However, there are no impediments to non-guests walking the halls of the guest floors. Hotels with underground parking normally have elevators to the upper guest floors, so a person can drive into the underground parking, leave a vehicle, and access the guestrooms without passing the lobby.

Larger international hotels often hire a security manager, often a retired police officer, whose duties normally include handling disruptions or unruly guests in the hotel's bars. Rarely is the security manager asked to tighten security in guestrooms. The exception is when celebrities come to visit Taipei, and guards are posted on the floor or outside a guestroom.

Stay in reputable hotels. Less than four-star hotels sometimes allow pimps to call guests and offer the services of prostitutes. This unsavory practice is not hygienic and leads to traffic in the halls, and the business traveler coming back from a night of drinking or entertainment might find himself being approached. Impaired judgement (i.e. drinking or jet lag), language difficulties, etc. might lead to a misunderstanding.

Securing your laptop and other valuables

Theft of intangible property is on the rise in Taiwan, and laptop computers are a prime target for theft now, both for the hardware and the information stored therein. Exercise caution when using the hotel's Business Center, and make sure valuable information is stored on disks and not on the hard drive of communal computers. Be careful to print as little information as possible as it is sometimes possible to retrieve previously printed documents.

The visitor should exercise common sense to safeguard his property. Hotels are rarely the targets of break-ins, but valuables such as passports and important documents should be checked in at the front desk.

If the visitor is the victim of robbery or theft, he should notify hotel security and make sure the robbery is reported to the police. In Taiwan, it is possible for the police to investigate a case without actually opening a case file. The visitor must ensure the case file is opened or the case dies with the visitor's departure. Should the lost items be of great value, the visitor's embassy or consulate should be informed. The robbery or theft case of a visitor may not be investigated thoroughly and satisfactorily, but at the very least the hotel should compensate for the loss.

Outside the hotel

Taiwan is still very safe and there is little chance of someone being accosted or robbed. It is still wise, however not carry too much cash.

Soft drugs such as speed, ecstasy, and sometimes cannabis are popular in nightspots in Taipei. Rarely does the visitor encounter someone high on drugs, as the penalties are quite serious and drug use is normally limited to non-public places.

Women's safety

On the whole, Taipei is not dangerous, and the taxis drivers are not known for being violent. But women should try to stay in the nightclubs and bars within or near their hotels. The Ziga Zaga in the Grand Hyatt, for instance, is a fine place. For those who want to see the town at night, it is advisable to be back in the hotel by midnight. Streets start to empty after 1 a.m., even on weekends, and whereas nightspots are usually safe and secure, the taxi ride back to the hotel is more dangerous after midnight. If possible, a woman should stay with a group when going out.

Places to Avoid

Snake Alley has been cleaned up quite a bit over the past few years, but if there is one place to avoid, this is it. Snake Alley is located in an old part of town with small streets and traffic congestion. Again, there is little chance you will encounter a problem on the street, but the less time you spend in a taxi at midnight the better, and Snake Alley is not located near any major hotels. It will take an effort to get there.