Bike security when staying at hotels.
 

So I'm planning an RTW next year but this summer I'm thinking I'll do a 4 week tour of Europe.

My concern is bike security. I mean... It's everything, literally everything! Ar your bikes generally secure at hotels or is there a certain type of hotel you will try and book into?

What kind of security do you have on the bike? Do you empty the panniers and bring all gear inside?

I mean I've always felt secure at camp sites but I think I'd rather stay in cities this time...

I would appreciate any advice!

Thank you :)

Basically do what ever makes you feel good. If you are going to lay awake wondering if all will be ok in the morning then you need to do something about it. Europe is not that scary really :rofl:


Use the search function top right with something like "bike security" I haven't tried it but I bet there will be some results.

Lots posted on this topic if you search around. Lots depends on your travel style, budget, bike you are riding and personal level of paranoia.

I've done two 6 week long Euro tours: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Morocco.

Nicer conventional type hotels are generally very safe. Some will allow you in lobby or locked patio area, others may have a "Bodega", shed, garage or under ground parking that is secure. I used ALL of the above on my Hotel Only tours on my 3 year old Triumph Tiger.

I got in the habit of using my Disc lock no matter where I parked, even in 100% secure locations. I also carried a cable lock, but only used it when location was exposed and when I could actually cable bike UP to something solid. I never, ever had a problem.

I would use "inner bags" in your panniers. Put everything in inner bags, then just carry them into your room, leave hard bags in place. So easy. This is basic ADV travel 101.

Here was my routine at hotels: (I got pretty good at it) first, leave bike out front, walk in, helmet in hand, all gear left on bike. Talk about room, inspect room. If I took room, I would leave my helmet and riding jacket in the room.

Then walk back to front desk/office and pay. Then walk out to bike and move it to safe parking (management approved). Then grab inner bags and tail bag off bike and walk into room. One trip only.

If you over pack and carry a stupid amount of crap ... then you'll have problems. If you're not camping then you need very little for a month or so trip. I always had room to spare with my two hard panniers and soft top bag.

The biggest problem for security is when you are passing through a city and want to stop to sight see but have no Hotel room. In this case first look for private, paid parking, hopefully with an attendant. This is a challenge.

The only Hotels (and I use that word loosely) that I did not feel safe were the
Auto Hotels like Formula One and other similar I found in France. There is NO ONE THERE! Parking is right outside your room, so not bad, but some were in dodgy areas (or that was my perception). No thefts, no mischief, not even in
Morocco.

It always pays to ASK for help for bike parking if there is no obvious safe place to park it for the night. They almost always can come up with something. Just not a big deal.
bier

Europe, generally, is quite safe. Personally, I think my regime is a little overkill, but as you say "your bike is everything!".

When I stay in big Cities (I love Paris, for instance), the Hotels I use have underground parking - VERY secure! I always use my disc lock, and I also have a bike chain that I wrap around something immovable if parked above ground. If it looks like it's going to take effort to steal, my thinking is that people move on to easier prey - I'm working on the assumption that theft is often opportunistic.

Watching a lot of the HU DVDs, one thing that comes across from many travellers is the use of a bike cover; the more beat-up, the better! Mine was VERY cheap (and looks it - no logos and cheap material), has been ripped a few times and I've patched it together with duck tape. It looks even worse! But that's the point; it almost makes the bike invisible. I appreciate this sounds stupid, but you'd be surprised how little attention it gets when covered up. I was at a campsite in the Czech Republic a few years ago. Bike covered up, no attention at all. Cover off ready to get packing, swarms of people paying attention to me and the bike.

At hotels, I always just lift the panniers off and carry them to my room. Partly for security, partly because it's the easiest way to take my stuff with me. In Morocco, I've always tipped the security guy as well - nothing too much, but "keep an eye on my bike "!

Safe travels and don't over think things! :thumbup1:

Me and my ex wife travelled Europe on our GS's and never had a problem leaving our bike outside hotels over night, only used disc locks. Also left in cities fully while we went looking around, again no problems. Yes there is always that will it still be there in the morning feeling but no matter what you do if they want it bad enough they will have it

Or maybe it was because we were riding BMW's and nobody wanted them hahaha

Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well there's hotels and hotels. And I don't mean you'll have a safe and secure time in a five star €1000/ night place and the bike will vanish in five minutes from somewhere that rents the rooms by the hour. My rule of thumb with choosing a hotel is that out of sight parking - even if it seems secure, gives me a sleepless night. I'm much happier if I can see it from the room- even if it's on the street. I have literally spent nights awake worrying that the bike would not be there in the morning - a hotel in Ceuta comes to mind where the car park was about 200m away and round a corner. I've come back to an underground car park in the morning to find the bike picked up and moved (not hard on my 90kg 125) so someone could park their car in the space.

Often a chat with the receptionist about whether there is somewhere safe to park the bike gets a helpful response, even if it's only to be given a room that overlooks the car park. Sometimes they are very helpful even in the cheap chain hotels like F1, Etap (as was) etc. I've been allowed to park in the middle of the garden so the bike is in view of the reception desk at one hotel, been shown into a private courtyard at another and (not in Europe!) been to told to ride the bike into the reception area quite a number of times. At one hotel not only was it parked by the reception desk but they had a staff member sleep underneath it.

On the other hand I parked in a secure, locked car park complete with an all night guard at one hotel only to find the luggage broken into and loads of stuff stolen when I returned next morning. The guard of course had seen nothing. All my luggage now comes with me into the room even at the inconvenience of several trips each way.

In reality nighttime theft isn't a huge problem as long as you have some kind of feel for the sort of area you're overnighting in and take reasonable precautions. Fear of theft though is probably a bigger issue and feeling that you're paying for the privilege of spending a sleepless night racked with worry is not my idea of value for money. My choice of hotel is often more governed by whether I'll fell the bike is secure rather than whether it actually is.

All good advice above.

Theft from the bike and theft of the bike are somewhat different.

Your phone/GPS/tool kit/dirty washing/half eaten lunch are of interest to street level scrotes who want to use it or sell it for drugs. They are defeated by taking everything into the hotel.

Your bike only appeals to low level scum if it's easy to steal. Outside London a disc lock (get one with a stated time to break it, not some cast Chinese thing) makes other bikes look more attractive as a way to get home from the pub. Only new, flash bikes appeal to the sort of gangs no lock will defeat and they only work in big cities. If your 2 week old Ducati is your choice of travel bike I would invest in the sort of hotels where the car park in underground and has CCTV and a concierge who earns more than you do.

If your bike has hard luggage leave it unlocked if empty. The locks are always **** and can be broken by any druggie with a screwdriver. They can't tell it's empty until they've ripped the lock to bits and ruined your day.

Andy

Take everything with you. If it's too much to carry then you need to seriously re-think your packing/luggage.

A rattle free hollow cable lock is worth it's weight in gold. It helps you sleep better and is actually a decent deterrent to the amateur bike thief. They're chunky so prevent bolt cutter use. Also, they're usually hollow so a lot lighter than you would think and they don't rattle.

http://www.brandedbiker.co.uk/img/pr...lock_170cm.jpg

A bike cover made to look all old and dirty is a good idea to. Out of sight of out of mind. And a dirty old cover probably hides a dirty old bike to the layman. I buy a decent one and then cover it in lots of spray paint. This way it looks dirty but actually isn't.

Disk lock: definitely but only one with a flat key. The round keys can be opened with a pen. They come alarmed as well, but they piss me off when I take the thing off, so I don't like them. Put it on the rear wheel. There's an interview off a bike thief on here somewhere that runs you through their thinking.
Chain lock: I wouldn't. It's plenty easy to buy a cordless angle grinder so it doesn't way up against the weight and bulk of the thing. The disk lock and the stuff below would discourage the passer by thief.
Cover: Yep, had ours stalled along the wall in down town Almaty for over a week and nobody even looked at it. We just used army poncho's. Would you look under a dirty dust old cover to see if there is anything to steal? Or would you look into that Merc or at that 1200GS parked 2 stalls away instead.
I would remove all luggage though so it looks more like an abandoned POS.


I would also consider an alarm. They're small and relatively cheap. In Europe that pisses people off enough to look around. In Mongolia and Kazakhstan they set it off for fun though.

Personally I hate alarms. They drain your battery, immobilise your bike when they go wrong and as you say, people set them off for fun.

The only alarm I'd use is a direct to battery one like the Gorrila ones. They don't self arm and you can disconnect it easily with a hidden inline switch.

Yeah, I'm thinking of the simple ones. Gorilla is one I've had, but it's large. There are smaller ones. Def not the ones that are wired in so deep they can demobilize.

When people set it off at least they're not stealing it. bier I sleep better knowing I would be able to hear an alarm.

I've used battery powered rape alarms as the poor man's version on and off for about ten years. The alarm bit is velcroed somewhere out of sight and the pull string clipped to a rear spoke. Move the bike, pull the pin and off it goes. Not much use if the bike's parked half a mile away or you've got triple glazing in the hotel and no real problem for a pro thief to throw into the next field but a bit of a shock for the casual chancer in the dark. Just remember it's set the next morning. :innocent:

I've been travelling around Europe a lot for the last 30 years without a bike going missing !

Never had an alarm fitted, just used a big, heavy duty disc lock and chain (though the frame of the bike and around some solid street furniture) whenever the bike was going to be out of my sight.

F1 hotels were also OK - the front door/reception may be where everyone stands to chat and smoke in the evening but that area is always lit and there is almost certainly also cctv watching the front door - so try and make sure your bike is in view as well......................

I like that idea !!

Hello Ash:

I've been touring Europe for between 6 and 8 weeks every summer for the past 10 years. I always stay at hotels. I've never had any cause to worry about the security of my motorcycle.

I stay at all sorts of hotels, ranging from €40 to €400 a night. I really don't think that security - or the procedures one follows to find a secure parking place - varies all that much regardless of the price of the hotel.

When I arrive at the hotel, I ask the reception staff where the best (most secure) place to park the bike is. The reception staff will always give you a good answer, an honest answer. Often, they will suggest an 'out of sight' location such as in the back yard, or inside a small garage where they store garden supplies, that kind of place. If the staff don't have any good ideas, I will ask if I can park the bike within sight of the front door. 99% of the time this request is approved.

I have a Honda ST1100 (a PanEuropean) - it is a large, heavy motorcycle, 300 kg, hence it would be difficult to steal without raising a fuss. I remove my GPS from the handlebars, and take into the hotel the items I want to have with me (clothes, toilet supplies, tablet computer), but I don't make any special effort to empty out the moto, nor do I go to the trouble of emptying out the little (non-lockable) compartments in the front fairing.

I have a very robust Kryptonite cable & padlock, but I only use it about 10% of the time - typically, only if I am in a port city in a questionable country (Romania, Ukraine, Albania, far eastern Poland). If I do decide to lock the bike up, I attach the frame & rear wheel to a fixed object like a lamp pole.

Best advice I can give you based on all my experience is to either put the bike somewhere where it is well out of sight (in the back yard, in the garden shed, inside a garage, etc.), or; put it in the most visible location you can find (near the front door).

If you elect to stay at smaller hotels or pensions, you will probably find that the owners will offer you the possibility of storing your bike in their own personal garage.

Basically, unless your bike is something that just cries out to be stolen (like a heavily customized Harley-Davidson, for example), I don't think you have much to worry about.

Michael

PS: For goodness sake, don't stay at low-end ratholes like F1 or Etap. Life's too short to put up with that kind of suffering. For the same price, you will be able to find a pension, or a really good restaurant that happens to have a few rooms upstairs, and stay there instead. If you have not done so already, get a little app called 'TripAdvisor' and put it on your phone, use it to find the pleasant, smaller, non-chain hotels to stay in.

Ha Ha. That just about sums them up. They really are the fast food of the hotel world. Many many times given a choice between a night in an Etap and camping I've paid the same money in a decent campsite and been happy with the decision. I've turned up at an F1 (with my family) to be greeted at the entrance by the police with someone sprawled over the bonnet of their car and being handcuffed, and another (Etap this time) where I was woken up in the middle of the night by gunfire. Somewhere I have a picture taken from the room window of an F1 where the view is straight over a scrap yard. That's one place where I didn't park the bike under the window. :rofl:

Both those chains have gone increasingly downmarket over the last decade or so, particularly as the buildings etc have aged. F1 is now almost unusable even for an arrive at midnight, leave at 6.00am overnight stop and the low price is pretty much irrelevant. Out of the tourist season Etaps are where white van man spends the night. We stayed in one where only vehicles in the car park were half a dozen (white) minibuses. Next morning we watched as the rooms emptied and the vans filled up with French riot police.

Like fast food they are just easy to use when you've spent a day on the road and your brain no longer functions. They may be really low end but at least you know what you're getting and usually they're easy to find - just head for the industrial estate. I still use them (Etaps anyway) but just for transit stops where I'm too tired to be sociable. It's a bit like pulling in for fuel on the motorway, simple and impersonal. Just do what you have to and get on your way.

Any advice on what the equivalent North American chains would be so I can avoid them when I'm over there later in the year. :rolleyes2:

I stayed in F1's all over France about ten years ago. They were clean, quiet and had good breakfast.. Things have changed I see. Are they really that bad ??

Thank you all very much for the advice. It is really very much appreciated and wow, what outstanding responses!

It will be a DL650 so not really screaming out STEAL ME!

Pan European, please could I ask what a pension is? I've never heard of it from an accommodation perspective.

Many thanks indeed.

Ash

It's similar to bed and breakfast type accommodation except you usually get evening meals as well. A kind of small scale private house hotel (in rough terms).

You may see signs for "auberge" as well (in France). They're a kind of country inn or modest town hotel with relatively few facilities.

Sticking with France, the nearest to UK bed and breakfast is chambres d’hotes. God knows how to define those; even the French can't make up their mind.
And as for Gites .....

As with all of these things people stretch the definitions until they all merge into one.

Hi Ash:

To me, a pension is a small lodging facility (typically 10 rooms or less) found in extra-urban areas. Sometimes they offer food beyond just breakfast, sometimes not. It's the kind of place that's not quite big enough to be called a hotel. Generally speaking, they offer simple - but fully satisfactory - accommodation.

Michael

I think that's about right. I stayed in all three types. Bed & Breakfast = chambres d'hotes is right, private home with meals. Auberge is not someone's house ... but not really a full on Hotel either. More like a Pension or Hostel but varies as to set up. I liked them the best.

I agree! In parts of the world Pensione and Hostal are sort of interchangeable. One aspect that defines both over a Hotel is that many will have a "common" bathroom/shower, so you go down the hall to bathroom. Hotels have bath in your room set ups.

In S. America I stayed in hundreds of Pension and Hostals of varying quality, almost all used the common bath concept.
More upscale places had bath in your room.

Thank you for the replies!

The pensions sound great. I mean in a dream world I'd stay at Hostels, I saw that Weronica did it with her Van Van 125 but I think I'd be very concerned about bike security at a hostel although she seemed to do ok!

Too much fretting about all of this. Hostels are often fine; pensions likewise, by whatever name; F1/Etap is sometimes the answer to my prayers. Plus rural pubs in France will serve reasonable food and offer some sort of cheap-ish rooms for the night; in Scandinavia the campgrounds usually rent cheap cabins; in Slovakia I kept getting drastic discounts by merely looking a bit sad at the initial price quotes. Etc.

Get too hung up on categorizing stuff and you'll miss the essential point, which is that accommodation is all around you, most of the time. Also that wherever bike theft is a significant problem there are ways to lower your risk to within reasonable limits--just ask around and do what the locals do.

Inquiring politely in your best faltering French (or other language, including German, Spanish, Italian and/or Serbo-Croatian) will open doors you never imagined existed. Assume you're neither the first nor the last who's needed a cheap place to stay and a secure spot to park. If you don't like what you find, accept it as a learning experience and hope to do better the following night.

All IMHO, as usual.

Mark

Not really; it depends where they are located, like any other hotel chain, doss house etc.
Nowadays, many of the French hotel chains have erected largish fences and gates to the boundaries of their premises - ask the staff for the reason.

Those referring to "Etap" as a brand are out of date; see post number 3 in this thread:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...1-hotels-81414

IMO, Accor is fighting the competition that has sprung up in their very own back yard, France.
There are shed loads of other French motel type places all competing for business; some appear to have regional branches only i.e. they can be found only in certain department and not at all in others.

Personally, I prefer Logis places which are family owned and they will find a good parking place for a bike.

Good point. Logis (logishotels.com) are a loose association of smaller, family owned properties who share a common marketing system, most notably by way of a rather thick directory of participating properties that you can pick up at any Logis.

Be aware, though, that the common marketing and the label on the bar of soap are about the only things these properties have in common. Some are delightful, some are not. The size of the properties varies, although most are about the size of independent motels in North America (20 to 40 rooms, in other words, bigger than a pension, but smaller than a typical hotel).

By all means pick up a Logis directory, it is useful. But, check to see what previous guests have to say about each individual property on TripAdvisor before you make your decision. This will help you identify the winners, and avoid the losers.

Michael

That's true; Etap has morphed into Ibis budget, presumably to make the familial connection between themselves and the posher Ibis and Ibis styles more obvious. Other than the sign outside the building nothing much seems to have changed though and (in my defence) I've been Etaping my way round Europe for long enough that the word has become a shorthand for cheap chain hotels. Some of them are ok and some of them are genuinely dreadful, both in their fixtures / fittings and their location. I've stopped using F1s as without exception I've felt uncomfortable in them - even when turning up soaking wet and covered in crap on a bike.

Without wanting to get hung up about whether a pension becomes an auberge when they add an extra toilet or something it's been worth mentioning that they're all forms of accommodation. In my early travel days (pre internet and even pre stuff like Lonely Planet) I had no idea that an auberge was a kind of hotel and that chambres d'hotes were BnB. In fact someone told me that auberges were private business accommodation - a bit like a conference centre, and not open to passing trade. So for many years I'd just ride / drive on by - and on one occasion slept rough at the side of the road less than 200m from an auberge, convinced I couldn't get in.

Hey man, there was NO LIFE before the internet and Lonely Planet! Didn't you know that? :smartass:

I was in S. America in 1975 ... the only good reference book at the time was
The South American Handbook. A great guide but updated maybe every 3 or 4 years. Now ... we've got TOO much information with too many un-vetted "experts". :rofl:

Question for the France travelers/residents out there:
Does anyone remember a chain of State run low budget (but generally very nice) Hotels. I encountered a few in the South of France. Usually old classic buildings ... very reasonable prices. I was told they were all shutting down. Can't recall the name? Was I dreaming? This back in 2001 to 2003.

I don't recall the French government doing such business.
Maybe you wandered over the border into the Paradors.
Paradores Spain - Spanish Paradors - Parador hotels - Spanish hotels
(they are not low budget though).

I think you have two types of people who will steal your bike.

The opportunist theft from the guy just walking by and spots your bike, a good lock attached to the frame of your bike and wrapped around a structure fitting will stop him from stealing your bike but any attachments (bags, i am sure we have all left them on at one point) on the bike might go missing, this guys will just have a knife attached to his set of keys or a leather-man type device but nothing that will compromise a good lock. Also bare in mind i popped my steering lock open on my DRZ with a small screwdriver in seconds when i snapped the key in it and also i have started it buy jamming a screwdriver in the ignition and turning it with a pair of plies in seconds also. If you are solely relying on your steering lock and bike ignition lock to stop a "opportunist theft" you are very much mistaken



Equipped to steal
The guy who sees's your bike and comes back "equipped" to steal it and a silent deterrent like a lock might not help, even a good lock if he has the right tools

I also agree with these disk lock type alarms, i have had a few and they are hit or miss regarding if they go off and some are to sensitive and go off all the time.

The only thing that is going to stop a guy that comes equipped is being compromised during the attempted theft of your bike, for that an alarm is needed.

Sometimes i leave my bikes in my van at night and on both the sliding doors i have fitted personal attack type alarms, they are basically a 143dB alarm which is activated by pulling the cord out the end, the alarm comes with a bracket that i take off and screw to the van and then clip the alarm on, i have removed the thick cord of the ring pull and fitted strong fishing wire which is attached to the door. Basically anyone who opens the door 5mm activates the alarm at 143dB.

Now i think this would be great for a bike alarm, you could fit the clip bracket to your bike under the lower fairing, when you stop to lock your bike up you attach the alarm to the bracket, you then attach the fishing wire cord to a wheel spoke with a clip device.

This Alarm cost around £7 of ebay

143dB MINDER PERSONAL ATTACK ALARM - PANIC WITH STROBE TORCH LIGHT - FREE UK P&P | eBay

Whilst looking for an open bar in Mumbai a few years ago, me and a couple of guys from my hostel accidentally ended up in the "Banana bar"...

It was Full of men in tight jeans and make up... When the 'fresh white meat' walked in the door, that rape alarm would of come in handy...

:helpsmilie:

That is a great alternative ... and very affordable! :thumbup1:
The Xena disc lock/alarm is popular here but costs from about $75 up to $120 usd. ... and it's only 120db. :oops2:

Asking the receptionist or even the bar waiter is a great advise - they will know much better than you do. E.g. in the middle of Leuven they told me about an underground bike parking just round the corner - no way I would've found it myself.

Premier classe, etap, f1 or whatever are good choices for transit hotels when you only need to stay for 1 night. They are also often on the outskirts of big cities which means you can easily access them from a ring road without need to go into city traffic. Great for when I'm crossing France on the way out or back and need to cover many kms in one day without sightseeing.

I have a Xena alarm disclock (I actually found it pretty good, no false alarms for me and loud enough). I also have an alarm with long-distance pager installed. Its not wired to ignition as I don't want to mess around with immobilized bike, and I usually put this in silent mode (though I can still put this in normal alarm mode if I know I'll be out of the pager range, e.g. in the city during the day). The pager has a good range so it almost always would reach my hotel room. This just gives me a peace of mind that I will know right away if someone is tampering with the bike. It also will not encourage the thief to hurry up putting my bike in the soundproof van whilst still giving me a signal something is wrong.

And yes, in campings I use cover - trying to remove the cover (let's say to steal smth from luggage) will set off my alarm and I'm in the tent only few meters away.

First thing I did to my Triumph thunderbird when I bought it was remove the alarm :)

Usually I ask for secure parking and often end up in the proprietors garage or garden :)

Pretty much every ferry trip I've been on in the summer has some poor sod with an alarm fitted that keeps going off, I've even seen one bloke have to push his bike off the ferry due to a flat battery because of the damn things. If I buy a bike with an alarm fitted, the first thing I do is have it removed.

So far I've been lucky enough with just an Oxford Boss disc lock and a cheap £9.99 scruffy cover from Ebay.....no problems so far but I'll always try and look for off road parking when choosing a hotel.

However, in April on my way to Morocco I stayed at the Motel Emporio just north of Valladolid and the room comes equipped with an en-suite garage!:thumbup1:

Motel Emporio, Cabezón de Pisuerga, Spain - Booking.com

The good thing about alarm I have is that its not self-arming. So I don't have to arm it, unless I want to :).

I'm surprised how many people use cables, disc locks, and/or alarms. I've never used any of these, but do try to find secure parking. Sometimes I leave my bike on the street, mainly depends on the town. Last year in Oslo I left my bike on the street in what looked like a quiet area by day, but after dark I realized I'd parked right between a pool hall and a strip club, with lots of seedy looking people hanging around. That was probably the only time I was worried about the bike being there in the morning (it was).

With bags, I just strap my main bag to the passenger seat and keep my iPad, etc in a smaller bag in my hard case; both of those come inside every night, everything else stays on the bike.

Covers don't always work!
 

We have two old bike covers made from old sails and they have always rendered the bikes invisible until India this year. This pic was taken from our hotel window. The guy had already torn the cover on the other bike. We don't normally tour on Harleys .... but they were free in return for a couple of articles for BIKE India magazine. Moral: go back to travelling on cheap bikes that don't attract attention...

They stood out so they wondered. Coupled with a location with low inhibitions.

Always ask; you don't know what they have available until you do.
I've parked in the entrance way to a fairly swanky hotel smack in the centre of a large French city full of tourists, having been told to do that by the receptionist; their official car park was full at the time.

Kyriad is another of those brands.
Nowadays, many of them in France are gated and locked at night, especially in the obvious places, such as Calais.
I asked a hotel manager in France about this a few years ago and he simply indicated that vehicle theft from such places was increasing, at that time.

I stayed in a brand new Ibis budget about 5-6 weeks ago on the outskirts of Orleans and it was akin to Fort Knox to get into the vehicle park - it has an automatic gate system for which you get an access code once you are booked in to stay there.
Also a code for the bedroom and front door.
+ an automated check in system/machine at the front for those who arrive outside the hours that the reception is manned; having paid with a card, all the codes are issued there and then, assuming that there is room available.

They are only looking: folks of that part of the world like looking.

You put a couple of covers on bikes parked next to each other when none around them use such things; that says there is something to see there.

From my last couple of visits to France I feel sure that Accor are updating their premises, including building brand new facilities such as the Ibis budget that I describe in my last post here.

Accor rebranded their range of hotels a short time ago and are still reacting to the competition; I noted a couple of more chains but I haven't tried them as yet.

B&B Hotels in France and Italy - Booking hotels online

Brithotel home

Talking of competition ...................
 

....................... I see that Tripadvisor has started to act as a booking site, just like booking.com, hotels.com and all the rest.

For a long time there have been questions about the veracity and accuracy of tripadvisor reviews; maybe this development of theirs will make their site more trustworthy to find a decent, secure hotel room for the night?

LOL... Czech Republic is same like the rest of Europe, we are not a Jungle :) ... You can leave your bike anywhere same as in the rest of Europe and if you are very unlucky it can be stolen like anywhere in Europe :)