normal, until it wasnt. Out of nowhere we get reports that the underground tunnels in the hotel used for employees to get around…
How often does this happen? Once in a life time? This is the kind of stuff that makes you go nutty. Of course you _can_ try to prepare for everything and anything, but does it actually make sense to worry about being in a flash flood like that? I doubt it.
Preparing specifically for a flood would be silly but you can do some common sense preparation that works for any number of potential disasters.
1. Know your egress routes
2. Be aware of your surroundings
3. Be ready to move
4. Have a communication plan
5. Know places to go in emergency (e.g. Consulate or group rally points)
6. If it doesn't feel right, leave.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#124Ok. Haven’t traveled outside of the US in a while, but I agree some of this sounds paranoid.
That said, I believe whole heartedly in this:
“Walk out of the front door with the confidence that you know where you are going.”
If you’re overseas and don’t speak the language, the experience can be disorienting. I had my travel wallet picked out of my pocket in a tourist office.
Places like banks, ATMs and hotels are places where pickpockets and robbers congregate. Take 5-10 minutes and watch these areas in large foreign cities and you may notice suspicious patterns.
I live outside NYC and do the same when I’m in an unfamiliar neighborhood. I avoid being out in these places after 9 pm as well. Just look at the police blotter, and you see most robberies occur late night and early morning.
I don’t take precautions because I’m fearful of going out. I do it because I know better.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have done that in the past. I just reached a point where honestly I felt like the hassle of using a hidden pocket all the time just wasn't worth it. I generally have a nice hard case wheeled suitcase for my luggage, I bike cable that to something immovable and inside I tether the pacsafe to one of the rails where the suitcase handle runs. It's enough peace of mind for me. 99% of casual theft isn't going to try and…
I hadn’t heard of PacSafe before, so — if your suitcase is cabled to the furniture and your PacSafe is in the suitcase, wouldn’t a thief who has already opened your suitcase (probably in-place) just take the PacSafe with them to open later?
The pacsafe itself has a wire that you loop through something immovable before fitting the padlock, thief either has to cut the wire, cut through the bag part (which is wire reinforced) or break the padlock.
Most wheeled luggage has a set of hollow metal bars inside where the retractable towing handle on the top retracts into. They're pretty sturdy, so you loop the pacsafe wire around one or both before locking it and then lock the bag.
Only way to get it out is probably to destroy the luggage or break into the pacsafe itself.
The idea behind it is that the pacsafe itself might be worth preparing for if it's just out in the open tied to something secure. If a thief has no clue it's there and thinks they just have to break the padlock on the luggage itself then it's another layer of defence they're not expecting.
But importantly, it's not really a lot of work from my pov. Again it won't deter a premeditated determined thief with the right tools, but very little will.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#126This isn't hotel-specific but my tip is the following: Assume your smartphone gets lost/broken/stolen or your wallet gets lost/stolen (or a credit card gets flagged for fraud). Do you know where you're actually staying? Do you have a copy of your itinerary more generally? Do you have backup credit cards and IDs?
I'm not super-fanatical about having printed maps etc. in a familiar city but I try to have backup of everything especially traveling internationally.
For example, a few years back, I somehow managed to lose my drivers license between the limo and the terminal door. It was a short trip and I hadn't bothered to bring my backup travel portfolio. Shockingly, TSA (at least at the time) let me get on the flight after some enhanced screening. But I had a heck of a time getting the hotel--which wasn't one of my usual chains--to let me get a room.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#127The funniest and most obnoxious situation is seeing in perfectly safe country self-obsessed Americans, behaving as if they are some secret agents, extraordinary targets, vulnerable treasure, and as they look at everyone with suspicious disgust. Additional tip - wear black suit and Oakley sunglasses, in every circumstances.
What's a "perfectly safe country"?
any EU country, for example?
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
> My biggest worry in hotel rooms these days is how to rig the A/C to stay on while I'm out. Heated blanket on the thermostat? Or do they have timed-shutoffs or door-key based systems that cuts off the electricity when you leave? What do you do then?
Ask for a second key and leave it in the slot?
They get suspicious when I pay for X occupancy but request X+Y keys.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#129I put my stuff in the safe not to protect it from outside thieves but to protect it from hotel employees. I don't have any source but I'm sure this represents the vast majority of hotel theft.
The hotel employees can open the safes, though.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#130This guy neglects to mention wearing a bullet-proof vest when checking into a hotel, which makes me think he hasn't really thought this through. What if someone were to open fire on you while you're checking in to the hotel?