Why You Should Always Yank on Your Hotel Door (and deadbolt it!)

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This just happened to my friend, but don’t let it happen to you.

You leave your hotel room.  You hear the door *click* closed.  You’re fine, right?

My friend thought so.  He let his hotel door close all the way and figured he was fine.  What he didn’t know was that the electronic door on his door was faulty.  So if he turned the handle and tried turning it, it would have opened right up for him.

It wasn’t propped open.  It didn’t look unusual to him.

Unfortunately, he also had the bad luck of someone trying his door.  And all his luggage and electronics were stolen.  (And he’s a really tech-y guy.  A lot of electronics were stolen).

I can’t blame him because the door latched.  He heard it.  The electronic lock was just not working.

I recommend always trying your door after you let it close.  It’s a little paranoid, but I like to know that it is actually locked.  And if you are in your room, deadbolt it and put the extra latch across.

I had a professor who went to an academic conference one time.  Her door was also broken and she didn’t know it.  In the middle of the night, she woke up to a man in her room.  She started screaming and he ran out.

That’s frightening.  Luckily, she woke up and her screaming scared him, but who knows what would have happened.

It’s good practice to get into the habit of checking your door every time you leave and double-locking it when you get home.

Luckily in my friend’s case, the hotel immediately took full responsibility and is putting all his items through their insurance claim.

But always check the door!