An outstanding article on hotels & your safety...
 

Interesting topic, but there are some major flaws in the way that story was reported (not that Dateline is ever BIASED just to stir up controversy!).

Sure, if increased awareness helps even one traveller, the info in that story was worthwhile.
But I often take issue with the heavy biases shown by the Dateline and 60 Minutes writers in attempt to get people riled up.

The main guy interviewed owns a company whose business (in effect) is to convince hotels they're not secure. So I'm pretty sure he wants to emphasize the negative.
3 million hotel guests per night in the USA, over 1 billion stays per year, and how many major 'incidents' are there? There are 5,000 times more human lightning strikes each year in the USA. (Maybe Dateline should do a "it's not safe to go outside" story).

Travleis, maybe if you or someone you care about had been involved in one of these hotel incidents, you would think differently. My sister went into her room at a Holiday Inn in Williamsburg, VA, ducking into the bathroom first. When she came out, a man was standing across the room, on the far side of the second double bed, near the balcony doors. She heard someone screaming, realized it was HER own voice........ the man went out the balcony doors, jumped from the second floor balcony and ran off into woods behind the hotel.

I take these things very seriously, and, yes, if it makes just one person more aware of what can happen, I'm glad I posted the article.

I saw the Dateline show and thought it was a bit...inaccurate, perhaps? But, it did increase my awareness. I've traveled for business for many years with no strange experiences. Yet, just a couple of weeks ago, in a hotel with interior corridors (supposedly the safest) in a small city in which I have always felt safe, a man acting very strangely in the hallway really creeped me out. I wonder if without the show I would have been more complacent. As I was leaving my room, he was waiting outside. I went back in, and called the front desk. Security responded and the man ran when they showed up. Several people were looking for him, and I saw him leave the hotel from an upstairs hall window. I was very pleased with the hotel's response - and they quietly moved me to another room just in case he returned.
Major flaw in the story or not, I'm glad it increased my sensitivity to behavior that was subtle but just not right.

Thanks for posting this. Good information.

I agree that these incidents are few and far between. And one of the biggest risks as far as I can see is that one can be hesitant to react quickly enough if the incident seems to have a plausible explanation.

Two jobs ago I traveled a lot - at least one night per week in a hotel - often the same one in my major client's home city - Cincinnati. And although the hotel was top quality and very attentive to my needs it was a large property with several entrances - always a little hard to control.

One evening I came out of the shower (robed, thank god) to find a man entering my room with what looked like a key. I didn't scream - perhaps I should have - but challenged him. He apologized, saying it was the hotel's mistake and left immediately. And although he had looked OK (suit and tie and briefcase) I called security anyway. It turned out he was a thief who apparently had stolen some sort of master key. The hotel switched me to a suite (that had been rekeyed) and later told me they found him later that night - captured in someone else's room. Looking back on it - I should probably have insisted they call the police (hence the duplex suite upgrade) - but I think we were all more naive then.

Before I had my son, I used to travel a lot for my job. Only 2 hotels (L.A. and NYC) ever asked me for my key card (security guard in front of elevators). Loved that and wished more hotels did that. A woman I work with was at a hotel in Philly one night and heard a woman screaming. Guy with a gun had entered that woman's room and was attempting to rape her. Security got there on time but the guy did shoot his gun. A bullet went through the room of another co-worker of mine! Thank goodness, he was ok.

Supposedly one of the best and cheapest ways to secure your room is with one of those little plastic doorstops you can buy for about a dollar.