This 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?
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Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
131–140 of 236 posts
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do not order room service, what's the risk there in your opinion? I like the stuff about personal photo next to the bed as well as using the in-house services and tipping. That's smart man!
Sorry, I don't get the personal photo? Is this some kind of Inception thing, if you wake up due to intoxication, or what?
It happens to me that I wake up and do not know where I am (or why). The personal item helps me instantly knowing that I am on familiar ground.
Happens to many people who travel a lot.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#133Who are these tips for? I value my privacy and safety, but for tourists or normal business travelers these seem paranoid.
Writer keeps mentioning 3rd world countries. I am assuming this person is traveling to Syria or some other country with active war going. I can't imagine doing these while saying at a 4 Seasons hotel.
Once I was for work in a middle America country (I do not want to mention). The company that sent me had me strictly forbidden to step out the hotel, if not in a Taxi from the hotel. The company building was 300m away, I could see it from my window. I could have walk in literally 10 minutes there.
The thing is, just too many former employees were kidnapped before.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#134[1,000 lumen flashlight] ...they are incredibly effective at temporarily blinding a would-be attacker, giving you a chance to escape. Is this dude for real?
Absolutely made me remember: "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you."
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#135[1,000 lumen flashlight] ...they are incredibly effective at temporarily blinding a would-be attacker, giving you a chance to escape. Is this dude for real?
Tactical flashlight. They're strong enough to give you second degree burns if you hold it against your flesh. They typically have low, high, and strobe modes for disorienting targets.
Second degree burns, lol. I have a couple of those "tactical" flashlights. They don't put out nearly that much heat.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
> These days their prices are competitive or better than the aggregation sites, and with better terms I travel extensively for work, and this is simply not true. Literally last week, I saved $40 by booking through hoteltonight in Chicago. Once you get close to the date of the stay, prices become squirrely and weird. This is definitely true if you're booking more than two weeks in advance, though.
I just wouldn't bother with "cheaphotels dot com" or some random aggregator for a small discount Besides not wanting another random website having my data, the chance of misbookings is high. Hotwire/Priceline models might actually give cheaper bookings or when you can have a less flexible booking/prepaying for example. The discount models hotels use are fixed, there's no magic in a random website giving you a discoun…
You said it way better than I did!
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#137Not everyone vacations in a war zone all the time.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#138Who are these tips for? I value my privacy and safety, but for tourists or normal business travelers these seem paranoid.
It's just advice for those who are looking to increase their security. If you got a sense that something is "off" or if you're responsible for the safety of a vulnerable companion, many of those tips would at least create peace of mind.
Taking a stroll around the neighborhood, hotel and your floor is always a good idea. It's also really helpful to pick up some fundamentals of the local language.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry, I don't get the personal photo? Is this some kind of Inception thing, if you wake up due to intoxication, or what?
It happens to me that I wake up and do not know where I am (or why). The personal item helps me instantly knowing that I am on familiar ground. Happens to many people who travel a lot.
I won't say it happens to me regularly. But when I've been on some customer event road show with one or two nights in each city, I have definitely woken up and taken a minute to remember what city I'm in.
Re: Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer
#140Imagine living this miserable a life.