A flight attendant has shared her top pieces of advice for keeping safe while staying at a hotel, urging others to do the same.
Holidays are meant to be a time to relax and unwind, but it's important to take some precautions in order to make sure you're as safe as can be.
Using her own experiences of staying in hotels all around the world, American cabin crew member Cici has pulled together some helpful tips for safety and shared them in a TikTok for others to follow - and it includes one important part about securing your door properly.
The Express reports that the flight attendant always follows a checklist of safety procedures whenever she arrives at a hotel for work.
In the video, she advised travellers to make sure the door is fully shut whenever they leave their room.
"I see doors not fully shut all the time walking through the hallway," she said. Hotel doors are usually heavy but they normally need a final push to make sure they're closed properly.
Then, she makes sure the peephole is closed and "if there is no cover, just take some tissue and shove it in there so nobody can see inside your room".
She always takes a small towel from the bathroom and wraps it around the safety latch as an extra security measure. The flight attendant then closes the latch lock with the hand towel, which will make it harder to open.
Cici also recommends that you count the number of doors to the exit stairwell in case there's a fire and it's "too smoky" to spot where the exits are. It's important to be prepared by knowing information like this in the event of an emergency.
You should be extra careful when going out and about on holiday, and carrying safety devices like a safety alarm is recommended.
The flight attendant explained that she uses "a personal safety alarm like the Birdie". Birdie is a personal safety alarm "made for women".
The device has "a loud alarm and flashing strobe light designed to deter an attack" and can be purchased online for less than £20.
"I bought one for all the women in my life," Cici said.
The flight attendant continued: "If someone knocks at the room and says they are housekeeping, but you didn't order anything, call the front desk.
"This could also be room service, security or anything you weren't expecting." Holidaymakers should never open the door if they are not expecting someone or haven't requested anything from the front desk.
Finally, "for added protection at night", the flight attendant recommended "using these door safety alarms, if someone opens the door, it will set it off".
"Always bring two door wedges or door stop alarms just in case you have an adjoining room and they weren't able to accommodate your room request."
Door-stop alarms can be found on Amazon for just £6 with some people saying it is "an alarm that would wake up the dead".
Finally, Cici suggested always booking a non-adjoining room so that people on the other side can't access your room easily if you've forgotten to lock the door.
A traveller said on TikTok: "Adjoining rooms scare me" and another one recommended always placing furniture in front of that door.
Another person commented: "Life-saving tips! Thank you, I'll do the same thing!"
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