I just took my first work trip after having my second baby, and boy was I unprepared!
Before kids, I would travel about one week per month for work, so I thought I would get right back to it. I never thought for a second about my safety in hotels…I would basically live there for a whole week without a care in the world. Maybe the world was a different place just a few short years ago? Or maybe I was just naïve. Either way, I have way more to live for now and I was caught brutally unprepared.
The night I checked in, instead of winding down with a nice hot shower and TV, I spent quite a bit of time scrolling through Tik Toks trying to find DIY hotel safety hacks to secure my hotel room door (see what I ended up with above).
Nowadays it seems more like the norm rather than the exception to hear of very scary incidents happening to women traveling alone. That night, I overnighted several compact, travel-friendly safety tools to my hotel off of Amazon that I wish I had sooner!
See below for what I ordered to keep my hotel room safe and secure and my best hotel safety tips for women:
She’s Birdie – Personal Safety Alarm
What I love most about the She’s Birdie safety alarm is that it is not an eyesore. It is super modern and sleek, small enough to fit onto a keychain, and it is allowed to take onto airplanes. It is super simple to use too – if you ever feel uneasy, simply pull to activate the siren and strobe light, drawing all attention onto you and your possible attacker. I plan to have this with me everywhere I go, but especially when I am entering my hotel room for the first time.
My new hotel safety routine is to prop the door open with my luggage and do a quick inspection of the room while holding the Birdie – check behind curtains, open all doors such as closets, ensure adjoining room deadbolts are secured, look behind the shower curtain, and do a scan for any cameras or microphones in the obvious places (shower head, outlets, smoke detectors, lamps, or anything pointing towards the bed).
Hotel room doors are notoriously easy to break into – some can be compromised with something as simple as the “do not disturb” sign, or a wire hanger (super scary thought). Instead of ridiculous DIYing like I did on that first night, something as small and simple as the Sabre wedge door stop is way more effective. It slides right under the crack of an inward facing door, preventing entry and/or signaling with a loud alarm if the door is opened.
For an extra layer of security (because, why not?) this door handle alarm is super easy to use. Just hang it on your hotel room door handle before you take a shower, or go to bed at night.
I am obsessed with these mesh bags. My family just got back from a week at the beach, and we used these for so many things – beach bag sunscreen, hand cleaning supplies, organizing the kids’ outfits by day, swim diapers, you name it. I plan to use one of the smaller sized ones to keep all my hotel safety products together and throw it in my luggage for each trip I take.
You’ll notice I did not go all out (yet) and get a camera/microphone detector. The one I have been eyeballing is the Kizzox K9 Ultra Hidden Camera Detector. If I do end up trying it out, I’ll let you know! Lastly, never leave your personal belongings on the floor or on other carpeted/padded surfaces because…two words…bed bugs. That is all 😊
Ps. I’m obsessed with my custom faces phone case.
Stay safe out there!
Kari