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Expert Q&A

	By Laurie Borman Managing Editor Rand McNally

How can a woman ensure her safety when staying at a hotel alone?

There are lots of ways that women can increase the safety factor when choosing and staying in hotels. Before you book, consider properties where all guests must pass by a front desk or through a security checkpoint. It's better if your room opens onto an enclosed hallway rather than to the street.

When you arrive at the hotel, have the valet park your car instead of driving into a lot or garage by yourself. Let the bellman help you with your luggage and come to the room with you. The front desk clerk should not announce your room number for anyone who happens to be standing nearby to hear, and if that mistake is made, request another room.

Ask for a room above the ground floor but below the seventh floor. Fire ladders cannot reach higher than seven floors, but you're safe from ground floor intruders. Also, request that a room not be at the end of the hallway, where there's no room for escape if someone follows you off the elevator.

Prop the door open as you inspect the room when you first arrive. Check all the closets, behind the shower curtain, under the bed. Make sure the patio door has a bar in the frame to keep it locked. Deadbolt the door while you're inside, and never leave a sign outside for the maid to clean the room. It announces when you're there or not.

Use the fitness facilities only if they have an attendant or require a room key to enter. Exercise facing the door so you can see who comes in.

Don't allow anyone access to your room without first checking with the front desk. They should always call if they are sending a maintenance person to your room. Check ID through the peephole.

Keep your valuables locked in the room safe while you're showering and when you go out. Take only the things you need for each excursion from your room – one credit card and a small amount of cash for dinner, for example.

Just thinking ahead and being alert about your bags and your person will help increase your safety factor while on the road.

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