I’m a travel safety expert – the dangerous mistake guests make when they use their hotel phone
STAYING in a hotel is meant to be a relaxing experience, but some holidaymakers can let their guard down too easily.
One hotel safety expert has revealed the dangerous mistake Brit tourists make when they use the phone in their hotel rooms.
Carolyn Pearson is the CEO and Founder of Maiden Voyage – a business dedicated to making travel safer.
Maiden Voyage, which launched 16 years ago, educates businesses and industry professionals on safety and security in the travel sector.
As well as providing training to hotel staff, Carolyn also shares her safety advice with holidaymakers.
One of the most dangerous things can happen when hotel guests use the phone in their room to talk to staff.
Carolyn told Sun Online Travel: “People pretend they are hotel staff and get you to reveal your credit card details over the phone.”
The hotel safety expert explained that some troublesome guests have been known to ring over hotel rooms pretending to be staff.
These scenarios occur when room numbers are read out by staff members at the check-in desk.
If another hotel guest overhears a room number being announced, they may try and use it as an opportunity to elicit someone’s personal details.
Carolyn added: “Instead of giving out your personal details over the phone, go down to reception and check with them in person.”
By going down to the check-in desk and speaking with a member of staff in the flesh, guests will know whether the request is genuine or a hoax.
There are other ways to stay safe in your hotel room too.
In another article in Sun Online Travel, Carolyn urged holidaymakers to avoid dishing out their room number at check-in.
She said: “Once they’ve read out the room number, reception staff will give guests directions to their room.”
While this may seem like a fairly normal scenario, sharing information in the hotel foyer can be dangerous.
Guests should ask for their room number to be written down rather than read out loud, so other people don’t know where you’re sleeping.
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.”
Meanwhile, hotel cleaner Terence Harris posted a TikTok video explaining how to create a makeshift door lock in a hotel room.
In the video, he tied a hand towel around the clip at the top of the door and secured it in place using a hair tie.
A former flight attendant also explained why guests should use the hotel chain on their door when they’re sleeping, showering, and dressing.
In a post on Mumsnet, she wrote: “It is not uncommon for hotels to accidentally double-book your room.
“I have woken up many times to someone opening my door with an electronic key that was programmed for my room.
“I learned to dress and sleep with the chain on the door at all times.”
Meanwhile, a flight attendant recently shared her top safety hacks for travellers to prevent hotel break-ins.