5 Essential Tips to Keep Your Home Safe while on Vacation

While spending some time away on vacation sounds like a dream to most, in order to come back to a home with all your belongings as you left them, we must not forget to these simple tasks when planning days away from home. These tips are important to keep out any burglars from targeting your home.

(1) Ask Someone to Check on Things

By mentioning to a trusted neighbour, friend or family member that your home will be vacant while you are away, they will be able to make sure the house looks as unempty as possible by collecting any mail left out or turning lights on when visiting.

(2) Install Timers

By installing timers on electronics within the house hold such as lights, TV’s and even sprinklers; the house will not look give off a sign that the occupants are away on vacation. By timing these to come on at different times of the day and night, if anyone were to be watching the house’s movements they would be unsure as to whether someone was actually in or not due to the irregularities.

(3) Lock Everything

Although this may be obvious, it is many times overlooked or forgotten when in a rush. Make sure to check and lock any doors or windows which are usually left open in order to prevent easy access.

(4) Keep Valuables in a Safe

When leaving any valuables including money, jewellery, electronics at home while on vacation, the best place to store them is out of sight, avoiding obvious hiding places such as in a drawer under clothes. Using a safe means that even if anyone is to break in, at least the most valuable items are stored safely out of reach.

(5) Don't Broadcast your Absence

In this social media age, it is very easy to broadcast to the World that you are going away on vacation. Be mindful that by telling everyone you are away on vacation, the word may spread to unwanted visitors. Only tell those you trust before you leave or once you have returned. Social media can wait!

Written by Nicole Fernandez Medina

TOP 5 SAFETY TRAVEL APPS

Travelling to another part of the World is exciting. However, it is always important to stay safe and keep in mind your personal security while you are having fun. While you are travelling, situations may arise unexpectedly that may be out of your control and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared just in case. As we all know, summer is fast approaching and we know that a lot of you guys will be travelling this summer. To help you get prepared, we wanted to give you some useful tools to help you stay safe so we listed our top 5 safety travel apps to help you on your journey.  See below. Enjoy! :-)

(1)    ICE

While on vacation a medical situation may arise. They can be unexpected and it is best to be prepared as much as you can. The ICE app is a very useful tool if such situations arise. The app keeps details about your medical conditions, your insurance information and your doctor's direct contact details. It can also be accessed even if your phone is locked. Everyone should have this app all the time. The app also comes in a number of different languages.

(2)   Tripit

This app enables you to track your itinerary. You can also share your itinerary with your family and friends so they are also aware of your plans and be reassured of your safety. This is useful for just in case you forget or can’t pronounce the name of your destination. 

(3)   iTranslate

This is a dictionary and translation app. It can easily translate texts in over 90 languages. It can also translate your voice phrases. Absolutely genius! Not being able to speak the local language can make you very vulnerable so this app is a powerful tool in empowering you as a tourist and gives you a lot more confidence in navigating the country that you are visiting. Also, if you are in a risky situation and cannot speak the local language the app will help a lot in assisting you in the situation.

(4)   Companion

This app acts like a guardian angel. The app lets your friends and family know that you are on your journey. All you have to do is enter your destination and select your contacts to be your Companions. They don’t even have to have the app installed.  These companions anywhere in the World will see a live map of your progress. It alerts your friends and family and lets them know if something happens to you so they can take action. It’s a great app that puts you at ease and also puts your friends and family at ease wherever you are in the World.

(5) Safeture

The app provides real-time status on warnings, alerts and security. The app automatically filters warnings and information to you based on your location or your travel destination. The Safeture app has for a number of years provided international businesses and Government organisations with travel security. The app also provides you with emergency information and updates quickly on events that may affect your travel plans and well-being.

TOP 5 HOTEL HACKS

Here are our top 5 hotel hacks to help you guys get free upgrades, discounted rates and additional perks during your hotel stays abroad. Enjoy! :-)

1.    Twenty Dollar Trick

As far as we know, this only works in selected Hotels in Las Vegas. If you happen to be travelling to Las Vegas definitely try it and see what happens. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t. This is what you do:-

When you arrive at check-in, you provide your debit/credit card and ID and put a $20 bill in between the cards very discreetly and give it to the check-in staff. As you do this, ask if there are any upgrades available. If they find you an upgrade they keep the $20 bill, if not, they will simply decline and give it back to you. If successful, you could get a king size room with an amazing view and indoor Jacuzzi. It’s definitely worth a try.

2. Offer to write a review

It helps to mention that you are on TripAdvisor as you check-in. You can also offer to write a review of your experience. In response, you may get extra special treatment or even an upgrade from the hotel.

3.    Use the Do Not Disturb sign for security

If you are staying in a cheap hotel or hostel and unsure about the safety of your belongings, leave the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door when you go out; this will deter intruding thieves by giving them an indication that you may be in your room (even though you might not). This sign is effective in helping to keep your stuff in your hotel room safe from intruders and will give you some peace of mind while you are out and about exploring the city.

3.     Call the hotel to speak to Hotel Manager or the Front Desk before you arrive

If you have stayed at the hotel before mention it. As an effort to ensure you come back the Hotel Manager may give you a special offer or special perks as a reward for being a regular customer.  If it is your first time staying at a particular hotel do not hesitate to ask for additional perks.  If it is a special occasion, anniversary or a birthday, mention it. If you don’t ask you don’t get. People underestimate how much power hotel staff have, they have the power to upgrade for free or for a good rate to make your stay even more enjoyable..

4.    Be Nice

Being nice and friendly can go a long way in getting extra perks during your stay.