Travellers

A flight attendant has shared a simple hotel room safety tip that doesn’t require any expensive security gadgets

Hotel stays typically involve minor inconveniences – sluggish Wi-Fi or uncomfortable pillows – but feeling unsafe shouldn’t be one of them.

Sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings whilst travelling can leave you feeling exposed, and it’s perfectly understandable to worry about safeguarding your belongings when you’re away from home.

Nina Bolders, a flight attendant with 15 years of global travel experience and founder of Fly Me to the Vegan Buffet, has revealed a straightforward technique she employs to enhance her security in hotels.

She explained: “Even in a five-star hotel in the safest country, you sleep better when you know that no one can sneak into your room unnoticed while you sleep or shower.

“I used to make my own alarm system by placing a glass or cup on the doorknob and another one on the floor underneath, hoping that the noise would wake me up and maybe even convince the intruder to leave.”

Whilst it may seem peculiar, positioning cups or glasses on or close to your hotel room door can create considerable noise should someone attempt to enter whilst you’re asleep.

Thieves typically seek out straightforward opportunities and may be deterred by unexpected commotion, or pause if they spot an obvious warning sign, as this indicates the room’s occupant is vigilant.

It’s a straightforward method to boost your sense of security when you’re on the road without needing to pack extra items or spend additional cash. Numerous hotels provide door wedges, which can be wedged into your door before bedtime to prevent anyone from attempting to enter your room.

It’s advisable to store essential items, including your phone, wallet, and passport, in an easily reachable spot so you can monitor them regularly.

The most secure location for valuables is either on your person or within a bag that remains in your sight at all times. Should you need to leave them behind, it’s worthwhile purchasing a portable lockbox.

Nevertheless, the most crucial thing to bear in mind whilst travelling, according to Nina, is to trust your gut instinct and remain vigilant in busy areas you’re exploring.

She advised: “Be alert when strangers approach you, especially around tourist attractions or when things happen or are being said that make no sense. There are a lot of thieves and scammers out there.”

One in five tourists have confronted others for ruining their holiday photos at crowded landmarks like Time Square and Eiffel Tower

Times Square, the Eiffel Tower, and the Trevi Fountain have all been dubbed some of the most challenging places to get a good photograph when on holiday, mainly due to the amount of tourists.

A poll of 2,000 adults found that to combat the crowds, a determined 27% admitted to waking up earlier than 6 am to beat the rush at popular tourist spots and secure a crowd-free picture. One in five travellers also admitted they have queued for longer than an hour to get photos in certain spots, with the Taj Mahal in India requiring the longest waiting time.

Other iconic locations cited as near-impossible to photograph without getting other people in were the Mona Lisa, the Colosseum, and even Buckingham Palace. The Great Wall of China and Niagara Falls were also difficult to photograph without getting countless people in the background.

The study discovered 21% ‘hate’ when their shots get ruined by others lurking in the background, while 55% of travellers grumble about the difficulty of manually removing unwanted people from their images.

Still, over four in 10 (42%) said getting the perfect photograph for social media was a top priority when travelling. But as the survey shows, this can often be difficult so a fifth of holidaymakers have returned to revisit major attractions because they failed to good photo originally.

One in five have even told someone off for getting in the way of their photo, with 70% feeling frustrated by the issue.

The research was commissioned by Samsung to highlight the capabilities of their Galaxy AI on the S25 Series.

Annika Bizon, from Samsung, said: “Everyone wants to travel home with a photo that represents their incredible trip to some of the wonders of the world, but capturing the perfect snap can sometimes be near impossible.

“Galaxy AI features like Generative Edit can help time-strapped travellers who would prefer not to have to wake up before 5 am to queue for a photo, with just a speedy tap removing any unwanted guests.”

TOP 10 TOURIST HOTSPOTS HARDEST TO GET A ‘CLEAN’ PHOTO OF:

1. Times Square – New York City, USA
2. Eiffel Tower – Paris, France
3. Trevi Fountain – Rome, Italy
4. The Mona Lisa – Louvre Museum, Paris, France
5. Buckingham Palace – London, UK
6. Taj Mahal – Agra, India
7. The Colosseum – Rome, Italy
8. Great Wall of China (Badaling section) – Beijing, China
9. Niagara Falls – USA
10. Shibuya Crossing – Tokyo, Japan

A striking airport following a major revamp with an art gallery has been named as the world’s most beautiful, but some travellers have hit back, condemning it as ‘nothing special’

Many of us see airports as a functional form of transport, rather than an architectural phenomenon or iconic landmark. Yet there’s one airport that’s been deemed the most beautiful in the world – although not all travellers are impressed.

Each year, the Prix Versailles architectural competition is held across eight categories with 24 prizes awarded, including one to honour the world’s most beautiful airport. For the second year in a row, San Francisco International Airport (SFO), with its Harvey Milk Terminal 1, was crowned as the winner.

Following a multi-billion-dollar revamp, Harvey Milk Terminal 1, which opened in June 2024, was praised for its eco-friendly design and cutting-edge features, cultural importance, traveller experience and striking architecture. Natural light seeps through the terminal, which boasts a preaeful ambience away from the rush of travel, even replacing overhead announcements with quieter features, along with gender-neutral bathrooms.

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It stands as the globe’s first airport terminal named after an LGBTQ+ pioneer. It also features a museum gallery and an exhibition honouring Harvey Milk, an American politician who became the first openly gay man elected to public office in California.

Elsewhere in the terminal, travellers can find a mezzanine-level security checkpoint, four new concessions, and a connecting walkway that links all terminals beyond security. Remarkably, the terminal managed to slash its carbon footprint by 79 per cent and cut energy consumption by 59 per cent.

San Francisco International Airport has four terminals and welcomes more than 50 million passengers each year. Following the reward, Airport Director Mike Nakornkhet shared: “We are truly honoured to be named the top airport in the world by Prix Versailles.

“Harvey Milk Terminal 1 was designed to establish a new benchmark for an extraordinary airport experience, bringing to life our mission to put people and planet first. Being the first airport terminal in the world named for an LGBTQ+ leader only enhances the significance of this recognition, and my thanks go out to the entire project team for this milestone achievement.”

Despite its noble achievements and worldwide recognition, some travellers aren’t impressed. Following the news of being the world’s most beautiful airport, one flyer shared on Reddit: “I don’t get it. It’s nice and modern. Don’t really know what’s beautiful about it.”

Another responded to its grand title, commenting, “I fully disagree.” A third also penned: “I have a hard time seeing it. The Harvey Milk upgrade is nice and all, but the curb appeal is meh. Inside, it kind of relies on having a couple of areas that make the terminal feel spacious, that open area by the water bottle fillers and extends out to the museum.”

They continued: “Otherwise, it’s fine and all, but it’s nothing special. All the restaurants and the like with their kind of fake outdoor patios and the like are something that exists everywhere else. It’s just look at me, I’m modern and have big atriums.”

However, one voiced: “The ‘quiet airport’ concept cannot be understated. I was recently in an airport that had broadcast announcements for every gate throughout the entire airport. It’s a cacophony, and with so many announcements I really don’t care about it’s hard to hear ones that affect me. With smartphones and text notifications, there really doesn’t need to be these broadcast announcements (except in an emergency, of course).”

While another simply said: “SFO is great, totally agree.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The UK government is said to be planning a significant increase in the cost of its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), hurting travellers’ pockets once again.

Travellers heading to the UK could soon be forced to dig deeper in their pockets as the government plans to increase the cost of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). A 25% rise is claimed to be in the offing, which would push the fee up from £16 to £20.

The ETA scheme, first rolled out back in 2023, applies only to visitors from countries that do not require a visa to enter the UK. This includes citizens from EU member states, as well as visitors from the US, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, among others.

It allows multiple trips to the UK with stays of up to six months over a two-year period, or until a traveller’s passport expires. Nevertheless, this isn’t the first price rise in recent times, and is yet another sign of people’s pockets being hit.

Just last year, the cost of an ETA jumped up by 60%, going from £10 to £16, with this higher fee enforced in April 2025. Now, a home office briefing suggests ministers want to pump up the price once again, although no official date has been confirmed, and the increase would still require parliamentary approval.

“As with all our fees, the cost of an ETA is kept under review, and we intend to increase the cost of an ETA to £20 in the future,” said a Home Office spokesperson. “We will provide more information in due course.”

The government has been a strong defender of the scheme, revealing that 19.6 million ETAs were granted over its first two years of operation, up to last September. Further changes are on the way, however, with new rules from February 25 preventing eligible visitors from boarding transport on route to the UK without an approved ETA.

Travellers passing through UK airports on connecting flights via passport control still need an ETA, unless they are going through London Heathrow or Manchester airports and do not cross the UK border.

This potential price hike has sparked concern across the travel industry, with Joss Croft, CEO of travel association UKinbound saying: “Increasing visa and ETA costs risks pulling the visitor economy in the wrong direction and stunting that growth.

“International visitors have a choice, and the UK already has some of the highest entry costs in the world. Making it even more expensive to visit undermines our competitiveness and puts valuable export income at risk.

“Inbound tourism supports jobs, high streets, pubs and hospitality businesses in communities across the UK. If the government wants growth to be felt locally, it must rethink these increases and keep the UK open, welcoming and competitive.”

It comes after other countries and regions confirmed plans to raise their own travel authorisation fees. The EU is expected to charge €20 for its upcoming ETIAS system, due to launch in late 2026, while the US ESTA fee almost doubled to $40 in September 2025.