I don't have an accurate count, but I am guessing that I spend over 200 nights a year in a hotel. I have been in a lot of different hotels, some nice and others that are not so nice. Since I pretty much sleep in hotel beds more then I sleep in my own bed I have learned a thing or two about hotel life.
The first thing I want to share is that before you go to sleep at night you should always lock your door! Not just shut the door tight, but turn the deadbolt and use the chain. It doesn't matter if you are staying in the crappy motel that had the only vacant room in the city, or if you are staying in a five star Hilton. Lock your door!
Most hotels now use key cards to open doors. I always thought that would be enough of a security measure to keep other people out of my room, how many people are going to get a card programed for my room? It took me awhile but I learned that just the key card lock isn't always enough.
It was a Friday night, probably around midnight and I was asleep because I had to work the next morning. I woke up to the light in my room being turned on, and I looked towards the door and there is some random guy standing in my room. Once he saw me sit up in the bed he immediately started apologizing and said that the front desk told him that he was staying in that room and he had no idea that I was in there. Before I woke up enough to realize what had just happened the guy who was just standing in my room was gone. I am pretty sure I scared this stranger more then he scared me.
I am lucky that I look scary enough when I wake up to make strangers turn and run away. I was also lucky that this guy was not breaking into my room to rob me and steal all my stuff. But this foreigner to my hotel room made me realize that I need to be a bit more careful while staying in hotels. This could have happened to anyone in any hotel, it just takes the person at the front desk to make a little mistake.
I am defiantly not trying to scare people out of staying in hotels. I still feel very comfortable sleeping in hotels the majority of the year. I just want to share my experience with others, and help them avoid the situation I was in. And if you are fortunate enough to look like me when you wake up, and make intruders run for the hills, then locking your hotel room door shouldn't be a worry for you!
