It’s perfectly normal to want to feel safe when staying somewhere that isn’t your home – especially if it’s a hotel you’ve never been to before.
However, how far would you go with the precautions?
One traveller who goes by ‘Victoriasway’ on TikTok has sparked a debate after posting a video of her hotel safety tips.
The clip posted this week has already been seen by over 5.8 million people and over 2,000 of them have commented their input on the divisive topic.
Victoria’s first tips are to ‘put the do not disturb sign on the door’ and ‘lock the door,’ which are safety tips that aren’t too out of the ordinary.
A woman who goes by ‘Victoriasway’ on TikTok has sparked a debate on the app after posting a video of her hotel safety tips
She then advises to ‘close the peephole’ as she’s seen shoving a small white object into it.
Tip number four is to ‘put the washcloth in the deadbolt loop to close the gap’ – the influencer demonstrates by showing how it makes it more difficult to open.
Next, as the advice gets more advanced, she says you should ‘block the door by placing the iron board against it’.
Then ‘roll up a medium sized towel and put it behind the handle to block it’.
Finally, Victoria says to ‘connect the handle and the deadbolt with a clothes hanger for added security’.
At this point, her hotel room door looks like a carefully designed contraption.
However, most people in the comments thought it was excessive and were shocked by ‘why she would need all of this’.
One person wrote ‘where the hell are you staying for all of this to be necessary?’ and another added ‘If I’m that scared, I’m not leaving the house’.
Most people in the comments thought it was excessive and were shocked by ‘why she would need all of this’
Some people thought it was actually making the room more unsafe as it was creating a fire hazard, with one viewer saying ‘I realize this is smart for protection, but at the same time would be a nightmare to get out if there was a fire’.
Others added ‘And now imagine trying to get out of that in the dark in a fire in the middle of the night’ and ‘what happens if you have an emergency and need help..no one can get in to help you’.
Another viewer went against Victoria’s advice, writing ‘I feel like putting the do not not disturb sign tells people that somebody is staying in the room,’ while another said ‘Pretty sure I’m not staying in a hotel that would require me to do all that.’
Some agreed with Victoria’s suggestions and shared their own – one woman advised ‘I take two portable locks, and a mini camera that links to my phone for when I’m out’.
Others added ‘this is my level of safety thank you’ and ‘Get a portable door lock. I use Addalock which I got on Amazon for like $20. It takes 2 seconds to install. My husband tested it and couldn’t get in’.
Meanwhile, some commenters made light of the situation, joking ‘Me trying to lock my door so my sister doesn’t get in’ and ‘By the time I do all all that, it’s morning again’.