Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sensitivity should remain in your possession. Let the bellman open the
door to your room, and have him turn on the lights for you as well.
ROOM SELECTION
After you have chosen a reputable hotel to stay in, the location of your
room is the next thing you can do to improve your level of security. Most
security experts recommend getting a room that is at least one story above
ground level but no higher than seven stories up. The reason to avoid the
first floor should be obvious to everyone by now. It is always easier for
someone to break into a room at ground level. While it is possible for
someone to climb to higher floors and break in, it is far less likely to occur.
The restriction not to stay above the seventh floor is because the seventh
floor is the last that is within reach of most firefighting evacuation buck-
ets and ladders.
While this is true, in many parts of the world you will be lucky if there
is a professional fire department, let alone firefighting equipment. The
better option is always try to stay on the second floor and no higher than
the third floor. If your hotel room is engulfed in flames, you have the sur-
vivable option of jumping out the window. If you need to jump from the
second floor, it is likely that you will receive only minor injuries, depend-
ing on your physical condition and age. From the third floor, your odds
of being injured go up but are still within acceptable limits, especially if
your only other alternative is to die of smoke inhalation or burns. You can
make crude but effective ropes from sheets that can allow you to descend
out a window to a safer level, once again depending on your physical abil-
ity. Higher than the third floor and the fall will likely prove fatal if you
are forced to jump. We discuss some additional fire safety measures below.
IDENTIFY EMERGENCY ESCAPE ROUTES
Note the location of the emergency exits and all stairwells. Make sure you
know which direction you must take to get to an exit from your room.
Make it a practice to physically count the number of doors between your
room and the exit. First locate the nearest emergency exit. Then locate
an alternate exit. Beginning from your room, count the number of doors
between your room and the nearest exit. For example, if the closest stairwell
