A doctor has shared a harrowing story, claiming that Marriott handed over a room key to access her room to a predator who claimed to be her husband.
Marriott Gave Room Key To Predator Who Claimed To Be Guest’s Husband Without Verification
Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos was staying at a Marriott hotel (she did not disclose which one) and had retired for the night. Hours later, without warning, a man entered her room. Startlingly, it was not an innocent mistake: the man had claimed to be her husband and the front desk had handed over a room key, even though his name was not registered on the reservation.
It’s unclear what happened next; Stamatopoulos says she is not ready to share what happened inside the room. She reached out to the hotel and received this response from the hotel manager, who claimed to have performed an investigation:
I sincerely apologize once again for the unfortunate incident you experienced at our hotel.
After investigating the situation with my staff, I would like to explain what transpired that night. A man approached the front desk requesting a key to your room. He claimed to be your husband and stated he needed the key to return and sleep. Upon verifying the reservation, my staff informed him that he was not registered for the room and that he would need to contact you for verification. He insisted that you were sleeping and requested that we not disturb you.
Is that the key to getting the key? Just keep insisting until you get your way?
She shared her story on X and is demanding accountability from Marriott:
She strongly urges people to use deadbolts–“I want to caution people to USE THE DEADBOLT AT HOTELS.”
We Live In A Different World…
I remember the first time I went to Rome. My brother and I stayed at a small independent hotel that still used those room keys with the heavy brass keychains.
The point was that you surrendered it at the front desk when you left the hotel and picked it up when you returned. Throughout our stay, we were never asked for ID or any other proof: we just said, “Camera nove” (room nine) and the clerk handed us the key.
Even then (15 years ago), that struck me as strange. More recently, I’ve stayed at many hotels where I’ve locked myself out of the room and it often surprises me how willing front desk associates are simply to create a new key, especaily when it is a person I have not previously dealt with at the hotel (in the USA, this is rarer…often I am asked identifying quetsions nad sometimes even escorted to my room so I can rpesent photo ID).
Sadly, we live in a world full of danger, surrounded by people who have nefarious intentions. This sort of security slip is unacceptable.
CONCLUSION
A woman found herself face-to-face with a predator in her room after a front desk associate handed him a key, even though he was not a registered guest. I love the human tendency to trust…it’s a window into the Divine…but we live in a fallen world filled with very sick and twisted people. This was a serious safety breach, and I hope that Marriott will not only make this woman whole but also use it as a powerful teaching moment across its hotels and franchises.
What are your thoughts on this?
Hat Tip: One Mile At A Time
if there was a rape or something, couldn’t the front desk associated be convicted of reckless endangerment at a minimum, if not accessory?
Nobody could even attempt to guess the answer to that question unless and until we know the jurisdiction in which it’s happened. Same goes for vicarious liability – I bet there are countries out there where an employer would be able to get away with saying ‘we had staff training in place, we cannot be held responsible for the actions of our employee, good luck with suing someone who used to earn $620 a month… oh, and they don’t even earn that now because we’ve fired them!’.
She is a Canadian sociologist, not a physician. Some Canadians are really complainers and anti-American.
It’s bad when someone else gets the key to your room. The latch is good against ordinary crooks but Israeli Mossad can easily disable it and kill you, as they did in the UAE.
She should have robbed him!
Why are you such a POS. Love and Let fly should have a “DO”. If love to meet all you guys outside your mom’s basement
Hey Shaun. I am sorry that your transgender woman friend and you got into a fight about who was to receive it in the rectum. But please do not call me a POS.
You are right.
Why insult POS’s?
Shaun, thank you for your efforts. Unfortunately, the douchebag trolls, like douchebag Dave Edward and Douchebag Derek have won, just like Trump won the election and we all have to suffer the consequences. They win here simply due to frequency, probably because the blog’s main concern is # of clicks. I disagree with the need for a DO, POS’s gonna be POS’s, in person and on anonymous comments. Take some comfort in the knowledge that invariably their real lives are every bit as twisted and pathological as their comments here indicate.
I tried to confront it, was like hitting your head against a wall, only feels good when you stop. And unfortunately I was called out publicly by the blog author when he defended the biggest troll of all, kinda like blaming the victim. I’m now voting with my feet, I visit (click) far less often, as do undoubtedly many other polite civil readers who know feeding the troll(s), despite the best intentions, NEVER works and who do not want to see the trolls’ comments.
OTOH, this blog’s comments could be moderated (edited, censored) just like FlyerTalk, where nasty partisan douchebag comments are removed and repeat offenders are suspended or banned, and which gets many more clicks as a result.
Oh yeah, Douchebag Derek, you most definitely are a POS as proven by your content and volume of comments here. And learn the proper use of capitalization you poorly educated racist moron.
This is such a ridiculous comment. .
You don’t even know whether the hotel was in the USA, Canada or in any other country where Marriott operate (I suppose we could perhaps discount the UK because they said they wanted to ‘apologize’ instead of using the traditional English spelling). By the way, the surname’s very much Greek so there’s also a chance that she doesn’t even feel 100% Canadian to begin with.
Tell me you are a MAGA without telling me that you are a MAGA.
Only followers of MAGA and its Dear Lord and Savior, Trump be thy name, hate Canada.
Canadians have hated Americans for decades but Americans didn’t know it.
Stop calling me a MAGA because I disagree with how Trump has incited even more Canadian hatred of America. Many Canadians hated America before but more do now.
He’s rational and can think critically?
Lefties are social cancer, thankfully we’re dealing with your engrained social destruction.
Here’s the corporate equation quandry. ….
Screaming Karen >< wronged guest
No matter the outcome of this story
….the fact is going forward… Marriott has a *guest gets raped and it's our fault " line item in the accounting we don't see
Seems there is an easy fix. Ask the guest at checkin to give the names of people who are allowed access to the room. Only let them have access to a replacement key. If I checkin and don’t want to report Alex’s name to the hotel, no problem, I can keep it confidential. But, Alex can’t get a replacement key.
I’m not intending to shame the victim with this comment, but as travel advice…
The vast majority of major brand hotel rooms have something on the entry door that allows it to be secured (to a degree at least) from the inside other than the key lock– a chain latch, a deadbolt, a little L shaped metal piece that flips around. These should always, always, always be used.
Lots of folks have keys that can open your hotel room door– maids, porters, managers, desk staff, maintenance, etc… most of them are great folks, but some of them have probably done some shady things in life.
Secure the door. You can also get hotel door alarm wedge for about $10.
Was staying at a Marriott conference center. Midday I returned to my room with a migraine. Darkened the room prepared for a nap. Minutes later three men entered the suite. ( door bolted). They did not see me initially. Assessing my situation I chose to grab a stiletto heel and confront them. They ran knocking over a maid in the hallway. The front desk tried to deny this was possible, until the maid texted the head of housekeeping. Apparently another maid had recently been assaulted and she was furious. I found a missing passkey ditched near my phone. That passkey ( looks like a flag) had been missing for months. Never assume you are safe. I bought an alarm at a nearby Target that hangs on the door handle. It is very sensitive.
I did not appreciate the front desk trying to gaslight me not to call the police. And oddly it’s more disturbing as time goes by. Adrenaline is powerful only in the moment.
Thank you for posting this. It’s never occurred to me that something like that could happen. At home I have a series of chimes hanging on the inside of my front door so if somebody attempts to enter my flat I’ll hear the chimes and hopefully be able to react in time.
Keep in mind hotel deadbolt only provides protection from the honest as there is a position in most designs that allow them to be release if the door a jar at the right location.
Wait, do people not automatically utilise the deadbolt anyway? That to me is a bare minimum step in ensuring your own safety.
How’s that for a wake up call?
Deport him to el Salvador where all the other scum are being sent.
Lawsuit. Major lawsuit.