Know your destination

Pre-trip preparation should include more than just knowing the location of your hotel. Before you travel to a destination for the first time, review current local news. It will help you get the lay of the land and be alert to potential trouble hot spots, especially in the neighborhood where you’ll be staying. But don’t stop there! Do this again before making a return visit, to update yourself on what conditions might have improved or, more importantly, worsened.

I recommend: You’ll find links to almost all major newspapers in the world at Kidon Media-Link. If your company is heavily involved in international travel, consider signing on to one of the travel intelligence services for destination information and pre-trip briefings. International SOS, iJET, and Global Options all provide fee-based services.

Use gadgets to keep yourself safe

The risk of being a frequent traveler to the same destination and especially to the same hotel is that you begin to feel comfortable. And you let down your guard. That’s when you’re the most vulnerable.

I recommend: Carry a door alarm to protect against hotel room intrusions. Guard against a window intruder with a window stop and alarm. Carry a high-decibel alarm for those walks from the parking ramp and down long hallways. Carry a small flashlight for those times when you have to unlock your rental car, hunt for a room key or find your way in a dimly lit area. Protect yourself from hotel fires.

Safeguard your electronics

Business travelers are notorious for hauling along thousands of dollars worth of equipment crammed with critical information, then doing little or nothing to protect the data or equipment from hotel room theft.

I recommend: You can protect your laptop from hotel room theft, or, better yet, leave your laptop at home. Download critical data to a removable flash drive no bigger than your house key and access a computer at the hotel business center or an office center such as FedExKinko’s.

Learn from safety experts

Safety and security experts offer tips on hotel safety and for a fee will train you too.

I recommend: into safety consulting services and products available from Detective Kevin Coffey. Read the hotel safety advice offered by Peter Savage, a senior consultant with an international security firm.