Somebody has just walked into our hotel room at 4am

[Batmam]

Me and DP were fast asleep in a (large, chain) hotel and a woman with a suitcase has just let herself in with a key - don’t know who was more shocked her or us! We didn’t have any clothes on but were under the sheets thank god. I was sleeping so deeply it took me a second to realise what was going on. Never had this happen before in my life, and after everything that happened with Premier Inn I thought hotels would be even more diligent about security.

Phoned reception and she was more concerned with getting our details than actually apologising. It wasn’t a mistake with the key, the woman was told that this was her room. I’ve never worked in a hotel, but how could this happen? We checked in in person last night and signed for the room. Already paid when booking unfortunately. Surely the system should have known this room was occupied?

We’ve bolted the door now and it obviously won’t happen again tonight, but I doubt I’ll be able to go back to sleep now...

• [Correction at OP's request - the security incident mentioned was at a Travelodge hotel, not a Premier Inn]

A hardcase could be quite the weapon!

A lot of hotel rooms have removed the chain for fire safety. I never sleep well in hotels these days, maybe I will have to get a door wedge or something. The only issue is what if you have an emergency and they then can’t get in to your room, or you can’t get out 😭

What if the hotel room doesn’t have a chain or a double lock? I’ve been in a lot of hotels lately that only have a key card system for fire safety etc. (ie it’s got one of those twisty knob things so you THINK you’ve double locked it but ultimately if you have a key card you get in. Test it next time)

The doors bolt from the inside so that the key card won’t open them, you should always do this before going to bed just like you’d lock up your house at home. Don’t ever assume your security is taken care of by someone else. Silly mistake on premier inns part but thankfully none of you were in danger. Hopefully premier inn look into how this happened.

Well premier inn ones do double lock

This happened to me in a 4-star hotel, except I was the intruder.
Fortunately the occupants were dressed, and my dog ran in first so I heard their surprise and didn’t go in myself.
I got a free upgrade to a suite. I expect they were compensated as well because the receptionist sprinted up there when I told them.

Really easily done, guests not checked into a room properly on the computer. Next guest comes along and is checked into the room which is showing as empty.
It's human error and happens , just quietly mention it this morning. It is just some poor receptionists mistake.
Always lock the door when I stay anywhere.

i hope you get a refund as the bare minimum!

This is what I use, although I just have a common garden rubber door wedge

Of course it’s possible to issue keys for an occupied room, otherwise every time someone lost a key card they’d just be locked out forever!

OP I’d check if Premier Inn still have their good nights sleep guarantee and invoke it, remind yourself that it was a lone Woman not a crazed axe murderer and there’s never any point in ‘what ifs’ and next time bolt the door from the inside.

The same thing happened to us the last time we stayed at a hotel a couple of months ago! Different hotel, it was a Holiday Inn, but we had checked in that day then went back out. Went up to our room in the evening and there were no towels in the bathroom. I called down to have some sent up, and a few minutes later someone was opening our door, which I found odd they didn’t knock first. Turns out it wasn’t the towel delivery, it was 2 men who thought it was their room. Apparently when I called to ask for towels, the woman who took my call wrote down my room number, then accidentally gave the gentlemen she was checking in our room. She thought it was funny and didn’t offer much of an apology. It was a terrible trip all around. We were on the 5th floor and the elevator did not work for the 4 days we were there. Always lock your door on the inside!

The OP doesn't say she is in a Premier Inn, just a chain. She queries with what has happened at Premier Inn how can it still be happening (actually Travel Lodge).

It has happened to me in a Premier Inn- given the key of an occupied room rather than someone else walking into mine.

That's why I never use the second lock. In an emergency no-one can reach you.

My colleague died in his hotel room. I don't know the full story, but he had managed to let someone know that he needed help, but no-one could get in to reach him. By the time that the fire service managed to break the door and internal lock somehow, he was dead.

Basically you need to decide which is your worst fear. For me, as an elderly solo traveller, it's not being able to be reached in an emergency. For others it might be intruders.

Right? So surely the best solution is the hotel not giving out your key card at all… yet so many people quick to blame the OP here!

The Premier Inns I stay in don't have bolts or chains, just a little knob on the handle. I always use a doorstop.

I’ve had this before but it was afternoon when the person let themselves in the room, we were just getting changed.

Scary that it happened, that could have happened to a women alone, with a male walking in. That's not just an ooopsie that is a serious safety breach.

No-one seems to apologise anymore. I don’t think they get taught that they represent the company and need to apologise on behalf of the company. Im an anxious person so always bolt my door but does reflect on my mental state too!!

When your 'product' is a good night's sleep, it should not be 'easily done'. Human error isn't good enough, they need systems and checks to ensure it can't happen by mistake.

Talk about overreaction unbelievable. Why not block with a sofa

Have you? All doors have a fold
over bolt to secure it against just this occurrence.

I always lock the door but also place a chair or something similar in front of the door when staying in a hotel, even in very nice hotels, due to my fear someone will just walk in the door.

Travelodge rooms don't have sofas. If you're lucky you will get one chair. They don't even have dressing tables with drawers, or any wardrobe in them. They're cheap and cheerful (well, some nights they're cheap!) but they're not good for long stays (like more than 3 nights) because there's nowhere to put your stuff. You have to leave most of it in your suitcase. If you're lucky, you'll get 5 or 6 coathangers on a rail!

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