A woman reports in multiple places online that last Thursday she was staying one night in a major city at a chain hotel. She showered, put her towel on the rack, and was “standing in the middle of the room completely naked, [when] another guest opens the door suddenly.”
It seems that the hotel’s front desk had checked in this other man, and assigned him an already occupied room. That happens – it shouldn’t, it seems like one of the gravest hotel fails possible – but it’s one reason I always use all the locks on hotel doors.
What happened next is what’s really striking. The man didn’t leave. Instead, he started filming her,
This man spends about 30 seconds holding the door open with his foot, glaring at me and repeating “What the hell are you doing in my room?” in-between narrating what he is seeing while pointing his camera phone at me.
After about 10 seconds of shock, I literally say “Can you please close the door and leave— I am fully naked.” The man keeps narrating the scene with his camera phone aimed at me, and so I repeat my request once again, verbatim, this time as I back up and squat behind the bed to hide while keeping track of him visually. Shortly after this second request, the man closes the door.
She offers that she no longer felt comfortable in the room. She went to the hotel’s bar for about an hour. Then she returned but found her key no longer worked (presumably it was now programmed to this man instead.)
The hotel gave her a new key. She asked for a different room, and was told they would “try.” It was 7 p.m. and she left, trying to stay away as long as possible, “wandering from restaurant to restaurant, diner to diner and finally camped at a bar until closing.” She went back to the hotel at 3 a.m. and was offered a new room but the deadbolt “was non-functioning.” They assigned her another room, that one had a non-working deadbolt too but maintenance finally resolved it and she went to be after 5 a.m. but was unable to sleep.
The hotel offered her compensation including a free night. But her concern is the video of her naked – that this man has, and that could show up online. She regularly searches trying to find herself on the internet.
She asked the hotel’s General Manager “to secure written confirmation” from the other guest that the footage won’t be retained or distributed. The hotel says they requested this, but haven’t heard back.
I’m not going to pretend to know how it feels for a woman to have her personal space – and body – violated in this way. So I’m not going to second guess her reaction. But I think it’s worth talking about what a more effective reaction might be, in case this comes up for anyone else in the futurer.
First, for another guest walking into a room that is already occupied, whether the person inside is naked or not, the correct response is to:
- Say ‘excuse me’
- Leave immediately and return to the hotel front desk
In the moment, I’d suggest to this woman (1) grabbing a towel, (2) yelling GTFO, (3) calling for hotel security, and (4) calling the police.
At this point I would get a lawyer. The hotel apparently knows who the man is (they checked him into the room, after all) but isn’t an effective go-between. And if the hotel provided assurances that the man deleted the video, would you believe him? I’d have a third party – a lawyer – attempt to secure the guest information and contact him on her behalf.
Her fault for not using deadbolt. Anyone that has traveled much has either gone into an occupied room or had someone come in – it happens. Sure him filming was a problem but also may have wanted to document he didn’t do anything to her.
Not sure there is a legal remedy since arguably could be considered a “public place” since he had a key. Also her reaction was way overboard and makes me question if it even happened.
If someone filmed me naked in my hotel room, I would call the police and push for charges to be filed. (Even if he thought it was “his” hotel room, his filming is a violation of my privacy.)
Oh boy. Can’t wait for the comments. If they were anything like on FT they will be something to watch. Getting some popcorn.
@AC it cannot seriously be argued that her private hotel room is a public space. She needs a lawyer who will obtain the identity of the man an an attestation that he deleted the video and never posted it online. If he did post it online, then she deserves damages for her injury. She also needs 500K+ points from the hotel or some other form of adequate compensation.
Bonvoyed!
The filming has justification because the man finds his room occupied, possibly by a criminal. However, he should mitigate his danger by leaving quickly.
I stayed at a local hotel chain in Lisbon a few years ago. The hotel was rated 4 or 5 stars. I forget which. I was naked and in the shower. I walked out of the bathroom (the door was closed) to discover a housekeeper cleaning the room. I was fully naked and had no idea anyone was in my room. I yelled at her to leave. I went back into the bathroom, closed the door and used the bathroom phone to call the manager on duty. Meanwhile, the housekeeper came BACK INTO THE ROOM to finish cleaning. The manager profusely apologized. I was offered a certificate for three free nights (my stay was three nights) but I never returned in Lisbon before the certificate expired. At Amsterdam’s airport, I have regularly seen female cleaning staff in the toilets cleaning while male customers are standing with their penis out at the urinal.
I am uncomfortable in the room so instead of reporting it immediately, I go to the bar. Then I try to get back into the room which I do not feel comfortable in, no luck. Key is not working, so then I ask for a new key and mention I’d like a new room.
Sounds a little fisheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee to me….
The wife and I were once in New Orleans at the Monaco and were taking advantage of the large whirlpool tub when the hotel manager unlocked our room door and attempted to show our suite to 2 other guests. We/they were visible in the bathroom mirror and it rather ruined the moment. They barely apologized. “Oh it said in our system that the room was unoccupied.” Rather I think the mgr just failed to check. We weren’t filmed though and if we had been I probably would have contacted a lawyer.
One thing when staying in a hotel that will have me to the front desk real fast are the connecting suite rooms. Those a no-no for me.
What should she do?? Learn a very valuable lesson and thank her lucky stars it didn’t cost her a kidney or worse her life!!!
WTF? There is no justification for filming anything. Who whips out their camera when finding someone in a room they’re just checking into? I’ve had this happen once or twice, person wasn’t in the room, but their luggage was – first thing I did was beat a hasty retreat and let the front desk know they had given me a room occupied by someone else. That’s the normal reaction, not to start filming the naked woman telling you to leave.
It’s also not her “fault” for not using the deadbolt. That’s there for your additional security, yes, but you shouldn’t have to use it to keep guests from barging in on you. And no, a hotel room is not a “public space” – there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, even though the room is owned by someone else. By that logic, someone filming you with a hidden camera in an AirBnB would be perfectly within their rights – no, no, and hell, no.
Is it possible the story is made up – sure. But it’s also possible it’s real. (And I will say my “made up” radar is not going off on this one. And that goes off a lot on these stories.) If it’s real, yes, she should engage a lawyer. If it’s not real, then don’t. She might also consider filing a police report, though not sure they’ll do anything, but it does help establish credibility.
Finally, why do I get the feeling that we have a few creepy people reading this blog…
There is absolutely zero reason for the man to film her. The reasons given by earlier posters are ludicrous. The moment you realize you are entering an occupied room you leave! The hotel’s mistake does not entitle you to stay in the room. Any person with functioning gray matter would know that. Go back to the front desk!
The woman should have immediately called the police once the man left. Then call the front desk and tell them she called the police because a stranger entered her room and filmed her naked. Demand the manager get involved. Call the corporate office too. When the police arrive, proactively demand they track down the man and force him to delete the video under penalty of arrest/and or lawsuit. A police report will have the man’s name and will provide easy information for legal action if he does anything with the video.
Regarding use of the deadbolt–yes she should have engaged the lock. However I’m sure a lot of us, in a moment of tiredness or distraction, may have forgot to do so right away. In no way does this mean she is blamed for what happened next.
The hotel was in the wrong for checking the man into an occupied room. The man equally or even more so in the wrong for his reprehensible, creepy, inexcusable behavior.
“Finally, why do I get the feeling that we have a few creepy people reading this blog…”
Amen. The creepy comments on this blog are very disappointing. I really wish the trolls would just go away.
For those who faults the woman, I wonder if this is your wife, mother, or daughter if you’d have the same reaction. If I were on the room, I’d thrown the chair at the man who was taking the video. I’d advise the women get a lawyer for hotels mistake that contributed to the possible assault of the women. I’d advise the women call police, notify the hotel manager and security; check into another nearby and explained that she needs secure room by the new hotel that she is stressed from the hotel she just got assaulted. I’m sure the hotel nearby would assure her safety if they are a legit large hotel with good security. The only thing that makes me wonder is that is this woman telling the truth. Is there other information that she is withheld. Because her reactions are not typical what a woman who has been assaulted.
We recently attempted to check in to a high-end hotel in Prague whose room accounting system had crashed. They were attempting to use pieces of paper. Desk clerk gave us a key, saying he thought it was empty, but to knock first. We knocked, and there was no answer, so we opened the door. There were suitcases on the bed, so we beat a hasty retreat, and met the desk clerk who was just coming out of the elevator to tell us he found out the room was occupied. Deep apologies and he himself accompanied us to ‘our’ correct room, which was, indeed, unoccupied. He had told us to leave luggage with him, before we went to the first room, and he arranged for it to be delivered to the correct room. The right way to deal with goofs like this.
I would have been mortified to enter an occupied room full stop, apologised profusely and left ASAP once I stopped being shocked. The thought of getting a camera out would never occur. I would be complaining to the hotel about this.
Her reaction very strange but shock does that to people.
@Mike
Would you be so kind to tell us in your experience what are the typical reactions of a woman whose been assaulted? I think we’d all love to hear those…
Not hiring AC to represent my legal interests.
@Alan:
Obnoxious, insulting comments on FlyerTalk? I’m shocked, shocked!
X to doubt
I remember once, the women’s restrooms at the Louvre Museum were so crowded that they directed a line of women into the men’s restroom.
I only managed to pee in the urinal because I was a bit desperate, but it was very weird (also kind of fun..) to do it while being watched by a long line of laughing Chinese women. One took a picture of me during the process, doing the V for victory. It was from behind, of course, so they couldn’t see the Anaconda..
I would love to see that photo. I imagine an old lady in a distant province in China showing it to her grandchildren.
Assuming the person’s account of this event is true, this is another data point to remember the next time the comments on this blog re-engage the debate about safety & desirability of hotels versus Airbnb rentals. Bad stuff can happen anywhere.
Very disconcerting for sure. Hardly the end of the world. I had a bit of sympathy for a woman forgetting to use the deadbolt, maybe she doesn’t travel often … until I read that she ‘roamed the hotel, mostly in the bars’, for the night. Right, that’ll solve the problem. Yuck, what a moron.
All of you individuals blaming the woman is misogynistic idiots. Just think it was your Mother, Wife, or Daughter. Just a bunch of narcissistic jerks.
This has made me very grateful…both for the responsive security at the hotel I frequent most in Toronto…the Sheraton Centre where I’ve stayed since a kid when able to be there. There has never been a concern over many many years that they did not respond to. A problem with the door lock resulted in a swift repair as well as their checking the patio door and yanking on it with all their strength to prove to me it was safe….as well as placing themselves between me and a lobby trespasser even though I had not made any complaint as they tactfully escorted the person out. Also since finding out on 9/11 when I was visiting there, that dogs WERE allowed, mine always comes with me and hanging the sign on the door I think works additionally as a deterrant, though I do always use the dead bolt. Had anything like this happened to me, my only question would have been who to call first: security in the hotel or the police.
Lawyer up.
CEB – KMA. Use the deadlock. Saying someone is stupid for not doing that isn’t misogynistic. You incel trash.
She is stupid if he was recording her the first thing she do is have the desk call the police not hang out at the bar! Ee at the desk will call the police and give them the guest information, also he would be banned from all the chain properties for sure for recording a naked guest. I don’t believe her store one bit.
What I find remarkable is that this lady appears to have vanished for now. I am aware that describing such an incident is complicated; however as it stands this story has more holes than a Gruyere cheese. I simply cannot understand how and why the person has not gone to the police. I do not understand why the hotel had not contacted the police to report the incident. If everything happened as described I would have thought that the noise alone from the victim would have had the person turning tail and running back to reception. People are not reacting as one would expect. I have looked to see if this is reported elsewhere. I have not seen it. My Dad was a policeman and he taught me something many years ago – the first question that one asks is – did this actually happen in the first place? I am not saying that it did not, but it does sound strange to me. Most strange indeed.
After a long day of flying from Frankfurt and delays I checked into my hotel in New Orleans at about 1:30 AM and was assigned a room. At that moment all I wanted to do was to just fall in bed and sleep. I opened the door to “my room”. And right in front of me I saw a couple who were doing the “good deed”. As tired and exhausted as I was my immediate reaction was to say I am sorry and closed the door immediately and RAN down to the lobby and let the front desk representative have a piece of my mind.
What this man did is unacceptable. He should be charged and put in jail and the hotel should owe this lady free rooms until the end of her life. But of course why would she go back to that hotel?
Last October I was in Jordan for an evening at a top hotel, getting ready to leave the next morning. I had showered and put my pants on but no bra or top and the door opened by a man who was as disturbed as I was but he stood there and I told him to get out. He did and I went down to front desk asked for a manager and told him what had happened, all kinds of excuses, none acceptable. I then told our tour leader and he went out and spoke to someone, came back and said they were so sorry. It didn’t help in the least, I was very upset and had a very strong drink.
In an Atlanta Hotel I was given a key to a room that was occupied. I opened the door saw clothes on the bed and heard the shower.. I ran out and quickly shut the door..went to the front desk to tell them what happened and got another room.. It was really empty.