A travel expert has warned solo female travellers to be careful when checking into a hotel, as staff often make a ‘major’ mistake that could put you in danger. Here’s everything you need to know to stay safe
Travelling solo can be an amazing and liberating experience – but it’s easy to end up in an uncomfortable situation.
Unfortunately, horror stories of women jetting off to see the world only to be subject to horrendous crimes appear in the headlines far too often. It’s fair to say you should always be on the lookout and trust your instinct, even if it sometimes feels like you’re overreacting. Prioritising your safety is paramount, even if it does jeopardise your holiday plans.
One travel expert has issued a stark warning that could put you in danger when visiting a hotel, and it turns out plenty of women have experienced a similar encounter.
Patrice is a solo travel content creator whose handy tips have attracted thousands of views on TikTok. In a now-deleted video, the expert warns that hotel staff should never read your room number out loud. If they do – she says you should ask for a new room to be allocated to your booking.
“You might think that’s really excessive, but sometimes hotel lobbies even include people who aren’t even guests at the hotel,” she said. “You don’t have to make a big deal out of it, you could just say ‘I would just prefer that my room number isn’t announced out loud’.”
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Fellow TikToker Darlene Octavia says this advice ‘saved’ her on a recent trip in America. “I was staying in a random little inn in the middle of nowhere. By the time I got there to check in, it was late, it was dark,” she said.
The influencer explains how as she was checking in, an older man walks in behind and tries striking up a conversation over her UK accent. “The guy finishes what he has to do to check me in, and says ‘okay cool, your room is 262 and announces it, so the guys hears it. There’s no doubt,” she said.
Later on, Darlene says she was walking to her room when she suddenly heard the man catch up with her. “He says ‘Oh, your room is this way.’ So he’s heard my room number and is now leading me to my room,” she said. “As luck would have it, literally next door to his room. So now he knows, single woman, literally next door to him.”
Darlene ended up going back down to reception to explain the staff member shouldn’t have read the room number out loud. Luckily, the hotel had another unoccupied room that she could move into.
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