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Do you advertise your travels?

rboesl

rboesl

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2016
Messages
900
Reaction score
805
Location
West Seneca, NY
Resorts Owned
Divi Village Beach & Golf Resort
Vidanta Grand Mayan
Villa del Arco Cobo
Grandview Las Vegas
Vacation Village at Bonaventure
I see it all the time and I'm constantly amazed. Friends and people I've never met for some reason unknown to me like to make sure we all know where they are. I see it on Facebook. People "Check In" or "Go Live" at local and remote to their home locations. But Facebook isn't the only place I see it. Even here on TUG I see people listing when & where they'll be traveling.

Why hi-lite the fact that you will not be at your home for an extended period of time? What's the point? Heck, you might as well put a sign on the front door: "Not home. C'mon in and see what valuables I've got."
 
I don't either. But, I just read a thread a little while ago where the poster listed where they would be in July, August, & September.
 
I do this all the time and I have heard the argument about doing it but I Personally know of no one that has been robbed because they posted somewhere. Has it happened, I’m sure it has but there are other precautions that are and can be done that are not posted about, such as alarm systems, people stopping over to check out the house or house sitters.

I really enjoy posting while on vacation. My friends and family enjoy my posts and helps us keep close. It’s the same with my son and daughter. My daughter lives in another state and loves commenting on our adventures also.

I honestly waste no time worrying about it but that doesn’t mean I don’t take precautions like everyone else.
 
I don’t think you can assume if one is traveling the house is empty. Other family members can be there, you can have a house sitter, your dogs can be home with a dog sitter visiting multiple times a day, you can have a state of the art alarm system, you can be renting your home when away, etc.
 
Our house is always occupied too. I usually post when I get home but sometimes post during the trip. I'm not a big fan of the blow-by-blow trip pictures including check ins at Cracker Barrel, but that's my problem. :D
 
I suspect the house getting robbed because someone advertised they were on vacation is more of urban legend. Someone always knows someone that knew someone that knew someone that it happened to. I suppose it happens, but how common is it really? TUG to a degree is somewhat anonymous, at least for many. So for many here, if you advertise you are on vacation, no one will know what house to go to take the valuables. As others have stated, just because you are on vacation, it doesn't mean the house is empty.
 
Our home is generally even when we are travelling because we have 2 cats and we have a pet sitter as well as neighbors come by to check on the cats. But I do hesitate to some extent to advertise when we are gone.

We also live in a double gated community but that may be just a false sense of security.
 
I don't publish an itinerary, but the house is usually occupied. I try to not be too specific and don't publish reviews until we are back home. Plus, living in a small town off the beaten path keeps us under the radar.
 
In general I think with social media, especially twitter, people put out TMI. If I did facebook, I would avoid posting when I'd be gone. I generally let some friends and local family know when we'll be gone in person or by text msg.
 
My house is rarely ever empty - I have family members who housesit if we're going to be away any length of time. There are cars in the driveway, lights left on, and I have two dogs who bark like the dickens at any noise they don't recognize. In fifteen years in this house, the only time I've ever had a problem was when a side door into the garage was kicked in at 9:00 in the morning on a day when we were both at work. The criminal was a friend of the next door neighbor, who watched out their kitchen window as we left for work that morning. But thanks to the security alarm and prompt response of city police, the criminal was caught red-handed, and was arrested. He ultimately went to prison for nine years on outstanding warrants, most for breaking and entering and robbery of other houses.

I check in once in awhile on Facebook, when there is something happening I think may be worth sharing with my friends. (My FB posts are not Public - they are seen only by those on my friends list. The only people on that list are people I know personally.) Here on Tug I'll send along pictures and posts I think may be of interest to fellow Tuggers, but nobody on Tug knows my full name, or where I live. I don't anticipate having a problem.

Dave
 
We do post some of our travels on Facebook for folks to see. Those are not the people I would be concerned about anyway plus we have a security system and can see, hear, and speak to anyone who comes to the front door. And it is recorded on video for a week.

Neil
 
We do check-in on Facebook when we travel but we also delay the postings until we are home.

We enjoy the memory popup 1 year later on Facebook and each following year- nice reminders of past travels and friendly folks we met along the way.

Not for everyone for sure but also best not to advertise in real-time that you are away from home.
 
jimwu921 said:
All my neighbors and I have ring doorbell installed so I never really leave the house no matter where I travel :D
Click to expand...

Thanks to your post I now know what ring doorbell is! Will be talking to my husband about it tomorrow.
 
No we no longer post about our travels. We worry it comes across as “showing off” on Facebook. We only share travel photos and stories with our close friends. In fact, we rarely use Facebook because of the privacy issues. I do not have a personal Facebook account anymore.
 
I always post pics while on vacation. I am not showing off by any stretch- just sharing the experience. I am careful whom I friend on Facebook.

PS If someone decides to go through one of your windows to break into your home, ring door bell won't help. It's a nifty gadget, but I don't see it as really preventing a home invasion.
 
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I used to love posting my vacation photos but my family has a lot of envy and my father criticized me for it. Plus everyone I know is anti-timeshare.
 
I don't post anything showing we are away but, I don't use social media for postings about me/family in the first place.

We also have a full time house sitter to take care of our pets.

Before social media was a thing - I recall warnings not to put your home address on your luggage tags. The airline personnel would look at the tags for local addresses and use that info to determine who would be away. That one made sense to me and for years we used work addresses on the tags.
 
rboesl said:
I just read a thread a little while ago where the poster listed where they would be in July, August, & September.
Click to expand...

A. So, do you know the poster's home address?
2. Would someone case their house for a month?
iii. Have you met their doberman?

--------------------------------------
A police officer, when transporting a suspect in a burglary, said to him:
"You know, guy, burglary's gotta be a lotta work... You have to case the place, making sure no one's home, try not to trip any alarms, do it quietly to avoid waking the neighbors, haul the stuff out without being seen, and then find some way to fence the stuff so it's not traced back to you. But that's where most peep mess up, 'cuz they they either take it a pawn shop that records their ID or they sell it to someone who snitches on 'em. It sure can't be easy."
-- The suspect said: "Yeah, well, I thought it'd be easy at the time."

.
 
We have one of those new doorbells that will take your picture and the surrounding areas. Then it will alert us and send all the pictures to our smartphone and computer.
 
pedro47 said:
We have one of those new doorbells that will take your picture and the surrounding areas. Then it will alert us and send all the pictures to our smartphone and computer.
Click to expand...

I just installed one, but need to adjust it, 'cuz it rings whenever a car drives past the house.
 
I closed my Facebook Account 6 or 7 years ago figuring there was more risk than benefit of having it and have never opened any other Social Media accounts. I don't know how it is now but Facebook made me jump through all kinds of hoops to close it.

George
 
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