Travel Safety for Women

During my "corporate" years, I used to travel around the U.S. 5 days a week for about 7 years. At our quarterly meetings with my associates I would always have a "travel safety" talk - things that are pretty simple but not always thought of. Most of my associates were females traveling alone like I did, so most of this is geared toward the ladies:

~ make sure the front desk clerk doesn't "announce" your room number loud enough for all those standing in line around you to hear, especially if you are a female traveling alone. If they do, politely ask for a different room and tell them why so maybe they'll be more security conscious in the future.

~ as a female traveling alone, I always wanted a room above the 2nd floor.

~ when ordering room service - never let the door close all the way - make it prop open and stand closer to the open door, not the interior of the room, while the meal is being delivered and set up.

~ always study the exit maps and know where the exits are.

~ count how many doors are between you and the exits in both directions. Should you need to find your way out in the dark or by crawling, you can count doors as you go. Same goes for on airplanes - know how many seats are between you and the exits in front of and behind you.

~ always keep a flashlight and your room key handy on the nightstand by your bed in your hotel in case you have to leave in an emergency. same goes for shoes and id.

~ when getting in an elevator - never get in if you feel the least bit uncomfortable with those already on, wait for the next one. If you are already on and someone gets in that gives you a bad feeling - stand near the buttons and get off at the next floor - then take another elevator. Pay attention to your gut instincts.

~ have your keys in your hand and ready when using parking garages, airport parking, etc. Pay attention to your surroundings.

There are lots more, but these were the ones I talked about the most and most are equally applicable to men. If you have a tip you'd like to share - please do!