Travel tips to avoid losing your passport on holiday

The things you keep in a hotel safe are the kind of items you really (really) don’t want to go missing during a holiday.

Either because they’re expensive (camera, jewellery, other technology bits) or essential for travel (passport, visas, other documentation).

The irony is that, while a safe can keep these items hidden, they can sometimes do the job a little too well.

There are no statistics on how many people arrive at the airport or return home only to realise their passports or precious rings are back at the hotel safe. However, given the number of times I’ve almost checked out before checking the safe, I’d bet the number is high.

This is possibly why one flight attendant’s “game-changing” hotel safe trick has gained more than 1.3 million views.

Ester Sturrus, who works for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, has revealed an unusual item she always places in a hotel safe, along with several other hotel tips and tricks for travellers.

Sturrus likely spends a lot of time checking in and out of hotels and devises a plan to ensure she never leaves important items behind, even when getting up super early for a flight.

The trick? Leaving one of her work heels in the safe.

“Worried about forgetting something from your locker?” read the video text. “Put your heel/shoe in it and you won’t forget it!”

@esthersturrus

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♬ B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All) - Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal

While it can be easy to walk out of a hotel without important paperwork or jewellery, it’s pretty difficult to leave only wearing one shoe. So, the logic is that you’ll always need your second shoe, which prompts you to open the safe.

Any essential item works the same but a shoe tends to be small enough to fit in a standard safe and is one of a pair.

This trick would have helped long-time travel editor Stephanie Holmes from making “the rookiest of rookie mistakes” during a trip around America.

Fortunately, Herald Travel’s top writers and editors have revealed mistakes they’ve made while on the go to help readers learn from their errors.

From assuming all of Europe uses euros to holiday-ruining visa traps, leaving multi-plugs in hotels or falling for Insta-traps, there are many ways one can get tripped up abroad.