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Wondering how safe it is to let the kids wander around? The pros discuss how to make your resort vacation a safe, risk-free, stress-free experience.

When travelers are surveyed about what is most important to them when planning a family vacation, the No. 1 answer isn't sunshine, a wealth of activities, great food or even a low price. Invariably, studies show that the most important element of a family vacation is a safe environment. But while safety is top-of-mind when planning a vacation, many families often forget the most common-sense safety rules once their vacation begins.

Vacations offer a break from reality, a chance to get away from the worries of everyday life. It's easy for families to forget that even the most perfect vacations occur in the real world, where dangers still exist.

We asked Terry Whaples, then director of Holiday Inn's Nickelodeon Family Suites Hotel and other large family resorts in Orlando, about her safety tips. She said, "We're constantly looking for ways to increase the level of safety and security for our guests. But there are also some simple tips that parents can follow to ensure their families enjoy a fun, safe vacation."

Safety Tips from the Pros

• ♥ Make sure the door to your room is always locked, and make it a habit to use all locks, including the deadbolt and chain.  If you choose to stay in a room that faces the pools or beach, make sure your sliding doors and windows have sturdy locks. 
• ♥ Avoid rooms iwth ground- or second-level windows.  When possible, choose a room between the third and sixth floors as they are high enough to discourage access from the street, yet are within reach of most fire-department ladders.
  
  
• ♥ Instruct children that only grown-ups should answer the door. Even when someone identifies himself as a hotel employee, only an adult should answer the door, and, if the visitor is not expected, call the from desk to confirm his or her status before letting them in.
• ♥ Review the resort's safety information with your children upon check-in; it's in the bound hotel guide in your room or broadcast on the hotel's TV. Make sure everyone knows how to find the nearest exit, where the staircase leads, and how to reach the front desk in case of emergency.
• ♥ Park in well-lit areas and as close to the hotel as possible, as many hotel thefts take place in parking lots and structures.  Women traveling alone should ask for an escort to their cars at night, or use valet parking services.
• ♥ Choose a hotel with surveillance cameras as they can provide an added layer of security to help prevent theft and discourage criminals.  Hotel cameras should be placed in stairwells, pathways, exercise rooms, parking lots and any other public areas.  Cameras not only help hotel staff track the safety of their visitors, they are also helpful in identifying criminals if a crime does occur.

• ♥ Never walk barefoot through a hotel's public areas. Keep shoes handy near the front door of your room in case of unexpected evacuation due to fire or other emergency.


• ♥ Even in resorts with lifeguards, parents should always monitor their children's activities in the pool. In fact, parents should accompany their children in the pool whenever possible.
• ♥ Accompany children at all times in a hotel's public areas. Hotels and resorts are getting larger and larger, and it's easy for a child to become lost. In Ms. Whaples' experience, security staff often escort a child back to his or her room, only to find that the parents have sent the child out, unaccompanied, to play in the pool, game room, or buy a snack.
• ♥ Always remember that even though family resorts are fun, happy places, they are also unfamiliar territory, and therefore it's easy to become disoriented or lost.
• ♥ Make sure your children know the name of the hotel where they are staying in case they get lost.


• ♥ Whenever you leave the resort, place a 3x5 card in your children's pockets, a hotel business card, or some other form of identification, with your name and contact number. If your children become lost, this will help authorities reach you quickly.
• ♥ Keep recent photographs of all children with you, which can speed up the search process if family members get separated. When traveling abroad, always keep a photocopy of each child's passport with you.
• ♥ Ask your family doctor or pediatrician to recommend a doctor or facility near your vacation destination prior to departure.
• ♥ Bring plenty of water with you on airplanes, while driving and while walking through the theme parks. Kids can become dehydrated quickly.
• ♥ Dress your toddlers in brightly colored clothing, so they're easier to spot in crowds.

Keeping your family safe and secure while traveling doesn't require a lot of work, and it shouldn't! Ms. Whaples reminds families, "Your focus needs to be on spending time together and enjoying fun family activities. Simple attention to some general safety guidelines will help put your mind at ease, and allow you to enjoy a fabulous family vacation."