Do hotels in Europe have chains on door?

[Snowgone25]

Meeting friends in Geneva. All arriving slightly different times and days. Was having a look to choose a hotel. I know Geneva is very safe, but looking at the pictures of hotels I can’t see any security chains on the hotel door.
Is this not so common in other countries? It makes me feel safer. Thanks!

I travel a lot for work. Having had my double locked rooms in two different hotels in different countries “accidentally” accessed twice while I was in them asleep (once in New Zealand, once in Germany) I now travel everywhere with this: https://door-jammer.com/

Small, portable and absolutely brilliant.

Get yourself an old-fashioned door wedge. Door cannot be opened withvthat in place. No fixing required!
Keep mine in my suitcase

That Amazon lock is flimsy and I doubt it would stop anyone determined to get in, the door wedge would be more useful. Saying that, you’re in Geneva where the crime rate is half of that of London so I think you may be feeling overcautious.

I travel (alone) for work all over Europe and UK, and taking anything relating to locking the door has never occured to me.
Are there facts/stats somewhere about attempted hotel room break-ins that show hotel stays to be something to be concerned about (moreso than any other aspect of travel/being in a large town/city)?

IME most hotel doors have a safety buckle attached (rather than a chain).

Online photos are unlikely to choose this aspect of the room to showcase though, so it would be hard to find photos of it online.

Turn the lock from the inside ✅

I just had a quick Google and seemingly the highest % of crime committed in hotels is violence against the person, almost invariably when people who know each other "let their guard down".

I do appreciate the OP might not be a seasoned traveller, and may be concerned as a woman travelling alone, but I think it very much depends on the place and hotel as well.

Seedy b&b on a street in a rundown neighbourhood in a city known full of people not known for respecting women- fair enough. But personally, I'd not be in one of those anyway. And I doubt travelling to Geneva for work falls into that category.

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia using puerile teenage insults indicates you aren't old enough yet to go further than a Butlins with your ma and da, so perhaps any advice you give isn't relevant. You clearly don't travel much, for work or otherwise.

I know the four seasons does in Geneva.

Geneva is a very safe and dull city. You will be fine with the locks already on the room doors.

This thread has reminded me that the last time I stayed in a hotel with a chain lock I (accidentally) ripped it out of the wall just by opening the door from the inside and not realising DH had put it on.

Not sure chains are the failsafe security measure people think they are.

Well if you’re happy to wait the extra minute, two minutes it would take to get through the door while overcome by smoke in your room or having a heart attack, then great. I probably wouldn’t. People are so flippant about fire safety in hotels. But it’s a much greater risk than someone getting in through a door that’s dead bolted to attack you 🤷‍♀️

People are so flippant about fire safety in hotels. But it’s a much greater risk than someone getting in through a door that’s dead bolted to attack you

That. I wouldn't add anything to a door that prevented access in an emergency.
An ex colleague of mine had a heart attack in his hotel room and it had to be broken in to.
Any layer of extra locking that only the person inside can remove, worries me more than the risk of an intruder.

Off topic, enjoy Geneva! I grew up there and miss it SO much, you have to go to the old town into the cathedral there. Enjoy your stay ❤️

It's Europe, you'll be fine 😊

People who are mocking have likely not been victim of a home invasion or similar and are being pretty cruel imo. Also perhaps you won't be mugged in Geneva but sexual assault exists everywhere men are.

I have the DoorJammer linked by a PP, it's wonderful. I always have it in hand luggage and has never been confiscated. Door wedges don't work if there is a big gap or slippery carpet I find. And yes, much of their effect is psychological but I don't care because it lets me sleep better.

I can't imagine being this anxious about staying in a hotel. What a way to live, with such worries.

You will be fine OP.

I've been to two conferences for work, two solo international trips, and several hobby summer school so far.

You breeze past the peer-reviewed journal article and the suggested lock to pick on my choice of words to express my disapproval of people who have minimised the OP's concerns. That says more about you than it does about me.

What makes you think that hotel workers don't have casual sex?

The PP who said "sexual assault exists everywhere men are" has it right.

I'd say that the proportion of students having questionable casual sex with other students is far higher than the proportion of hotel staff (who might actually need to keep their jobs, apart from anything else) who let themselves into guests' rooms to sexualy assault them.

I travel a lot for work in the UK and Europe and have rarely seen a chain and when I have they've been in the lower end hotels. It's never occurred to me that I need some other sort of device.

I’ve used hotels all my working life (44years). I just use the double lock.

We thought the same about black cab drivers needing to keep their jobs and then John Worboys hit the headlines.

We thought this about serving coppers and then Wayne Couzins and David Carrick hit the headlines.

Please, please don't get any extra locks or wedges or chains for your door. Fire safety in hotels is really important and all of these things are going to make rescue and escape more difficult.
If you're that worried about security you won't sleep anyway.
The scary reels on TikTok are ridiculous- the world is genuinely not full of men hiding in hotel rooms trying to attack you or spy on you. Just do the maths. For this to be a problem there would need to be 50 odd intruders every night in a hotel with 300 rooms...
The most important safety measures in hotels are
Know where the fire escape stairs are
Don't get rooms higher than 6th floor, that's the highest fire ladders can go.

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia You really need to chill out a bit! Bad things happen but they are pretty rare. And they can also happen anywhere. Imagine living your life in this much fear.

You can buy an alarmed door wedge from Amazon ( £8) will fit every door.