5 Tips To Help Prepare For Holiday Travel
True story. The trip was a long, well-deserved vacation away from it all. After three deaths in the family, a nightmare for a boss that was new on the scene and taking no prisoners in doling out new responsibilities, and a bout with cancer, Carissa was ready to get away.
Her husband, Kent had purchased an impressive security system for their new home, complete with cameras. The back of the house had burglar bars installed on the first floor windows and the windows were double locked. The travel agent called to confirm lodging for the trip and emailed Carissa pictures. Carissa was so geeked about her holiday travel that she posted a few pics to her friends on Twitter and Facebook. The post said, “In 3 days, I will be relishing the beauty of this hacienda.” True, she had a reason to be geeked. This hacienda was an expansive estate—a world’s difference from the sea biscuit colored, plastic, blow-up float I enjoyed during a family vacation in Charlotte, NC. Ha. But I digress. Carissa’s post on social media was a major faux pas. Thanks to the technology Kent had purchased, they were able to see the thieves and have them apprehended even before they left their home. The interesting thing was that the time stamp on the video showed that thieves arrived at just the right time after they left. It was a couple of hours after they arrived at their vacation spot and 60 seconds after Carissa posted more pictures of her in a swimming pool.
But Carissa and Kent are not alone. Some of the most interesting statistics show that most burglars are males under 25 years of age. Nearly 66 percent of all burglaries are residential (home) break-ins, with the highest percentage of occurring during the summer months. Most of the burglars are not the professional, masked thieves you see in the movies. A whopping 85% of break-ins are from non-professionals that are usually more desperate and dangerous. Money is usually used to support a drug habit. Small items to grab and run include, cash, jewelry, electronics, and cameras, with the heavy duty items following on the list.
A home becomes a target when the owner of a home or apartment fails to take the proper precautions. Here are some helpful preventative tips:
- Never leave the house in the dark. Invest electronic timers to turn lights on and off. The advancement of technology now even allows you to control lights and various items using an app on your cell phone.
- Never let your mail and newspapers stack up in the driveway. Ask a neighbor to retrieve and store you mail and newspapers until you return or have them suspend until you return. It’s also a good idea to let neighbors right next door know that you will be away. This way they can keep an eye out and call you if they see something suspicious.
- Do not leave your key in the “hiding place.” It’s not a good idea even when you are in town. But when you are away from the city, it is bait for a thief.
- Place small valuables in a lock box and hide it away, along with guns and other items. Under the bed is not a good place. Think of the last place they would look for things. We have a list but then, we would be disobeying our own rules to post it here. It’s always a good idea to have pics of your smaller valuables. Be sure to snap a shot of the serial and model numbers on the back.
- Turn off garage door openers. By that I mean, if you have garage door openers in cars that will be parked in your driveway, lock them. This way, no one can break into your car, push it and get into your home. Park your car at neighbor’s house.
The familiar saying, “There’s no place like home,” bears even more meaning when you return from your holiday travel to find things just as you left them. Here’s to a happy holiday travel from your partners at Emerald Luxury Transportation.
Call on us for fun times during the holiday season. We have special packages for:
Experience Our Car Services
Holiday Lights Tours. Take the family out for a holiday tour. We’ll bring the hot chocolate and hot apple cider along on our customized 10-seat, Sprinter
Girl’s or Guy’s Night Out. Safety is key to shopping during the holidays. We offer curb service to pick you up the second you step out of a store. Choose the best vehicle from our fleet for your group.
If you want to customize your own trip, no problem. Personal service is our niche’ and we are ready to give your plans the added detail. Browse our site to see what’s available at www.nashvilleairportlimo.com or just call us. A reservation specialist is available 24/7 at 615.678.4695.