How To Ensure Hotel Safety When Traveling with Students

No Outdoor Access to Rooms (photo holidayinn.com)

When traveling with students, safety is of the utmost priority. Hotel selection should be made very carefully, with considerations beyond the cheapest price.  Incorporate these criteria into your hotel selection to ensure the highest safety for your group.

No Outdoor Access to Rooms: Be sure that the hotel rooms are not accessible from an outdoor entrance. Safety from unwanted intruders is significantly increased when rooms can only be accessed from indoors.

Rooms on Second Floor or Higher: Rooms on the second floor or higher are farther removed from hotel entrances and the front desk, decreasing the incentive for theft or intrusion.

Rooms Close Together:  It is easier to monitor rooms in close proximity to each other. If availability allows, request rooms located near each other on the same floor.  If rooms must be divided between floors, request that rooms be on adjacent floors (e.g. floors three and four) and on the same side of the building.

Nighttime Supervision: Ensure that room entrances are supervised at all times when occupied by students. Shifts throughout the night can be taken by parents and chaperones. We hire nighttime security guards to monitor room entrances for seven consecutive hours throughout the night. They provide written feedback for each hour of their shift to inform us of evening activity.

Safe Location: Investigate the physical location of the hotel in the context of the city you are visiting. Choose a hotel in an area with relatively low crime rate and nighttime activity.

Non-Smoking Rooms: For both the health and comfort of your group, choose to stay in non-smoking rooms.