The items you store in a hotel safe are the kind of things you definitely don’t want to lose while on vacation.
They are either expensive (cameras, jewelry, and other tech products) or necessary for travel (passports, visas, and other documents).
Ironically, while safes do a great job of hiding these items, they sometimes do that a little too well.
There are no statistics on how many people realize after arriving at the airport or returning home that their passport or a precious ring is in the hotel safe, but the number must be high, given how many times we’ve nearly checked out before checking the safe.
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Maybe that’s why a flight attendant’s “groundbreaking” hotel safe trick has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.
Estelle Staalas, who works for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, revealed the unusual items she always keeps in her hotel safe, as well as some hotel tips and tricks for travelers.
Starlas spends a lot of time checking in and out of hotels, planning ahead so she doesn’t leave anything important behind even when she has to wake up early to catch a flight.
The secret? Leave one of your work heels in the safe.
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“Are you worried you might forget something in your locker?” the text in the video says. “Just put your heels or shoes in your locker and you’ll never forget them!”
While it’s easy to leave a hotel without important documents or jewelry, it’s pretty difficult to leave with only one shoe on, so the logic goes that you’ll always need the other shoe to open the safe.
As with any essential item, shoes are small enough to fit into a standard safe, so each pair is packed individually.
These tips would have helped longtime travel editor Stephanie Holmes avoid making some “rookie mistakes” while traveling around the US.
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Luckily, Herald Travel’s top writers and editors have revealed mistakes they’ve made while traveling, so readers can learn from their mistakes.
There are plenty of things that can go wrong when you’re abroad, from assuming the Euro is used across Europe to falling victim to a holiday-ruining visa trap, leaving multiple plugs in your hotel, or getting caught up in the Instagram trap.
