Hotel Safety Tips for New Parents

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We just recently got back from a business trip to Chicago for the Financial Blogger Conference (now known as FinCon).

We had a wonderful time and it was our first adventure as a family of three.

We decided to do a road trip up, breaking it between days, both for our baby girl and our sake.

I'm not going to lie. We completely embraced the whole ‘baby's first trip' mentality. At every state's welcome center we took a ridiculous amount of pictures.

I didn't think I'd be that mom taking pictures of her baby everywhere. Anyways…

We had a fantastic time in Chicago meeting other personal finance bloggers and chatting with them in person.

One other shift I've noticed with this how cautious we were about EVERYTHING.

We've travel quite a bit, so I really thought it wouldn't be such a big deal, but somehow a mental switch came on. If you're a new parent, let me help you make this transition go smoother.

Hotel Safety Tips

We stayed at the Marriott in Schaumburg, a wonderful place if you're in the area.

After receiving our keys and settling in our room, I noticed some helpful information printed on the key holder. 

I thought that they would handy to share and I've included my thoughts.

• Don't allow stranger into your room. If you're in doubt if a person is an employee of the hotel, ask for ID or call the hotel desk to confirm.
• Do not leave your valuables in your vehicle. We had a friend who had his car broken into when he left his GPS holder out on the dash. Someone correctly assumed he'd have his device inside as well. While you can't always protect yourself from thieves, you can try to make your car less tempting.
• Don't draw unwanted attention to yourself by displaying large amount of cash or other valuables like jewelry. I feel like this is common sense, but sometimes we are stressed out when something goes wrong and we get sloppy.
• When you return to the hotel at night, use the main entrance. Even if the side entrance is much easier, taking the main entrance is usually the safer option. As a woman, I strongly suggest this to other women who are traveling.
• Use all the locking devices provided in the room. It's better to be safe than sorry. In the middle of the night, you may need extra time to get your cobwebs cleared out so you can call for help, like 911.
• Please report any suspicious activity.
• If you need special assistance, please inform the staff in case of an evacuation. I didn't think about this, but it is vital for those who have special needs.

I hope that advice above helps you and your family to have a safe trip next time you go on vacation or on a business trip.

Thoughts on Having a Safe Road Trip

I'm a big fan of road trips; how about you? How many of you take road trips for your vacations? Have you ever had problems? What tips did I miss?