Staying in a nice hotel means taking a break from many day-to-day tasks and chores, but you can’t completely outsource safety for yourself and your traveling companions. Once you’ve checked in and reached your room, it’s important to take a few minutes to look for potential problems and remind yourself of some easy precautions that will reduce the risk of injury.
If you’re traveling with children, scan the room (including under furniture) for hazards such as pills or pest traps, uncovered electrical outlets, dangling cords, and furniture that might tip over. Test windows to see if they can be opened by a curious child. Check that cribs meet current safety standards and are located in an area where no objects or furniture are within your child’s reach.
Always supervise small children in hotel bathrooms. Remember that counters may be at a different height than the ones in your home and don’t leave items such as hair dryers or razors lying around. Be cautious with the hot water tap as the water may reach temperatures that can cause burns, and keep the floor dry to prevent slips. Use sanitizing wipes on taps, doorknobs, and other high-touch surfaces.
Even on solo or adult-only trips, keep safety in mind. From the door of your room, look for the nearest emergency exit and memorize how to reach it so you won’t be scrambling to find it in darkness or smoke. Test locks on windows and doors and consider bringing a portable door lock for extra security. If something does go wrong, you will be better prepared to get through it safely.
If you see a hazard within the hotel or inside your hotel room, contact the hotel management immediately. They are usually prepared to deal with problems right away. Sometimes hazards are not very noticeable to guests and accidents will happen, sometimes serious ones with injuries. In this case, you might have cause to sue the hotel for damages and compensation. Since these cases can be complicated, it’s recommended to have a personal injury attorney investigate the details of the accident.
While you don’t need to scare yourself by focusing too much on potential safety issues when staying in a hotel, you do need to remember that you’re still in the real world and problems can occur even when you’re on vacation. Investing a few minutes in common-sense precautions will reduce your risk and increase your peace of mind.