Business travelers, especially women, need to be extremely vigilant about their personal safety when staying at hotels for work. Recent high-profile cases of assaults and harassment at hotels have drawn attention to the risks, but attacks can happen to anyone, even in seemingly safe environments.
Women business travelers are very frequent targets of sexual assault, harassment, and other crimes. “Most women business travelers are just beginning to learn how unsafe they can be in hotels and other travel settings,” says New York-based safety consultant Paxton Quigley, author of “Not an Easy Target.” She explains that airports, planes, hotels, walking alone in unfamiliar cities, and conventions all pose major risks for women. Factors like wearing name badges and publicly sharing hotel room numbers at conventions make women particularly vulnerable to predators.
Even hotel spaces presumed to be safe, like business centers, can pose unseen dangers. In 2002, Jeanne Duwe was attacked while working late in a hotel business center in Reno, Nevada while traveling for work. She made the critical mistake of turning her back on a man who entered the business center, before he suddenly hit the lights and violently attacked her.
To stay as safe as possible, women travelers need to closely follow their instincts if any situation seems strange or off. When hotel staff make deliveries, leave the door wide open or politely tell them you’ll take the item from there, rather than letting them fully enter the room. Use door stoppers, keep all adjoining room doors tightly locked, and consider requesting room service be delivered by female members of the hotel staff if possible. Be very cautious around hotel bars, as they can frequently be harassment hotspots, and be extremely careful about accepting drinks from strangers that could be spiked with date rape drugs.
Many incidents stem from travelers allowing strangers into their rooms, but co-workers can also present risks on shared trips. Standard workplace harassment policies fully apply when sharing travel accommodations with colleagues. Hotels have cracked down on openly giving out guest room numbers after high-profile stalking cases, but predators can still find room numbers on door tags for deliveries or gym sign-in sheets.
The vast majority of troublesome incidents at hotels go completely unreported, so remaining constantly vigilant is key. Although some attacks or harassment may seem relatively minor in the moment, they still leave victims badly shaken. Maintaining awareness and caution can go a very long way toward helping travelers avoid becoming victims and staying safe.