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]

I've had this happen, but it was during the day, and I didn't think anything of it. Still, it's a dangerous situation given that people have been assaulted in their rooms.

I bet Rose West owned a suitcase...

What is with people today on here. Just stop. Of course someone coming in while you’re sleeping will be scary, nerves shot through the roof.

I would stop digging now. You’re making yourself look very foolish.

To be fair I don't give a fuck what some randoms on the internet think about me

This story wins 😂

That's your take on a hotel giving someone keys to a room they shouldn't be in?

This isn't skin to not locking your door (which isn't always possible) it's the agent who rented your house giving someone else a front door key and telling them to let themselves in.

We know, you’re soooo cool and unphased by anything, not like the other girls 🤣

😂😂😂

I think we should randomly walk into everyone’s rooms who’ve said it’s not scary in the middle of the night and see who shits themsevles.

I didn't say anything about other girls. You are trying to judge me and I just said I don't know you so don't care what you have to say about me.

I travel a lot. No, it's not.

Jesus.

They're all emotive words. Weren't you listening in your English lessons?

Oh, and I missed out your "no need to go full Karen". How does the OP fulfil the stereotype of Karen? Offensive as it is, you don't appear to understand what it means.

It was Travellodge that had all the trouble about them letting people into other people's rooms not Premier.

What are you waffling on about now. Of course it’s dangerous if hotels are giving out room keys to other people who might use it for other reasons. Want a concrete example? Woman assaulted in Travelodge

No, it wasn’t a “dangerous” situation on this occasion. But it could have been, should the person given the key be a dangerous person and if OP was alone.

Is it ok to be a bit shaken up to realise that any random could get into your room and struggle to get back to sleep? Yes. Is the whole point of a hotel to give you a safe place to sleep? Yes!

Just because you’ve travelled a lot doesn’t make you an expert on travelling safely. It sounds like you’re a bit lax to me and have been lucky. I’ve travelled a lot too and have a totally different perspective.

And no, OP wouldn’t be a “Karen” to complain to the hotel about what happened so they can improve their policies and processes (god, update your terminology won’t you, that is a bit overdone now)

Sorry, what do you mean by 100% then, if you're not describing the proportion of times it's happened? On one occasion it happened 100% instead of 10% ?

Yes it was travelodge that had a number of incidents.

It would be helpful if op had said which chain she was in! Not sure why people are assuming it was premier inn just because she (incorrectly) remembered other incidents happening in.

Since the reception were giving out the card key to op’s room, it could have been given out to anyone.

Pretty sure @PeachyDaisy is just looking for reactions at this point - or refused to read the thread properly.

OP posted about an hour or two after it happened, not “days later”

OP posted an hour later. How you think an hour equates to several days, and post equates to "obsessing", I don't know.

It locks automatically when you close it. The bolt won’t actually make a difference. You only have to push the handle down to open from the inside. So will be easy for someone to access with a key card. I only put the bolt on with the door open if I’m going to someone else’s room we are with nearby. To save me going through the rigmarole of using the key card each time.

Indeed - My DH travels dozens of times a year for work and has done so for 30 years, in addition to at least 3 leisure trips a year, often with children in adjacent rooms.
It has never happened to him.

It would be a major concern as a senior director and manager precisely because of the implications this would have for female colleagues travelling with him or being sent by him on work trips. You should not need to have been assaulted or raped - or just attacked and robbed as a male - to be allowed to feel outrage that it has happened and appears to be commonplace.

That isn’t about building ‘resilience’, it’s about the right to expect the legal contract between guest and hotel to be observed and the safety and privacy of each guest and their possessions to be paramount in the operation of a business.

@Batmam am really sorry this happened to you - hope the hotel management addresses this today. And I’d be tempted to reach out to the journos who have been covering the Premier Inn scandal so they can add it to their files!

Just to add: this didn’t used to happen when hotels used physical keys as they could easily monitor how many had been issued. I think computing systems that issue key cards need a failsafe - in this case it should have know that 2 cards had already been issued for that room and the system should have blocked the encoding of new card, giving the staff on onscreen warning that can only be overridden by a security procedure that requires management to verify the occupancy of the room.

It’s not Premier Inn, it’s an airport Radisson Blu. That reference was about the incident at a Travelodge where man sexually assaulted a woman after getting the key card to her room by lying to staff that he was her boyfriend. (Sorry I remembered the hotel name wrong, I’ll try to edit the post)

Travelodge or Premier Inn? Avoid like the plague.

I slept virtually fully dressed once on the top floor of a right dump of a hotel in Aberystwyth. Crash helmet, boots and bike keys easily to hand, no way was my bare arse being displayed to the townsfolk, over a fireman's shoulder.