“This could’ve been stopped,” she said. “The Nashville Marriott could’ve just called me and said, ‘We’re putting this man who requested to be next to you, is this O.K.?’ And I would’ve called the cops and we would’ve gotten him. I’m so angry. I’m so mad.”
Source: Erin Andrews Says Hotel Could Have Prevented Stalker From Filming Her – The New York Times
Go read the article and then come back for my observations
If the Marriott Front Desk did place Ms. Andrew’s stalker in the room next door just on his word, they truly screwed up. That was lack of basic hotel security training or just plain irresponsibility. It may sound chauvinistic in this day and age, but hotels must take extra steps to protect female guests and do so with religious fervor since they are a favored target by sexual predators both from the outside the location and among the guests. The response from the Front Desk should have been “I am sorry, but all the rooms in that floor are taken. Maybe tomorrow there will be something available and we will accommodate you.” followed immediately by a call to Security who would contact the possible victim and inquire if they are acquainted. If not, then there is the choice of calling the cops and evicting the person or just plain evicting. I personally favor the first just to put the fear of God into the bastard.
But… even the best hotels will screw up as this case shows. That means it is up to you to make sure you can avoid and ultimately defend yourself against attackers. I have no idea why normal and usually secure-conscious people just drop all precautions when they are away from home and leave their safety to the hands of people who are dealing with several hundred other guests. That is not smart.
We are in an era that everybody has a cell phone so, you can start by asking the Front Desk not to allow calls to your room. If you want to be even safer, do not use your regular cell but buy a cheap pre-paid phone and use it during the trip as contact phone for the hotel those not on your regular circle. The other thing you do is to also ask Front Desk not to send Housekeeping to clean your room during your stay. Let’s face it, you can do with fresh bed-sheets for a couple of three days and you can always call for fresh towels or if there is a Houskeeper in sight, trade your used ones for new ones. Same for toiletries and coffee and in fact, you should have spares in your luggage. In case of emergency at night, the Front Desk always has coffee even though they may not want to share it.
The door is the weakest link in your room. Don’t let yourself be fooled by how solid it looks: that is fireproofing, not security against human critters. Peephole? A simple piece of tape holding a business card will block the darn thing while allowing you to use it as you need. Use all the devices that come with the door and lock although frankly, they are not much of a stop for a determined criminal. Do tie the door handle to the door chain with a piece of para-cord and wedge a rolled towel in the gap at the bottom of the door as there is a cute little tool that will defeat the lock in seconds. I go as far as placing the luggage and anything else not nailed down against the door as to give whomever breaks in a nice distraction or even trip while I go for other means of defense. And obviously, if you are alone, do not stay in a room with a connecting door to another room. If there is no other choice, make sure your side is locked and place a big piece of furniture in front of it.
Here is a link to other tips to stay safe at a hotel, you may even recognize the author.
Stay Safe Away From Home.
A rubber door stop lives in my bag so as to be on hand every time I go somewhere.
This reeks of bullshit. Hotels protect their guests’ details like its government classified. EA is just trying to collect a payday.
Hotels make a “reasonable effort” to keep their guest safe.
I think many fall for the false securities in this world today and many pay the price for it.There is no such thing as a complete security system,they are always flaws in it some where.Security is really up to the individual and what they do to make themselves safe,at home or away.
It’s my understanding based on testimony I’ve read that the guy didn’t just go up to the front desk and say “Can I have the room next to that smoking hot ESPN reporter?”
He didn’t even know who she was until that day. He saw on Facebook or something that she was staying in that hotel, then saw that her name was “trending on Yahoo” so he decided to record her naked and sell the video to TMZ because he needed money. Creep, yes. Stalker, no.
It then went like this: He made a reservation and went to the hotel. When he got there he was told his room was not ready so he sat down somewhere in the reception area. Then he called the front desk and asked to be connected to Erin Andrews and they did it. It’s not like she was super famous before this so I doubt the clerk had any red flags. Then he noticed that the room number was displayed on the phone and hung up. He got the room number by a stroke of luck.
Then he goes up to her room and sees that housekeeping is cleaning up the room next to hers and asks if that guest had checked out and was told that yes, the room would be available shortly. Another stroke of good luck for him.
Now he goes back to the front desk and says he was walking around and saw that this room was finished being cleaned, so how about they just put him in that room instead of him camping in the lobby until his original room was ready.
This would seem like a perfectly reasonable request to a rational person.
Holy crap… that is a lot of good info. I am going to go item by item but it is not a fisk but observation based on my experiences.
Then he called the front desk and asked to be connected to Erin Andrews and they did it.
It sounds like they allowed him to use the Front Desk phones..big no-no precisely because of the caller ID.
He got the room number by a stroke of luck.
No, that was irresponsibility by the FD person. It is hotel standards anywhere. I have seen FD people fired because of crap like that.
Then he goes up to her room and sees that housekeeping is cleaning up the room next to hers and asks if that guest had checked out and was told that yes, the room would be available shortly. Another stroke of good luck for him.
Agreed.
Now he goes back to the front desk and says he was walking around and saw that this room was finished being cleaned, so how about they just put him in that room instead of him camping in the lobby until his original room was ready.
Housekeeping is supposed to notify FD once a room is “vacant and clean” so it can go in the market. If there are no holds on that room (somebody else asked specifically for it, part of a reserved block of rooms, etc.) then the room is made available on first come/first served/price range basis. Not saying it cannot happen, but damn this guy had almost al the windows of chance open by luck and by negligence.