MAd Town 2009 – Find The Info About hotel and travel

There are many things to keep in mind when traveling, whether you are a budget traveler or not. You obviously want to keep what money you have for your trip rather than lose it or have it stolen. You also want to keep yourself and traveling companions safe from harm. Here are some tips to follow to ensure your trip is safe and enjoyable in a foreign country.

1. Have a valid passport and all visas required for your trip. Make two copies of your passport. Keep one in a separate part of your travel luggage and the other leave with someone at home.

2. Be aware of any travel warnings for the country you are visiting. Find out about security and safety conditions in your destination.

3. Secure travel insurance!

4. Ensure you have been vaccinated against any infectious diseases prominent in the area you will be traveling to.

5. To make sure you can be contacted in case of an emergency, make a copy of your itinerary and leave it with someone at home.

6. Travel light and don’t pack valuables that you wouldn’t want to lose. Leave your jewelry at home but take an extra pair of glasses if you can’t live without them.

7. Remember you are a foreigner when you travel. You are a guest in their country and therefore should abide by their laws, and to a certain extent, their customs. For example, if you are a female traveling in an Islamic state, be considerate of your dress. 

8. Try not to bring too much attention to yourself when traveling. Don’t go out looking like a tourist with a flashy camera and expensive clothes. Try to blend into the scenery.

9. Travel in a group where possible and in well known areas. There will be times you want to get off the tourist track, so make sure you always have a traveling companion with you.

10. Only carry small amounts of cash on you. Your credit card and travelers checks will pay for most things.

11. Watch out for pickpockets! Wear a money belt and keep your purse/wallet in the front of your body. Report any loss or theft immediately to the local authorities.

12. Don’t leave your luggage unattended. Apart from having it stolen or items from it taken, you could also become an unsuspecting drug courier.

13. If traveling with a partner, pack half your clothes in their luggage and vice versa. This way if one of you loses your luggage, you will still have some clothes. 

14. Lock your luggage and label everything.

15. Lock your hotel room. Keep money and valuables with you, not left unattended in your room.

16. When using public transport be aware of possible theft. If you are traveling overnight, secure your luggage and sleep on top of it if possible. It is not uncommon for tourists to be drugged while on trains and buses so don’t accept gifts of food or drink from strangers on public transport. 

If at any time you feel unsafe, whether it is on the streets or in your accommodation, get out. Follow your instincts. Stay safe when you travel by being aware of the dangers and obeying the laws of the country you are visiting.

This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru

www.stuartstravel.com

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by Stuck in Customs

Motel and hotel room invasion is a vicious crime that not only robs travelers of their belongings but of their sense of security and peace of mind when traveling.  This intrusive crime can leave victims feeling anxious and afraid for years to come.  And with some victims being bound and gagged, beaten, and even raped, many never recover from the violent experience. 

What is a motel or hotel room invasion?

A motel or hotel room invasion is the act of breaching an occupied hotel or motel room for the purpose of carrying out a violent crime against the occupant(s) in the form of robbery, assault, rape, and/or murder.  Motel and hotel room invasion differs from simple robbery or burglary due to its intrusive and violent intent.

Motel and hotel room invasion is not a legally defined federal offense in the U.S.  Because hotel room invasions are typically filed as a robbery, burglary, battery, assault, rape, or murder, keeping the public informed of the frequency of home invasions within their communities is difficult. 

Today’s Frightening Trends

The crime of hotel and motel room invasion is on the rise.  This is believed to be due to commercial targets such as gas stations, convenience stores, and banks taking advantage of the more advanced security technology made available to them over the years.  These layers of security have afforded commercial businesses with highly effective security alarm and camera surveillance systems, protective security window films, quality locks, and other security devices that deter crime.

Invading a motel or hotel room offers criminals easy access to valuables, optimal privacy, and an optimal method of escape.  Once inside a room, the intruders can force the occupants to turn over jewelry and other valuables quickly, open room safes, supply keys to vehicles, and accompany them to an ATM to withdraw money.  Many intruders will increase their get-away time by disabling phones and gagging and binding their victims.  With the victims being unknown to other hotel guests and staff, an intruder can easily leave the room with the victim’s valuables and even drive off in their vehicle without anyone noticing a crime has been committed.

Motel and Hotel Room Invasion Profile

Motel and hotel room invasions occur most often during the night.  This is because criminals know that occupants are often in their rooms in the evenings and motel or hotel staff is at its minimum. 

The location of the room and the occupant are targeted more often than the hotel itself.  Criminals prefer rooms close to stairwells and other egress routes.  They seek women traveling by themselves, wealthy looking travelers, senior citizens, and travelers with small children.  The selection process also includes the value of a traveler’s car, their attire, and jewelry.  Hotel and motel room invaders often work casinos and lobbies, looking for guests with large sums of money and expensive jewelry and attire.  Some hotel and motel room invaders work alone, while others work with an accomplice.

When invading a hotel or motel room, the criminal gains control of the room and its occupants through explosive fear tactics in the form of verbal threats and physical force.  The violence begins in a single instant, catching the victims off guard and rendering them helpless.

The invaders are usually equipped with a firearm or another life-threatening weapon.  Many also bring along handcuffs, rope, and duct tape so they can incapacitate their victims, with the more violent criminals finding a sick joy through the control, intimidation, and violence that accompanies binding their victims.  The more brutal hotel and motel room robbers engage in physical abuse, rape and possibly murder of their victims.

Most hotel and motel room invaders gain access to rooms through the main entry door or patio door.  Many times the intruder will pose as a member of the hotel staff and knock on the door, hoping the occupant will open the door without a second thought.  Sadly, too many hotel and motel guests make this tragic mistake. 

When posing as room service, security, housekeeping, or bell boy, robbers have been known to use a vase of flowers, a tray of food, or a cart of luggage as a prop.  This helps occupants to believe the intruder is part of the hotel or motel staff without question when they look through the peep hole. 

Another technique used to gain entry to a room is kicking open the main entry door or slipping in behind the victim.  Selecting the victim in the lobby, the robber will pose as another guest or staff and ride up in the elevator with the victim.  The robber will then get off on the same floor and inconspicuously follow the victim to their room.  Once the guest is distracted with unlocking and opening the door to the room, the intruder comes in behind the victim and forces their way inside.

Motel and Hotel Security Precautions That Can Reduce Your Risk

The most effective defense against motel and hotel room invasion is education and planning ahead.  If you are a frequent traveler, selecting the same hotel or hotel chain can also be very helpful.  Doing so will enable you to familiarize yourself with their security amenities and hotel and room layouts.  This combined with knowing how hotel robbers carry out hotel and motel room invasions can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a victim of this potentially dangerous crime.

Remember these important security and safety measures when traveling:

Request an inside guest room that is located on the third floor or higher.

Ensure the doors to the guest rooms are constructed of solid wood or metal.  Entry doors should also have quality locks, dead bolts, and peepholes.

When going to your room, be cautious of strangers that exit the elevator with you.  If you feel uncomfortable or suspicious, allow the stranger to exit the elevator first and then return to the lobby and request to be escorted to your room by security or another member of the hotel staff.

Keep all doors and windows locked at all times.

Use the door peephole to view anyone that knocks at your door.  Never put your trust in a chain-latch or partially open the door.

Never open the door to a stranger you are not expecting.

If an unexpected stranger knocks on your door and claims to be part of the hotel staff, ask for their name and call the front desk to confirm their identity.

Hold a meeting with your family and discuss hotel room security.  Instruct children to never open the door to the room to anyone other than a family member.

Avoid wearing expensive jewelry and flashing around wads of cash when traveling.

Never be afraid to ask for hotel security or staff to escort you to your room.  This is especially true for females traveling alone, senior citizens, and travelers with small children.

Making yourself aware of the dangers and risks of hotel and motel room invasion and taking simple security precautions can make all the difference when it comes to protecting yourself and your family.  By being cautious and putting in place the above security precautions, you can make yourself less attractive to criminals and drastically reduce your chance of becoming a victim of a hotel or motel room invasion.

by Visions Service Adventures

A common travel advice that is often disregarded is maintaining personal safety. Sometimes, we become too complacent that we realize our mistake until it is too late. Whether we are at home or outdoors, we should take certain measure to ensure security. Travelers are especially at risk because they usually become disoriented when faced with an emergency.

As we all know, our appearance is a large factor. We should strive to look less like a stranger or tourist and more like a local. Outrageous outfits are the first to be eliminated for this serves as a sure sign to the locals that we are not from the place. Opt for simple and comfortable clothes and steer clear of expensive jewelry. In order to avoid the wrong crowd, then we should not give them any more reasons to target us.

Only bring your essentials and leave anything that you don’t need. Those who travel abroad are well aware of the virtue of traveling light. A single luggage should be sufficient for all our things. This has many advantages for it lends added mobility and makes us better able to keep an eye on our belongings. Moreover, we are also able to thwart possible malicious attempts.

Cash, credit cards and important documents such as passport should be the first to be secured. The general travel advice is to keep them in separate concealed places inside your luggage. Handbags, fanny packs and outside pockets should be crossed out as safe places. This is because they are the first things that a possible thief is looking out for. Although keeping valuables in a single pouch is generally inadvisable, you could do it if it is worn underneath your clothing. But if you really want to be certain that your valuables are safe, keeping them in a hotel safe could be an option.

Those who plan for overseas travel usually bring a lot of cash with them. However, this step is unwise; traveler’s checks and credit cards should be brought instead. We can avoid the inconvenience of a lost or stolen passport by preparing in advance. By keeping an extra set of passport photos handy as well as a photocopy of our passport’s information page, we can easily avail ourselves of a replacement.

Label all your belongings and put down the necessary information like your name, address, and contact numbers. This makes your luggage easily recognizable and it also serves as a precaution in case you forget in somewhere. An extra security procedure would be to lock your luggage, especially if it contains your valuables.

Finally, it is best to leave a copy of our schedule with friends and family. This is especially important when our travel abroad takes a number of days. The more we are in contact with our social support system, the more secure we are. We are better able to inform them of possible changes in our trip or any emergency we may encounter.

Finally, coordinate your trip with friends or family who will be left at home. A social support system is important for security especially if you are to travel abroad for a considerable number of days. You could purchase a telephone calling card which would serve as a convenient means of keeping in touch with friends and family. This is so that in cases of emergency, you can easily contact them and vice versa. Make security a top priority and be alert and aware of your surroundings. Being on vacation doesn’t mean that your security should take a break as well. By following this advice, you can enjoy safe and secure overseas travel.