Do you take a wedge or something to a hotel for extra security?

[Thingsthatgo]

we are going to spend a week in different hotels on our holiday, and I don’t know if I am being over anxious. Does anyone take any extra security measures to prevent people accessing their room overnight?

no.
but I put a chair or suitcase against the door. same for connecting doors.
(travel a lot for work)

When you say wedge, do you mean like a door stop?
i will be staying solo in a hotel next weekend and have been thinking about this recently with all the news about travelodge plus my friend recently checked in to a hotel and was given a key card for a room which was already occupied. That was since the recent news so they are not even trying to be more competent

Never done this.

I didn't for the second say (or think) that i was the only well travelled person on here. Don't be ridiculous.

Yes a few wrong key cards happen every now and then. You do realise the vast majority of the population are decent people.

Some people seem to live life thinking the worst is going to happen at all points. It must be exhausting. Well I can safely say I won't be carrying around door stops or other contraptions and I'll continue to feel safe.

You think taking a couple of door stops to a hotel is “exhausting”? I can assure you, it really isn’t.

Can you clarify the nature of the stat you originally cited? Seems relevant to know how many (if not all) we are attributing to people who nefariously gained entry to people rooms with a key?

No, I've never done this. I've never felt unsafe in a hotel room either.

The worst that has ever happened was that someone tried my hotel room door handle earlier this year (to be fair the rooms and layout of that particular hotel is problematic).

Only felt the need to barricade myself into a hotel room once to be honest after I’d asked a man to leave, didn’t want to sleep with him and he kept trying to get back into my room. He was a pop star in the country we were in and reception were impressed with him. I was on my own.

You're deliberately misunderstanding and know perfectly well that wasn't what I meant.

I’ve never heard of a wedge so can someone please explain what it is… can it be used at home for extra security or just in hotels?

Door stop/Door wedge:

https://amzn.eu/d/0iXgtgDk

This is not something I've ever done.

Aaah, the Glastonbury Travelodge! Been there, done that. (Other incompetent Travelodges are available.)

Yes I agree with this, and I work away quite regularly and stay in hotels.

That said, in light of past incidents, I can completely understand people who do use them. I always lock the door etc

Nope. I have never felt the need.

I always wedge something in front of doors and adjoining doors, cases, chairs. I’ve travelled a lot on my own and I have always taught my dd to do the same. It pisses me off that DH dosnt when he’s sharing a room with DDs, as a man he dosnt think about his safety but is getting better at understanding we need to teach DDs about their.

I have tried with rubber door wedges but I found most of the time it didn't hold when I tested them by opening the door...

What I do instead is always put a piece of furniture chair or coffee table in front of the door 🙃

I hate hotel rooms with adjoining doors, just another source of anxiety and hard to wedge a piece of furniture against a long wall.

Aside from door wedges (which have pros and cons that have already been considered), here are some additional safety tips worth knowing

1. Stay on the 7th floor or lower. If there is a fire most rescue cranes only reach this far. If it’s somewhere earthquake prone you want the first or second floor.
2. Know where the fire exit stairs are from your room.
3. Cover the peep hole if there is one. Blue tac or duct tape is good for this.
4. Don’t accept a room with an adjoining door.
5. If you hang the ‘do not disturb’ sign, use the side with the local language and not the UK side.
6. Don’t use the hotel WiFi, better to tether from your phone. And use a VPN.
7. Don’t charge your phone directly through a USB port in the wall, use a charger plugged in to the mains.
8. Don’t carry your key card in the cardboard holder that has your room number on.

And - in some countries - best to assume your room is bugged. Probably not, but still, don’t do anything that would compromise you if recorded.

Some of these might seem OTT but it’s a sliding scale depending on the context.

Utterly paranoid

@Gottodosomething2026 It’s not if you’ve seen what I’ve seen. These are all things that are industry standard in my sector. Most of them take no additional time and no additional money and I wish more people knew about them, especially women.

Nope, just put the chain on the door and avoid hotels in dodgy areas if I can. I wouldn’t be staying at the hotel in the news recently anyway.

I've been doing this for about 25 years. I just take a small rubber doorstop in my luggage. Love solo travelling so this is a must!

No 7 - why?

My dog would barely lift her head off the pillow if an intruder came in! Unless they had food, in which case she’d be their best friend.
It’s not really practical to take her away with me for work anyway though, and the vast majority of my travel is work travel, so the dog point is moot.
No, I don’t take anything to wedge the door in a hotel. Until this thread it had genuinely never occurred to me. I stay in hotels for work about twice a month.