How to Stay Safe From the Parking Lot to Lights Out
By Larry Betz | Prepared Not Paranoid https://www.preparednotparanoid.com/
These hotel security tips work for every traveler, but they matter most for women traveling alone and parents traveling with kids. A hotel feels private. Most of it isn't.
Whether you're traveling for business or leisure, staying in a hotel should come with some essential safety considerations, especially for women traveling alone. While hotels may feel secure, many are designed to be open to the public. Anyone can walk through the lobby, visit the restaurant or lounge, and even reach the guest room floors unless the elevator needs a room key.
It's easy to assume everyone in a hotel belongs there, but that's often not the case. If the elevator doesn't require a room key, anyone can roam the halls unquestioned. That raises the risk of theft, surveillance, or worse.
You've probably seen housekeeping leave guest room doors wide open while they clean. It seems routine, but it gives someone with bad intentions a chance to slip in unnoticed, hide, or even plant a hidden camera.
None of this means you should be afraid of hotels. Most stays are uneventful. You don't need paranoia. You need layers. Here are smart, practical hotel safety tips you can use on every trip.
Research the Hotel and Surroundings Before Booking
Before you make a reservation:
Visit the hotel's official website.
Check third-party reviews, like TripAdvisor and Google Reviews. Watch for comments about parking, side entrances, broken locks, and whether you need a key for the elevator.
Use Google Maps or Street View to look at the surrounding area.
A hotel can look modern and safe in photos and still be one block from a high-crime area. Look for street activity, lighting, nearby shops, and other red flags. (Part 7 covers choosing between a chain, an off-brand hotel, and an Airbnb, plus the questions to ask before you book.)
Be Strategic About Parking or Drop-Offs
If you're driving:
Park in front of the hotel when you can. Those spots are usually better lit and often covered by cameras.
Avoid underground or remote parking lots, especially at night.
Come and go through the front at night. Rear and side exits often open onto dark parking lots. Save them for an emergency.
If you're using a rideshare (Uber, Lyft, and so on):
Don't overshare personal information with the driver.
If the driver asks whether you're traveling alone, try something like: "No, my husband is at a meeting and will be joining me shortly." It adds a layer of perceived protection.
Always Use Main Entrances and Avoid Isolated Areas
Stick to main entrances and exits. They're more visible and may be monitored.
Avoid side doors and stairwells, especially at night. They're less traveled and often dimly lit, which makes them ideal for someone who wants to linger unnoticed.
Protect Your Personal Info at Check-In
At the front desk:
Shield your credit card and ID like you would at an ATM.
Notice who's standing close. Someone could eavesdrop, snap a photo, or overhear your room number.
Your room number should never be said out loud. If the desk says it anyway, ask for a different room.
Ask for two keys, even if you're alone. Casually mention your partner is on the way, so it doesn't look like you're traveling solo.
Pro tip: Glance around the lobby for security cameras and staff. If you don't see a security presence, assume you're responsible for your own safety. And even when you do see cameras, ask yourself: do they work, and is anyone actually watching? Many cameras just record, and someone looks at the footage after something happens. A camera is a record, not a rescue.
Stay Alert in Elevators
I spent over 20 years in the elevator industry in New York City, first as a mechanic and later as a safety director. Elevators are one of the safest ways to move through a building. But a hotel elevator is also a small, closed box you share with strangers. A few habits go a long way:
Trust your gut before you step in. If someone waiting for the elevator, or already inside, gives you a bad feeling, don't get on. Wait for the next one.
If someone gets in with you, let them pick their floor first.
Know where the alarm and call buttons are in case of an emergency.
If you feel uncomfortable, get off at the next floor where there are people, or ride back down to the lobby. Don't get off alone on your own floor if you think someone is following you.
Where Should You Stand? It Depends.
I teach both spots, because the right one depends on the elevator and who's in it.
Near the control panel, with your back to the wall. Pros: the alarm button and the next floor are right at your hand, and you're close to the doors. Cons: in a crowded car, people end up behind you.
In a back corner, with your back to the wall. Pros: you can see everyone, and no one is behind you. Cons: you're farther from the buttons and the doors.
Card-access elevators change the picture. Many hotels, like the big high-rises in Las Vegas, lock the guest floors so the elevator only goes there with a room key. Say someone in the lobby is giving you the creeps and steps into the elevator with you. The moment you tap your card and press your floor, they know exactly where you're staying, and they can follow you off. So don't get in with them. Let that car go, or step back to the front desk and wait.
If you're ever stuck in an elevator: stay calm, use the phone or call button, and wait for help. Don't try to force the doors open or climb out through the top. Modern elevators have several safety systems built to keep the car from falling, and the safest place to wait is inside until help arrives.
Inspect Your Room Before Settling In
Before you go in, look behind you. Anyone loitering or following you is a potential threat. You're distracted and carrying bags, which makes you an easier target. If someone is walking close behind you as you reach your door, stop and let them pass. Never unlock your door with someone within arm's reach. That's the moment someone could push you into the room.
Keep the door propped open with your foot or a bag while you check the space:
Behind the curtains
Inside the closets
The bathroom, behind the shower curtain, and under the bed
Once the room is clear:
Hang the Do Not Disturb sign to keep staff and others from trying to come in.
Bring in your luggage and lock the door with every lock you have, including the deadbolt and the safety bar.
Check every other way in: the connecting door to the next room (locked on your side), the windows, and any balcony or sliding door.
Consider a portable door wedge alarm, a small, inexpensive device that sounds a loud siren if someone tries to force the door.
Here's the whole routine in one place.
Don't Count on the Hotel Lock Alone
A locked hotel door matters. It just shouldn't be your only layer.
In 2024, security researchers disclosed a flaw called Unsaflok in one brand of electronic hotel locks, used on about 3 million doors at 13,000 properties in 131 countries. The maker has been upgrading those locks, and it doesn't mean every hotel lock is easy to beat. It does mean electronic locks aren't perfect, and staff keys can open your door, too.
So think in layers. You're not building a bunker. You're making unwanted entry harder, slower, and louder.
Here's how the layers stack up.
Never block your own way out. Whatever you add to the door, know how to pull it fast if there's a fire.
Verify Anyone Who Knocks
If someone knocks and says they're housekeeping, maintenance, or the front desk, don't open the door just because they say so. A uniform and a confident voice build trust fast, and most of us don't want to seem rude. People with bad intentions count on that.
Keep the door closed.
Call the front desk and ask whether someone was sent to your room.
If you need to meet someone you don't know, meet in the lobby, not your room.
A real staff member can wait.
Conduct a Privacy and Camera Sweep
Before you relax:
Turn on the TV or some background noise so the room isn't silent.
Cover the peephole. Some travelers use tissue or tape. Cheap reverse-peephole viewers sold online can let someone in the hallway see into your room.
Use a flashlight or your phone to check:
Mirrors
USB ports and alarm clocks, which are sometimes used to hide spy cameras
Smoke detectors or air vents, if they look tampered with
If you're especially concerned, you can bring an RF scanner or camera detector, a device that scans for hidden electronics. Part 9 of this series covers hidden cameras in hotels and Airbnbs step by step, including how to check a mirror. And skip the room's USB ports for charging your phone. Use your own wall charger. (Part 10 covers travel digital defense.)
Know Your Emergency Exits
Take a moment to find the building evacuation map. It's usually on the back of your door or in the hallway. Note:
Your primary and secondary exits
Fire extinguishers and alarms
Where the stairs are
Where the elevators are, so you know to avoid them in a fire
Count the doors between your room and the nearest stairwell. If the hallway fills with smoke, you may be crawling and feeling your way. Keep your shoes, phone, room key, and a flashlight by the bed so you can grab them in the dark.
Where your room is matters, too. When you can, ask for a room above the ground floor and below the 7th floor: high enough to be hard to reach from outside, low enough for most fire department ladders. Ladder reach varies by city and by country.
Overseas, Check Everything
Many countries don't have the same building and fire codes we do, and the ones they have may not be inspected. On New Year's Day 2026, a fire in a crowded basement bar at a ski resort in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, killed 40 people and injured 119. Investigators said it likely started when sparklers on champagne bottles were held too close to a foam-covered ceiling, and officials admitted the bar hadn't had a safety inspection in five years. That was a bar, not a hotel, but the lesson travels with you: don't assume someone else checked.
Wherever you stay, and anywhere you gather, especially below ground:
Find two ways out, and walk to them.
Look for the safety equipment: smoke alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, lit exit signs, and cameras.
Check the balcony railings, especially with kids. In the U.S., building codes generally require guards at least 42 inches high, with openings small enough that a 4-inch ball can't pass through. Overseas, railings may be lower, have wider gaps, or have horizontal bars a child can climb like a ladder. If they aren't child-safe, keep the balcony door locked and ask for another room.
Learn the layout as soon as you arrive. Where local fire departments may not have tall ladders, a lower floor is the better choice.
(Part 6 covers traveling overseas.)
Traveling With Kids
Give them one rule: we never open the hotel door for anyone.
Walk the route to the stairs together once when you arrive.
Check the balcony railings and windows before the kids start exploring.
Keep shoes, a charged phone, and the room key in the same spot every night.
Keep it light. It's a quick family routine, not a scary talk.
The Prepared Protector Takes the First Two Minutes
Watch a family walk into a hotel room. One kid jumps on the bed. Another grabs the TV remote. Someone's already asking for the Wi-Fi password. The Prepared Protector spends those first two minutes on the room: the door, the closet, the curtains, the way to the stairs. Nobody else even notices, and that's the point. Everyone else gets to relax because one person decided to look first.
What to Say
At the front desk
"Could you write the room number down instead of saying it?"
"Two keys, please. My husband's on his way."
When someone knocks
"I didn't request anything. I'll call the front desk." Then call.
For a delivery: "Please leave it outside the door." Wait until they're gone before you open it.
If they won't go away
Call the front desk and ask for security to come to your floor.
If anyone tries to force the door or you feel threatened, call 911 (or the local emergency number overseas). Don't open the door.
SCAN It
S, See your environment: Notice who's in the lobby, who's in the elevator, and who's behind you in the hallway.
C, Create space: Let the person behind you pass before you open your door. Skip the elevator that feels wrong.
A, Act deliberately: Sweep the room, lock every layer, and find your exits before you unpack.
N, Never doubt your gut feelings: If a room, a knock, or a person feels off, trust it. Ask for another room, or call the desk.
5 Quick Wins You Can Start Today
Pack a door wedge alarm or a hanging door alarm in your travel bag.
Do the 2-minute room check on your next stay, before you unpack.
Ask the desk to write your room number down.
Count the doors to the stairwell the first night.
Teach your kids the hotel door rule.
Ask Yourself
Do I open my door with someone walking right behind me?
If the fire alarm went off at 3 a.m., could I find the stairs in the dark?
Would I open the door for someone who said "maintenance"?
Remember
Hotels can be a comfortable home away from home, but awareness is your best defense. Most people skip these simple steps because they feel "safe enough." Taking a few extra precautions can protect you from theft, assault, or worse.
These tips don't just apply to women. Every traveler benefits from understanding the weak spots of shared public spaces like hotels.
Get Started Today
Get the free Travel Safety checklists. Simple, practical checklists for safer family trips. DM the word [KEYWORD] on Instagram or Facebook and I'll send them to you. [Get them here: LINK]
Go Deeper
Situational Awareness and Safe Family Travel Strategies. This post gives you the routine. The book gives you the full hotel and Airbnb chapter: room security while you're out and while you're in, every door tool and when to use it, the complete elevator safety section, checking for hidden surveillance devices, why a portable carbon monoxide alarm belongs in your bag, and protecting your phone, data, and identity while you travel. [Get it here: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/situational-awareness-and-safe-family-travel-strategies]
Tools I recommend: The door wedge alarms, portable door locks, hanging door alarms, camera detectors, and flashlights I recommend are in my Travel Safety Amazon store. https://link.amazon/B023guhPk
Related reading:
Safe Family Travel, Part 7: Choosing Safe Lodging [LINK]
Safe Family Travel, Part 9: Hidden Cameras [LINK when posted]
Safe Family Travel, Part 10: Travel Digital Defense [LINK when posted]
Safe Family Travel, Part 6: Traveling Overseas [LINK]
Safe Family Travel, Part 4: Protective Strategies for Family Travel [LINK]
References
U.S. Department of State. Lodging Safety. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/lodging-safety.html
U.S. Fire Administration. Hotel and Vacation Rental Fire Safety. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/hotel-fires/
Wouters, L., Carroll, I., and others. Unsaflok (2024). https://unsaflok.com/
Associated Press. Swiss investigators believe sparkling candles atop champagne bottles ignited bar fire that killed 40 (January 2, 2026).
International Code Council. International Building Code, Section 1015 (Guards).
Betz, L. Situational Awareness and Safe Family Travel Strategies (Hotel and Airbnb Security Strategies).
Betz, L. Navigating the Red Zone and Beyond (SCAN framework).
Disclaimer
This article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not a guarantee of safety and is not a substitute for professional security or fire safety advice. Hotel security, door hardware, and fire codes vary by property and by country, so always check the specific place you're staying. Portable door devices don't fit every door, and some properties restrict them, so follow the property's rules and never block your own exit. Prepared Not Paranoid and Larry Betz are not affiliated with any hotel brand or lock manufacturer and are not responsible for the content of third-party websites or resources linked here. Affiliate disclosure: I've linked to products from my Amazon store that I personally recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work.
If you're in danger or there's a fire, get to safety and call 911 (or the local emergency number when you're overseas).
Awareness gives you time. Time gives you options.
The Prepared Protector is someone who's decided that loving someone means being ready for them, not just hoping things go fine.
Prepared Not Paranoid. Protecting the Most Vulnerable Among Us.
