A FLIGHT attendant has given her top tip to always ensure your hotel room is safe – all you need is a water bottle.
Esther, a flight attendant for KLM, revealed the hack on TikTok ahead of the summer holiday season.
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She said as soon as she checks into a hotel she uses a unique method to “check that no one is under the bed without looking”.
Esther throws a water bottle under there. If it “doesn’t come out the other side”, there could be someone hiding.
The hack also works with toiletries or drinks cans.
It comes after fellow flight attendant Nassim told the Express her own tip for staying safe in hotel rooms at night.
She always puts her suitcase by the door, which would alert her if someone was trying to get inside.
Again, this could work with any bulky item in the room.
She also inspects the whole room every time she goes back to ensure no one is hiding.
Nassim said a colleague once got attacked because someone was in the wardrobe.
She explained: “They got attacked so every time I got to a hotel room I would use my luggage case to keep the hotel door open. I then go inside and check everywhere.
“I would check the bathroom, under the bed, inside the wardrobes, under the table and behind the curtains to make sure that no one was in there. I would never ever enter a room without doing that,” she added.
Speaking to Sun Travel last year, Carolyn Pearson, CEO and Founder of Maiden Voyage – a business dedicated to making travel safer, revealed her own safety tips for hotel stays.
She urged holidaymakers to avoid announcing their room number at the check-in desk.
She said: “Once they’ve read out the room number, reception staff will give guests directions to their room.”
Despite seeming helpful, sharing this information in a hotel foyer could be dangerous.
Ask for your room number to be written down instead, so other guests won’t know where you’re staying.
Carolyn always makes sure to travel with a £1 doorstop too, to give her hotel room some extra security at night.
She said: “I always travel with a door jammer because there are some hotels that I really like, but they don’t have a second lock.”
Carolyn went on to say: “I would always put my valuables in the safe.”
This is because housekeepers often wedge doors open when they’re cleaning rooms to accommodate their large trolleys.
If the room is being cleaned mid-stay, valuables like laptops and bottles of perfume on vanity tables can be spotted through the open door as the cleaner is in the room.
Carolyn added: “This person can tell housekeeping that they’ve forgotten something in your room, and very easily pick up any valuables left on the desk.”
Carolyn often shares safety tips, tricks, hacks, and advice with holidaymakers, in addition to providing training to hotel employers and their employees.
