Air Date: Monday, April 28, 2008
Danger at the Door
Summer is almost here and it's time to travel. That means many of us are likely to spend time in a hotel. But just how safe are you during your stay? Before you check in, 7's Ryan Schulties shows us why there might be "Danger at the Door."
From a business trip, to a weekend get away... almost everyone has spent time in a hotel. We rely on them to provide us with safe and secure accommodations.
But what happens when those safeguards fall short? 7News went undercover and found potential problems.
A producer booked rooms at three hotels, all popular nationwide chains. Hours after check-in at the first hotel, a different producer goes to the front desk asking for a new room key. This hotel follows the security steps successfully! When the producer cannot show proper id, he is denied a key. A good sign that hotel staff is keeping guests secure.
Stays In Hotels
"I wouldn't even think that would be an option to let somebody in without any type of identification or a room key."
But at our other two hotels things go very differently and that could mean trouble for travelers.
At the second hotel, when the producer who did not check into the room asks for a key the front desk employee asks for the name on the room. Our producer does not give the name. Instead, she shows her license with a name that does not match the registration. Within seconds she is given a duplicate key!
Stays In Hotels
"Anyone could claim that the particular room was their own."
John Murtha, Massachusetts Lodging Association
"Most hotels that I'm aware of are very, very strict about never giving a key to somebody without positive identification that matches the register."
At our third hotel, the same scary scenario. When a different producer arrives hours after we first check in, she does not give the name on the reservation, only the room number. In this case, the front desk asks her to add her name to the room registration. She does, but without ever showing her id! And, the hotel employee hands her a new key!
Stays In Hotels
"I had an experience like that where I lost my own key and they just gave it to me right away."
Look at what else we found! In this hotel hallway, a 7News intern asks a housekeeper to let her into a room. Without hesitation, he unlocks the door!
John Murtha, Massachusetts Lodging Association
"Most hotel companies would have strict policies that room attendants never would be allowed to let anybody into the room, even if they recognize them."
It was, of course, the hotel room 7News booked, but the room attendant had no way of knowing that.
So what does this mean for travelers looking for a safe stay? Security experts say don't let your guard down.
Rick Avery, CPP, Security Expert
"You don't want to automatically assume that because we're in a relaxed mode or a business mode in a hotel, that everything is safe, everything is fine, and everyone that is in there has a purpose. Because, the purpose people are in there is to commit some type of fraud or some type of crime."
So the next time you check in make sure you use all of the locks, put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door at all times to make it seem like your room is occupied and if someone unexpected knocks on your door, call the front desk to confirm the hotel sent them.
That way, you'll avoid finding "Danger at the Door."
Another safety check, hotels should not be giving out your room number to anyone. We called and checked on the rooms we reserved, and all three hotels passed that test by refusing to give out room numbers.
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