by Sarah J Palmer

Created on: May 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 28, 2009

I used to be the Travel Administrator for about 250 staff in a global manufacturing company. Between them these business travellers visited every country in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. They frequently shared their tips with each other via the company intranet on how they made their life overseas more comfortable and secure. Here's a few that I remember:

Take your own portable smoke detector with batteries. Never rely on third world countries having an adequate fire detection system.

A carbon monoxide detector. Some hotels still use gas heaters to warm the water in the ensuite and you don't know when they last serviced the heater.

A door wedge. Not every hotel has a safety chain on the door so a door wedge is vital, especially for lone lady travellers. Gentlemen may be glad of it when they discover their room has an unlocked adjoining door or even the fire escape door for their floor. The latter may sound daft but just five miles from where I live is a 3* hotel whose second floor fire exit is through the bedroom at the end of the corridor!

A portable, battery run rodent or cockroach repellent. Preferably one that emits a tone that is inaudible to human ears rather than the sort that catches your unwanted visitors. You may think this a bit 'soft' but it's all very well catching them but what are you going to do with the body once you've trapped it!

Non-chemical fly papers to hang up and catch at least some of the flying pests whose main aim in life is to eat you alive overnight. Or you may prefer a mosquito repellent gadget to keep them at bay without killing them.

Some people advocate a type of portable hotel safe for your valuables if you are travelling on business why are you carrying valuables? If they are essential then either keep them with you at all times or put them in the proper hotel safe - and get a receipt for them from the receptionist - otherwise it's their word against yours in the event of them going missing.

Others suggest taking a portable ladder to throw out the window to make good your escape in the event of a fire. It would be safer to book a room between the second and fifth floor of the hotel. Ground floors are notoriously vulnerable to walk-in thieves and car bombs in some countries, whilst in others the fire tenders' ladders won't reach beyond the fifth floor.

Finally, if you can bear the extra weight of one more gadget - take a torch with you. This will be handy if there is a power failure or simply you want to find your way to the bathroom without disturbing your companions by putting the main lights on.

Apart from these gadgets your best friend regards hotel room security is your commonsense. Don't drink too much alcohol, don't leave your drink unattended, don't accept drinks from strangers if you are travelling alone, don't broadcast in reception that you are a lone traveller and keep your hotel room keys safe. Ladies would also do well to avoid rooms at the end of corridors or the ground floor rooms, especially if the windows are easily opened - don't be afraid to ask for a change of room if it compromises your personal safety.

Learn more about this author, Sarah J Palmer.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.