The globe-riding vlogger, who has spent the last decade exploring the world, has issued a harsh warning about using hotel safes. Mitch Glass, who visited Africa, Asia and Europe, and what he described as some of the “most sketchy” places in Latin America, shared his advice in a recent video on his travel-themed YouTube channel, Project Untethered.
In the video entitled “10 Trick Thief Don't Want to Know to Travelers,” Mitch claimed that many popular travel tips are “completely backwards,” including keeping valuables safe at the hotel. He may believe that most of us are safe indoor safes, but they believe that once we enter our room it was “literally the first place” that con artists target. Mitch said: “For example, drink a hotel safe. Most travelers think that a hotel safe is the safest place to store valuables in a hotel, but that's literally the first place where thieves can see.”
“Hotel Safe can be 000 or 1234 because there is a universal code that hotels may forget to reset. Even if a hotel resets, you don't know who has the code.”
He insisted that in some hotel safes, what is needed to open them is a “good bop on the top.” Therefore, Mitch prefers to hide his valuables in “strange places” of his hotel room.
Among the hiding places he recommended were inside pillowcases, inside a microwave or stove, surrounded by piles of clean towels above his wardrobe or underneath the covers of the ironing board in his room.
He said: “If you're a burglar and you're nervous that the owner is back early and walking the robber, will you take the time to check under your bed sheet or do you go directly to the safe?”
Nevertheless, he warned that they should not forget where they hid their valuables, and suggested that they write down the location of notes on your phone and set an alarm as a reminder to collect your items.
He recommended having “secret stashes” of cash and cards hidden in regular travel items, assuming that burglars don't usually swipe something like chapsticks or deodorant sticks.
Mitch also suggested spreading your money rather than keeping it all in one place, sharing his practice of splitting into luggage, everyday bags and additional secret locations.
Other safety recommendations from him include connecting your luggage to stationary items in your room, linking the bags to complicate theft, or using portable travel safety.
He further advised travelers to keep things tidy in their hotel rooms, observing that if your space is messy, staff should take care of your property more and increase the risk of you losing them.
