Conventions and

[Homicidalheathen]

Hotel Motel Security

Safety Advice for Travelers

by Chris E McGoey, CPP, CSP, CAM

Hotel Motel Room Sanctuary

When traveling on business or pleasure, it may become necessary to stay overnight in a hotel or motel. Your hotel room becomes your home for the night and is your sanctuary while you sleep. It is important to give some thought about security planning. What hotel or motel are you going to select, and what room you are willing to accept? The cost of the hotel room is not always the best predictor of how safe the room will be. There are a few security rules of thumb that should apply to any hotel room you rent.

Higher Floors are Safer

Upper floors are safer from crime, but worse for fire rescue. Emergency rescue is best below the fifth floor. I compromise by picking a modern fire-safe hotel and always request a room on an upper floor to reduce crime exposure. Ground floor rooms are more vulnerable to crime problems because of access and ease of escape. In a high-rise building, rooms above the fifth-floor are usually safer from crime than those below because of lesser accessibility and ease of escape. Also, rooms not adjacent to fire stairs are safer from room invaders because they use them for escape. Criminals do not want to be trapped on an upper floor inside a high-rise hotel. By design, high-rise buildings usually have fewer ground level access points and are easier for the hotel staff to monitor who passes through the lobby after hours.

Door Security Hardware

Hotel or motel rooms should be equipped with a solid-core wood or metal door for best protection. Doors should be self-closing and self-locking. Room doors should have a deadbolt lock with at least a one-inch throw bolt. If the lock appears worn or there are pry marks around the lock area, get another room or move to another hotel. The knob-lock should be hotel-style where you can push a button on the inside knob and block out all keys. This feature is designed to prevent a former guest or housekeeper from entering the room once you are safely inside. Hotels with electronic card access have the advantage of being able to disable former keycards issued to previous guests and unauthorized employees. Electronic locks also will block out most room service keys when you set the deadbolt. The room door should have a wide-angle peephole so you can view who is at the door before opening.

Access Control

Do not open your door to someone who knocks unannounced. Some criminals will pretend to be a bellman, room service, maintenance, or even hotel security to gain admittance to your room. See my web pages on Hotel Room Invasion. Always call the front desk to confirm their status with the hotel and only open the door if you requested the service. Do not rely on door chains or swing bars to secure the doors while you partially open the door to speak someone. These are unreliable security devices. Teach your children not to open the door of any hotel room without knowing the person on the other side and without your permission.

Other Entry Points

Make sure all windows and sliding doors are secured, if they are accessible from the ground. It is a good idea to test all windows and glass doors to see if they are secure. Beware of balconies where someone can climb from one to another and enter through an open window or sliding door. If the windows or sliding doors are not securable, ask for another room or find another hotel. If your room has an adjoining door to an adjacent room, check it to see that it is secured with a deadbolt lock. If it is questionable, ask for another room.

Beware the Parking Lot

If you are a woman traveling alone or with small children, take advantage of car valet service, if available to avoid the parking lot. After checking-in, ask the bellman or desk clerk to escort you to your room. After unlocking the room, quickly inspect the closets, under the bed, and bathroom including behind the shower curtain before the bellman leaves. Tip the bellman for his efforts.

Occupancy Cues

Put the Do-Not-Disturb sign on the doorknob even when you are away, this deters room burglars (it may affect housekeeping service, however). Turn on the TV or radio just loud enough to hear through the door to give the appearance that the room is occupied. Leave one light on inside the room if you will return after dark. This helps you see upon re-entry and gives the room the appearance of occupancy from the outside. Always go through the same room inspection routine every time you re-enter. Women travelling alone should use caution when using the breakfast order door-knob hanger card. This card lists your name and number of persons in the room. A smart crook can knock on the door posing as room service and use your name as a ruse to gain entry.

When you find a suitable hotel that meets your safety standards and will cater to your security needs try to stick with it or with the same hotel chain. Don't be afraid to complain to management to get the safe room you deserve.

Always request a room on an upper floor, if possible

A solid door with a good deadbolt lock is best

Electronic card access locks help limit access

Make sure your door has a peephole and night latch and use it

Turn on the TV or radio just loud enough to hear through the door

Turn on a single light in the room if you plan to return after dark

Inspect the room hiding places upon entering and check all locks

Ask the bellman for an escort and use valet parking if alone

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Hotel Security

Room Invasion Robbery

by Chris E McGoey, CPP, CSP, CAM

Travelers Beware

One of the more frightening and potentially dangerous crimes that can occur to a family or business traveler is a hotel room invasion robbery. A hotel room invasion occurs when robbers force their way into an occupied hotel or motel room to commit a robbery or other crimes. It is frightening because it violates our private space and the one place that acts as our temporary sanctuary while away from home. Some travelers never recover from the experience of being assaulted while in a hotel room in a strange city.

Hotel or motel room invasion robbery is like the residential form of an automobile carjacking and it is on the rise. Like the crime of carjacking, most police agencies don’t track home or hotel room invasions as a separate crime. Most police agencies and the FBI will statistically record the crime as a residential burglary or a robbery. Without the ability to track the specific crime of hotel room invasion, little can be done to alert the public as to the frequency of occurrence or devise a law enforcement plan of action to prevent it.

Criminal Profiles

Hotel burglars work mostly during the day and when a room is more likely to be unoccupied. Most burglars work alone and tend to probe a hotel looking for the right room and the right opportunity. Access control systems, good building design, strong locks and doors, and alert hotel staff can often deter burglars. Also, burglars don’t want to be confronted and will usually flee when approached. Most burglaries do not result in violence unless the criminal is cornered and uses force to escape.

Hotel room invasion robbers, in contrast, work more often at night when rooms are more likely to be occupied and less staff is on duty. The hotel room invaders usually target the occupant and room location and not necessarily the hotel. The selection process may include women traveling alone or senior citizens, or known drug dealers, or wealthy travelers, for example. It is not unusual for a robber to follow the victim to their hotel room based on the value of the car they were driving or the jewelry or clothes they were wearing. Hotel room invaders have been known to work casinos and watch for guests flashing large sums of money or jewelry. Hotel room invaders usually work alone or with just one accomplice and they rely on an overwhelming physical confrontation to gain control and instill fear in the room occupants.

The violence occurs instantly with an overwhelming explosive force to take control of the room. The hotel room invaders often come equipped with handcuffs, rope, tape, and weapons. Some hotel room robbers appear to enjoy the intimidation, domination, and violence and some claim it’s a "rush." Some hotel robbers are also opportunist rapist and may sexually assault their victims.

Dangerous Trends

The act of committing a hotel room invasion is escalating much like carjacking. The reason for the increase seems to follow a similar pattern. Much like automobiles, the traditional commercial targets for robbers have hardened themselves against criminal attack. Technology has allowed commercial establishments to install better locks, and other anti-crime deterrent devices.

Guest room robbers have privacy once inside and don’t have to deal with security or hotel staff or other guests who might suddenly appear. Once the offenders take control of a guest room, they can force the occupants to open room safes, locate hidden valuables, supply keys to the car, and PIN numbers to their ATM cards. Guest room robbers will increase their escape time by disabling the phones and sometimes leave their victims bound or incapacitated. It is not unheard of for robbers to load up the victim’s car with valuables and drive away without anyone in the hotel taking notice.

Method of Operation

The most common point of attack is through the guest room door or patio door. Sometimes the hotel room invader will simply kick open the door and confront everyone inside. More common is when the hotel room invaders knock on the door first. The room invader hopes that the occupant will simply open the door, without question, in response to their knock. Unfortunately, many people do just that.

Guest room robbers will sometimes use a ruse or impersonation to get you to open the door. They have been known to pretend to be room service, housekeeping, security, or delivering flowers. Clever room robbers might hold a room service tray or flowers in view of the peephole to further the impersonation. Once the door is opened for them, the hotel room invaders will use an explosive amount of force and threats to gain control of the room and produce fear in the victims. Once the occupants are under control, the robbers will begin to collect your portable valuables.

Another tactic is for a robber to select a victim in the lobby and ride up in the elevator with them. They will get off on the same floor and pretend walk behind you as if going to their room. Once the guest opens their door, the robber will force his way in behind them and make his demand.

Prevention Steps

The same tactics used to prevent daytime burglaries will go a long way to preventing forced entry hotel robberies. If you can delay a guest room invader at the point of entry then you have a chance of deterring them or calling the police. A solid core door and strong locks with reinforced strike plates will stop most forced entries. See my web page on Hotel Security Tips for more detailed information. Select a hotel room on an upper floor when available. Ground floor rooms are most vulnerable because of immediate access and ease of escape. Guest rooms adjacent to fire stairs are also selected more often by robbers for use in a rapid escape. The weakest hotel security link is the room guest who fails to lock doors or windows or who will open the door without question at the sound of a knock. If you see a suspicious male nearby, let them pass before you open your door or enter the room quickly and lock it behind you.

The best defense against hotel room invasion is education and planning. If you frequently travel to same city on business, select and stay with the same hotel or hotel chain that offers security amenities. Parents should hold a family meeting to discuss how to answer the door when someone knocks. Another important topic is how to act should your room be invaded. Once you know how hotel robbers work, you can effectively prevent most occurrences.

Remember these important security steps:

Make sure your room has solid doors, locks, and peephole

Request a room on the third floor or above

Beware of strange males that exit the elevator on your floor.

Let them exit first and you return to the lobby if suspicious

Change rooms or hotel if not secure or locks are worn

Request a room away from fire stairs or end units

Lock all doors and windows at all times

Use the door peephole to see who is knocking

Never use a chain-latch to partially open the door

Never open the door to strangers or solicitors

Call the police or front desk if the stranger acts suspicious

Call the front desk if someone claims to be with the hotel

Hold a family meeting to discuss hotel room security

[Simon Bar Sinister]

where's the part about waking up in a bathtub full of ice?

[Rev.Reverence]

where's the part about waking up in a bathtub full of ice?

[jynxxxedangel]

..or the part about leaving the tiki bar with a hott chick, and waking up, hands tied to the bedposts, with your valuables gone?