If you’re vacationing away from home this summer and your plans have you staying in a hotel or resort, be sure to keep your eyes open for possible vulnerabilities – no matter where you are staying.
Detective Kevin Coffey, an expert in travel safety and the founder of Airport Crimes Investigations, stresses the importance of remaining vigilant at even the most upscale hotel. “The best advocate for your belongings is you and nobody else,” he cautions. The following tips will help you do just that.
- For added safety, request a room that’s on the second floor or higher. If staying at a motel, request a room that faces an inner courtyard.
- Opt for the hotel safe over your room’s safe since your personal safe’s password may be compromised. Plus, keeping your valuables in the hotel’s safe rather than in your room’s safe transfers the liability to the hotel. Just make sure the front desk gives you a written receipt for everything you deposit in the hotel safe.
- Ask the hotel if they use magnetic stripe keys as opposed to the standard metal room key. Coffey says that metal key rooms suffer higher rates of break-ins and thefts.
- Use either a lock or a cable to secure laptop bags and handbags to bed posts or other secure locations. An alternative is to lock those items in your suitcase.
- As an added precaution, leave on a light and the TV on while you’re away.
As an ERIE homeowners Customer, your belongings are covered no matter where you are. The only items that might cause a problem are pricey pieces like jewelry, watches and furs with a value of more than $2,500. For those items, you’ll want to consider an Inland Marine endorsement. It insures the full value of your valuables and can be added with or without a deductible. For details, call CNR Insurance at 410-897-9890.
