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When Ashley Hampton travelled to New Orleans recently, she worried about security.

“I wanted to make sure I stayed in a safe part of town,” she says.

She’s not alone. A recent survey by Global Rescue revealed that petty crime and personal safety threats ranked number two on the list of traveller concerns for 2025, eclipsed only by geopolitical instability. (Economic instability or rising travel costs were in third place.)

But for travellers like Hampton, there’s another issue, and it’s front and centre this summer: How do I know if my next vacation rental is in a safe neighbourhood?

“Safety is the top concern of travellers as we head into the summer travel season,” says Michael Trampas, the executive vice president of business development and marketing at Rentyl Resorts.

He says numerous surveys show guests are worried they might find themselves renting in the wrong neighbourhood and want to avoid that. There are tried-and-true strategies, a few resources unknown to most travellers, and a checklist of things you’ll always want to do before renting a home.

Crime in vacation rentals is a complicated topic. It turns out that vacation rental guests aren’t the only ones who should be concerned with this problem. Owners should, too. Some guests also use their rentals to commit crimes, including stealing from their hosts, also known as burglary tourism. So, before we get into it, here is a quick acknowledgment that some rental guests are far from perfect.

So, how to stay safe?

How one traveller found safe accommodations

Hampton, a psychologist from Birmingham, Ala., planned a short visit to New Orleans.

“I knew I was relying on public transportation, walking, or an Uber,” she says.

She used one of the most reliable methods in the book: a careful internet search.

“I searched for the local police station and then googled the name of that station with the search term ‘crime statistics,’ looking for specific overlap with the street names near where I was staying,” she recalls. “The information I found was related to petty theft, like pickpocketing and breaking into cars, so I felt reasonably safe an Uber ride door to door would be OK.”

That’s the right call, says Christopher Falvey, co-founder of Unique NOLA Tours, a New Orleans tour operator.

“If you’re going to research crime statistics, always ask yourself: Are these crimes against visitors and regular people — or crimes between people who know each other?” he says. “This is not something you’ll ever see listed, but it can be inferred.

He says some neighbourhoods in New Orleans that some consider “unsafe” based on statistics, “but I can tell you for sure that a random person with no link to the neighbourhood will not be bothered at all,” he adds.

And Hampton was right. Her trip went off without a hitch.

Check the vacation rental’s rating.

You can learn a lot about your rental by reading the listing.

“Checking the rating of an accommodation in advance is a good practice,” says Frank Harrison, regional security director for the Americas at World Travel Protection.

He’s right. I practically live in vacation rentals, so I have a lot of practice with reading between the lines on user reviews.

For example, I rented an apartment in Athens from Vrbo a few years ago. The user reviews described it as being in an “eclectic” neighbourhood. That should have been a red flag. The vacation rental was in a run-down and dangerous part of town. Fortunately, the owner offered a full refund after I refused to stay there.

Other warning words include “vibrant,” primarily if it refers to nightlife. That can sometimes mean trouble. Finally, when guests admiringly describe the home’s security features, like upgraded locks, security cameras, and private security, you have to ask yourself, “Why is that even necessary?”

You can sometimes tell if a vacation rental is dangerous by carefully reading the reviews.

How do you get information about crime?

But there are other resources. Here are a few sites for finding safety information about your neighbourhood.

AreaVibes, a real estate site, has crime data that will answer big questions, like, “Is this area safe?” However, it lacks the street-level detail some travellers might want when looking at a vacation rental. You can also find general crime statistics on other real estate sites like Zillow or Redfin.

Niche, an education site, also offers crime data. The statistics are easy to find and provide a broad overview of a city’s crime statistics.

Numbeo is a platform that compares information about crime levels worldwide. It also surveys users’ sentiments about crime, which can offer guidance if you’re concerned about safety.

The Trace, a journalism site about gun violence, publishes an atlas of gun violence that allows you to drill down to an address level to find out if there’s been a shooting at your rental address.

World Travel Index is a travel-planning tool with rich crime data that answers simple questions like, “Are scams a problem in New York?” You can check specific neighbourhoods and addresses for crime, including vacation rentals. An AI tool also helps identify the safest neighbourhoods.

Tom Abraham, founder of World Travel Index, told me the problem is that there aren’t any reliable resources on crime at a local level — at least the kind that would be useful to a traveller. That’s where AI can be a helpful tool, culling other resources such as forums and social media to find helpful information.

AI may be able to answer any questions you have about crime in your vacation rental’s neighbourhood far more eloquently than a database you could find online.

Other resources exist, but they require a subscription. John Rose, the chief risk officer at Altour, a global corporate travel management company, recommends Crisis 24, Exlog Global, and International SOS.

“They offer current, fact-based intelligence on local crime trends, health advisories, and other security concerns so you can make informed decisions about where to stay,” he says.

So, is your vacation rental safe?

You can check your vacation rental’s ratings and study the neighbourhood’s crime statistics, but in the end, safety isn’t about eliminating all risk. It’s about being smart.

That means checking to ensure your rental has basic security features, like lockable doors and windows, says Alex Foti, president of Bretton Woods Vacations, a management company with over 130 properties in New Hampshire. (His rentals have them, of course.)

“We haven’t had a single crime-related issue while we host over 20,000 guests per year,” he says.

Technology is changing how vacation rental guests approach travel safety. AI, local crime databases, and user-generated content give travellers unprecedented insights into potential risks. But ultimately, you are responsible for your protection. And the way to do that is to stay informed, trust your instincts, and do your homework before booking your next rental.