Having been on the road for about seven weeks now I've got more travel tales than the time to tell them and some of which I wouldn't need to share, but an experience just a few nights back leads me to posting this hotel safety refresher. I'm usually not the type to flip my wig or jump at the sound of squeaky faucets, feet scuffling in the hall or other random noises heard in hotels, but when I received a knock on my hotel door at 10:30 P.M. at night it placed me a little on edge. The door chain had already been in place and one glance out the peephole revealed a face I wasn't familiar with. Surely I could have retreated to the confines of my room without thinking to question why this person was at my door at such an hour, but I gave them the benefit of a doubt. Perhaps the volume on my TV or music was too loud and they were simply trying to get some sleep next door. This wasn't the case. Leaving the chain on the door I opened it just a tad and our conversation went something like this:

"Can I help you sir?"

"Sorry to bother you ma'am. Um, my friend and I saw you earlier and we were curious to know if you were getting into anything this evening?"

"Um, no. It's late and I'm going to bed. Thank you - Goodbye."

After ending the conversation there, closing the door and weaving in and out of confusion I asked myself a couple of questions:

• Was I in Cancun?
• Was it Spring Break?
• Did I look like some dizzy college chick?
• Is this type of behavior typical in Fayetteville, AR?
• Should I phone the front office?
• Where did these men see me and were there really only two?

I was completely bugged out by this, so I called on one of the folks touring with me to come hang out in my room for awhile. Then at Midnight I received a phone call on the room phone from a man who claims he didn't send the other one over, wanted to let me know they had been admiring me earlier and if I was getting into anything that night? At this point I was fuming. Who in their right mind calls anyone or comes to their door at late hours to make a first introduction and invite them out? My co-worker was in complete shock as well and offered to change rooms. And to make a long story short I didn't switch rooms, but I didn't sleep well that night either. When I woke up that morning some of my co-workers that had gone out to a local piano bar provided me with some information that lead me to believe the front desk man had given the men my room number, but he was not present and they were just as confused as I when I told them my story. Still there wasn't enough to confront any of the hotel staff, especially those in the morning shift who hadn't any knowledge of the evening staffs actions.

To conclude my scary hotel tale if you can't rely on others to protect you then always remember to protect yourself. Forgive me for sounding preachy, but seriously - both women and men should take a look at some of these hotel/travel safety tips from the links below. Even the most seasoned travelers let their guard down, including me. Next time I won't bother to see if the volume is either too high or low.

• MetLife - Basic hotel safety and travel safety information we can all use.
• KevinCoffee.com - Very, very detailed safety information from valuables, elevators, parking lots, etc.
• Safer Child - More detailed info on how to select rooms safe for children and parents. Even includes notes on hotel rooms used as meth labs.

Filed under: Learning, Stories, Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, United States, Hotels and Accommodations