3 Scary Things You Should Know About Staying in Hotels
Checking into a hotel is usually a pretty good experience. The guys and gals behind the check in counter are there to make you feel welcome, they’d like you to tip them (at least in some countries) and basically, their whole job is to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Preferably warm and fuzzy enough to need a cool-down from the minibar. The minibar, it is our firm belief, fuels the entire economy of the world. There isn’t a place on earth where you’ll pay more for less, and be happy about the overall results, more often than not. Anyway, enough about that. Staying in hotels can be fun, but there are hidden dangers in all hotels that they (no, not the Illuminati) don’t want you to know about.
So we’re here to tell you.
3: A 12-year old could hack your door lock. It’s true.
Chances are that your hotel room has an electronic lock. That’s nice. Looks fancy, feels fancy, and gives the impression that it’s way safer than an ordinary lock, right? Like the one you have on your door at home. So why aren’t we all using electronic locks on our front doors? Well, it’s a master key kind of issue, right? Plus, people lose their keys so often it would be an economic burden on the hotel to have to make new, metal keys all the time?
Well… sure. However, cutting keys isn’t that expensive anymore, system keys and locks have been in use since time out of mind, and a regular lock will in most cases work better and more reliably than an electronic one. So why…? Don’t ask. We don’t know.
The fact is that the lock on your hotel room door can be hacked, just like a lot of (read:most of) electronic equipment out there. Master key cards are often lost by hotel personnel, left out in plain sight for other guests or passers by to pick up or simply forgotten in rooms when the cleaners leave or given out to guests in error.
Pro tip: Take all your valuables with you when you leave the room, or have them keep your pricey stuff in a front desk safe – get a receipt for everything when you turn it it. Lock your door with a chain or up your security with a door stop or door brace when your inside the room. That way, you control who comes and goes in your room.
2: You’ll Die Screaming if there a Fire. Most likely.
This isn’t really the hotel’s fault. At least not all of the time. It’s your own. Most people aren’t conditioned, in this day and age, to look for escape routes he second they step foot into an unfamiliar place. That would’ve been the norm a thousand years ago, when vikings built their houses with low door, just so they could wait behind it and behead any enemy that dared come through.
Hotels are big places, and if you’ve failed to look at that map on the inside of the door, you haven’t actually walked to the nearest fire escape or seen the closest extinguisher or hose with your own baby blues, then you’ll be in trouble when the inferno comes roaring down the hallway.
One out of 12 hotels report a fire (or more) every year, and most of those start in the rooms… surprise, surprise. Also, cooking equipment is the arch enemy of hotel rooms and their occupants.
Pro tip: Have towels ready to soak in water and block your door if there’s smoke coming from the hallway. Know where you are and where the nearest exit is. Have a flashlight with you – a small, LED MagLite is nice and bright. Last; don’t start a fire, dude. You’ll die. Be careful with the water kettle and the microwave, if there’s any of that in your room. And unplug that Nespresso machine, too.
1: Got a peephole? You’re screwed, then.
People have been using peep hole reversers for years – there’re even special ones issued to law enforcement for the viewing pleasure of everyone involved. Hint; some of these attach seamlessly to video cameras…
We’re not even going to link you to the videos that are out there… you’re probably more than capable of finding them yourself. Suffice to say, there are a lot of voyeurs out there, just waiting to find your peephole unguarded. So, whenever you’re in your hotel, remember that the peephole is for you to look out of, not for them (again, not the Illuminati, people…) to look in through.
Pro tip: Get a towel, hang it over your peep hole. That way, you can see who’s coming, but anyone using one of these will only see a black void. Which is what we want.
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