“Door-pushers” are a problem in some cities. These thieves saunter down the long corridors of giant hotels with their arms outstretched, methodically pushing on every door on each side of the hall. Some doors open. In one city I won’t name, police get 300 to 400 reports of theft due to door-pushers every month.

“But we know there are more,” a police officer told me. “Some hotels prefer not to report them to us, but door-pushers we catch tell us they work there.” These are huge, famous hotels that don’t want negative publicity.

The risk is completely preventable. Just make certain your door closes tightly when you leave your room, and when you enter it. Why wouldn’t the door close tightly? Air pressure in hermetically sealed hotels is one possible reason; alignment of door latches or frames is another. Bob and I stayed in one hotel, a phenomenal one in Spokane, where the doors to suites took almost a full minute to close, due to hydraulic systems. We couldn’t pull the doors closed or hurry them along in any way. Patience was the only option. (Ours always closed properly, eventually.)