Hotel Safety Tips for Travelers

What to Look for in a Safe Hotel If possible, select a hotel with has installed modern electronic guest room locks. The majority of these locks automatically change the lock combination with every new guest so there is little chance of someone having a duplicate key to your room. If you lose or misplace your key, ask to have your room re-keyed immediately. Is each room equipped with a dead bolt lock and a peephole? Fire sprinklers in hotel rooms, hallways, and meeting rooms likewise for smoke detectors. If each room is not equipped with a smoke detector, are sprinklers systems installed in the hallways or is your only hope the local fire department. Each room telephone should allow outside dialing.

What to Look for in a Safe Hotel Secure locks on windows and adjoining doors. Well-lit interior hallways, parking structures and grounds. Hotels that have limited access to hotel structure, generally the more limited the access; the less likely a trespasser will enter. The parking garage should not have elevators taking passengers to guest floors. It should only go to the lobby. Does hotel provide personnel trained in guest security and available for escorts to rooms and auto when requested?

Room Selection Maximize safety and security. Select a room located between the 4 and 6th floor Avoid rooms above the sixth floor--the maximum height that fire-department ladders can reach. Whenever possible do not accept a hotel on the ground floor that has doors and windows that open to the outside. Guestrooms that are as close to the elevators as possible are safest, but tend to be noisier.

Fire! Each year some 32.6 million fires strike Americans at home, in hotels, or at the workplace. That's one fire virtually every second of the day. Fire is the third largest cause of accidental injury and death in this country. Injuries by fire total two million annually, and one out of every eight accidental deaths is from fire. The U.S. and Canada have the highest rates of death by fire than any other country in the world. But it isn't necessary to die in the event of fire, even if you are thousands of miles from home in a hotel room with no fire sprinkler system. However, you have to take charge of your own safety. And you have to be prepared in the event the worst happens. The very exclamation itself is enough to render the most stout of heart and soul into victims of panic and fear, if not into another fire fatality statistic. The threat of fire may be a remote thought for the seasoned business traveler, who stays in a modern hotel, and who assumes every precaution has been taken to ensure that safety is paramount. But, the fact is, when staying overnight at even the nicest of establishments, you may be at greater risk than you ever imagined. While there are no hard figures, the U.S. Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology finds that as many as 85 percent of U.S. hotels lack fire sprinkler systems.

Plan Ahead Before you hang up your clothes or plop down to relax, familiarize yourself with the locations of the fire exits nearest my room. These are generally shown on a map posted on the back of the room door or in a closet. Use the map to locate the two exits nearest your room. Take your key and head out the door. Try to imagine how you would find your way to the nearest fire exit in the dark while crawling on your hands and knees. Count the doorways between you and the fire exit and note any obstacles that could get in your way.

Plan Ahead When you reach the exit, open the door. A locked door will surely be a death trap if a fire were to occur. If the door is alarmed, first notify the hotel security department of your intention to open the door. Then, without letting the door close behind you, possibly trapping you in the stairwell, take a look inside to get an idea of its configuration and to confirm that the stairwell is free of obstacles that could block your escape. On your way to or from your room, find the nearby fire alarms and fire extinguishers or fire hoses. If there are none visible, call the front desk when you return to your room to ask their location. Then go verify their actual presence.

Plan Ahead Place that all-important flashlight next to your bed. It's much too dangerous to be stumbling around in a dark hotel in the middle of the night if the electricity goes out. Also, if you have to evacuate in the event of a fire, the flashlight will help guide you down a smoke filled hallway. Remember, if there is a fire or other such emergency, you are pretty much on your own to evacuate yourself, especially at night. What you learn in the few minutes it takes you to orient yourself to your room and the surrounding areas could mean the difference between life and death.

Plan Ahead When you return to your room, look out the window to see if it would be possible to jump without breaking your neck. In case I’d you’d have to escape that way, look for obstacles under your window. Verify the operation of the smoke detector in your room. Typically, a small light on the smoke detector indicates its operation. If unsure that it is working, call the front desk for assistance.

If There is a Fire If there is any indication or even a suspicion of a fire, call the hotel operator immediately. Give your name, room number, and a brief description of the situation. Before attempting to leave your room, grab your key. If your family is with you, determine a meeting place outdoors so you will know everyone is safe. Feel the door with the back side of your hand. (if you used your palm, it might burn your hand due to heat transfer and you would have a hard time using it) If the door or knob is warm, do not open it.

If There is a Fire If the door is not warm, drop to your knees and slowly open the door, but be ready to slam it should a cloud of smoke roll in. If the hallway is clear, head for the exit, not the elevator. Close your door behind you. Take your key with you. Do not stand upright, but crawl or keep low to the floor to avoid smoke and odorless carbon monoxide. Stay on the same side of the hall as your exit, counting the number of doors to the exit. When you reach the exit, walk quickly, but cautiously down the stairs, and hold on to the handrail as you go. Smoke will sometimes get into an exit stairwell. If you encounter smoke, do not try to run through it. Turn around and walk up. Proceed to a smoke free corridor and cross the building to an alternate exit.

If There is a Fire If you are unable to leave your room, make every effort to notify someone that you are in your room. If you cannot reach the hotel operator, call the local fire department and identify your exact location. Signal to them by hanging a bed sheet from your window. If there is smoke in your room, open the window. Do not break the glass unless it is absolutely necessary because heavier smoke may begin to enter from outside. Fill the bathtub with water. Wet towels and sheets and stuff them around the door and vent which is allowing smoke to enter the room. If the door and walls are hot, bail water on them with your ice bucket to keep them cool. Place the mattress up against the door and hold it in place with the dresser. Keep it wet.

If There is a Fire Keep everything wet. A wet towel tied around your nose and mouth will help filter out smoke if you fold it into a triangle and put the corner in your mouth. If there is a fire outside of the window, pull down the drapes and move everything that is flammable away from the window. Do not jump from the room if you are higher than one story. A fall from this height can cause serious injury. Rather, continue to protect yourself from the fire and signal from your window for help.