Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is less than you may spend weekly on cigarettes. Do you think these people
would be susceptible to bribery? For example, if you are a businessman
engaged in sensitive negotiations with a local company, it is quite conceiv-
able that the local corporate interest would be able to have a chambermaid
check your room for documents you may have left out. It would be a simple
matter for the company to pay a maid a few dollars to place your room
trash in a separate bag and deliver it later. Could a local competitor obtain
anything that might be useful in that manner? The answer is yes, unless
you never leave anything of importance unsecured in your room. Assume
that your room is under electronic surveillance, that it will be searched,
or both. If you keep that thought in mind, you will never discuss anything
of importance in your room or leave sensitive documents there.
Avoid rooms with connecting doors. It is common among law enforce-
ment agencies to hold undercover meetings in hotel rooms with a con-
necting door. The backup team monitors the meeting from the next room
and is prepared to move into the meeting room to assist the agent if there
is trouble or if an arrest must be made. Criminals, terrorists, and local
intelligence officers can do the same thing. It is very easy to disable the
lock from your side of the room. While you can check it and it will seem
secure, actually it can be opened easily from the adjoining room.
There are a few other tips that we all know and understand, but they
bear repeating anyway. We all know that we shouldn't invite strangers into
our room. We know it but ignore the rule as soon as we've had a few drinks
and an attractive member of the opposite sex indicates a willingness to
accompany us back to our room. This prohibition is certainly even truer
if the person in question is a prostitute. Don't do it. This means not under
any circumstances. It is a breach of basic safety rules. Should you let such
a person into your room, you are completely vulnerable to a whole host
of dangers. Sexually transmitted diseases are rampant in many parts of the
world. In Bangkok, Thailand, it is estimated that fully half of the working
girls are HIV positive. In South Africa the rates are even higher.
Consider as well that prostitutes commonly go back to the room of an
individual they think is affluent. Once there, it is a simple matter for them
to slip any one of many drugs into your drink that will render you uncon-
scious while they ransack the place. Even if no drugs are used, just con-
sider how vulnerable you are once you have fallen asleep. In addition,
beyond the danger of disease or theft, there is also the very real chance
that you are being compromised for blackmail purposes. A few photos of
a married executive with a prostitute can convince anyone to cooperate
