Hi reddit! I’m a student in California (Go Bears!) who loves to travel and loves solving problems with technology. I’m interested in ways new tech hardware could reduce losses/theft and give slightly paranoid people like me peace of mind then they travel :).
Backstory: I stayed at a hostel in Hawaii for a week this past spring break and the management did an AMAZING job of ensuring sketchy people didn’t wander inside. (Case in point: I was in lobby when manager noticed out of corner of her eye a random dude leaving hostel with a plastic bag. She didn’t recognize him, so she had someone in her staff literally follow the guy for a couple blocks to make sure he wasn’t a thief who had taken something. Maybe overkill, but I appreciated it.) There is only so much management can do though, since they can’t force people to stop doing stuff like leaving money in their pants pocket in dorm while they shower.
I feel there should be ways to use technology as an extra safeguard (tracker, alarm, etc.), but I want to hear from people who have actually lost stuff to know what would be most useful.
So, for people who have lost important items while traveling: how exactly did it happen? Is there something you do differently now after it happened? Are there extra security precautions you wish hostels would take?
Thank you for the help! :)