No Privacy..

[kibbles]

From a CS post, personally I find it very scary that anyone who has the same last name as me and claims to be a relation of mine can automatically have access to my hotel room.

I do not think it's the fault of any front line workers but the policies should definitely be changed.

[blas87]

I can see where it's dangerous, if say a woman is "hiding out" at a hotel from her abusive boyfriend or husband, and the hotel staff doesn't abide by her wishes or just randomly lets anyone in who asks for her, but at the same time, I feel that if you're going to be a cheater, you need to learn to be more sneaky.

Don't get a hotel in the same town or anywhere you'd be recognized, use a fake name if possible, and cover your own ass. Geez. Some people may just want to be caught. Who knows?

[Sarah Valentine]

if you're going to be a cheater, you need to learn to be more sneaky.

Or you shouldn't have any privacy cause you're an asshole.

[blas87]

I don't advocate cheating by any means, but I was just stating that if you're going to cheat, don't get caught. Unless you want to. I'm inclined to believe that some people almost want to be caught, or they are just stupid, ya know?

I caught an acquaintance cheating on her boyfriend one night at a bar, and I was thinking to myself.....you really just decided to make out with some random guy at a bar that everyone in our social circle tends to got to almost every weekend? That's either asking to be caught, or being really damn special!

[kibbles]

Even if someone is cheating, it's not the hotel's business and policy regarding giving out keys should definitely reflect that. And I totally agree about the abused spouse hiding away, who could inadvertently be put in harms way.

It's a hotel policy that is disrespectful to the guests and is ultimately putting their front line workers in harms way.

[insertNameHere]

I am also bothered by this, because I like to travel with my laptop, it DOES NOT fit in that wonderful room safe, they make every attempt to tell you that the hotel is not responsible for your shit if it isn't secured into the safe. Lets say I take the phone off the hook to avoid annoying calls. I leave the room

So, if one of my shady relatives knows my room number, and pulls out their ID with the same last name, they get to walk into my room steal all my shit while I'm out having lunch with my dear old grandpa. I come back to find all my shit stolen, I go to inquire at the desk and they say they tried to call my room got a busy signal, and because the last name matched they were given an key. I doubt because it is my relative that got "locked out" they are required to have a copy of their ID made.

I agree with the hotels that people mentioned ONLY the person renting the room and PREVIOUSLY designated individuals can request a key.

[HYHYBT]

Agreed. Not everyone's relatives are all trustworthy, and even if they are you might not want one to show up unannounced in your room.

(On the other hand, and not having seen the original thread... if the hotel does not normally do this, but leaves any leeway for judgement calls, giving the key to a cheated-on spouse does have a certain appeal...)

[BlaqueKatt]

From a CS post, personally I find it very scary that anyone who has the same last name as me and claims to be a relation of mine can automatically have access to my hotel room.

I do not think it's the fault of any front line workers but the policies should definitely be changed.

or ya know take some responsibility for your own safety, and take the 10 seconds to tell the clerk-"I am the only person that is in this room, do not give anyone else access please" and hey that works without having to worry about any policies.

The front desk worker is not psychic-unless YOU tell them, they have no way of knowing. I've rented rooms for conventions and had friends showing up later-guess what, I let the desk clerk know who they were, and that only those people were allowed access. Maybe your spouse had to work and was meeting you later?

Plus how would some random person with your last name, know your name and room number? It's not like guest registration is updated in real time on some billboard somewhere.

[MadMike]

Agreed. Not everyone's relatives are all trustworthy, and even if they are you might not want one to show up unannounced in your room.

Exactly. My son has his mother's last name, as we never married, but he would not want her to have access to his belongings. She's already tried to steal from him several times.

Not only that, just because two people have the same last name doesn't necessarily mean they're related.

The front desk worker is not psychic-unless YOU tell them, they have no way of knowing.

Maybe not, but there's such a thing as "erring on the side of caution." I think it would make more sense for the guest to have to tell the clerk who IS allowed in their room, rather than having to tell them who isn't.

[insertNameHere]

or ya know take some responsibility for your own safety, and take the 10 seconds to tell the clerk-"I am the only person that is in this room, do not give anyone else access please" and hey that works without having to worry about any policies.

The front desk worker is not psychic-unless YOU tell them, they have no way of knowing. I've rented rooms for conventions and had friends showing up later-guess what, I let the desk clerk know who they were, and that only those people were allowed access. Maybe your spouse had to work and was meeting you later?

Plus how would some random person with your last name, know your name and room number? It's not like guest registration is updated in real time on some billboard somewhere.

I guess now, I would give said boilerplate line of "Don't give anyone access to this room", however before finding out the policies I had a reasonable expectation that more than my name and room number, would be needed to get access to the room. Also, it really depends on the last name and location.

Smith is pretty common, and maybe I ordered takeout and gave my room #, enterprising delivery driver has same last name, so he comes back later as my brother needing to get into room #412 where name from my credit card I used is staying. Just saying the policy is a little out there.

Is there some sort of a thing that clearly states, Unless you tell us not to give access to your room, if someone knows your room #, and shares a last name, they get access.

[MaggieTheCat]

Here's another look on this story.

My husband and I don't have the same last name. I kept my "maiden" name (for lack of a better term) when we got married. So if he checked into a hotel room under his name and later on I went and asked for a room key, there'd be absolutely no "proof" that I'm his wife other than my word, since the name on my driver's license is completely different than his.

I don't think hotels should give anyone access to a room other than the person who paid for it and anyone that that person specifies. Just because people have the same last name doesn't mean they're related (and even if they are, it doesn't mean that the person who checked into the room wants to see their relatives, as others have pointed out) and just because people DON'T have the same last names doesn't mean that they're NOT related. So the whole "well the wife had the husband's same last name so I let her in" argument doesn't really hold up.

[kibbles]

or ya know take some responsibility for your own safety, and take the 10 seconds to tell the clerk-"I am the only person that is in this room, do not give anyone else access please" and hey that works without having to worry about any policies.

The front desk worker is not psychic-unless YOU tell them, they have no way of knowing. I've rented rooms for conventions and had friends showing up later-guess what, I let the desk clerk know who they were, and that only those people were allowed access. Maybe your spouse had to work and was meeting you later?

Plus how would some random person with your last name, know your name and room number? It's not like guest registration is updated in real time on some billboard somewhere.

I did not say or presume to say that the desk worker is psychic. As you should have noticed in my main post, I think this is a hotel policy that the upper management should change..one that ultimately puts front desk workers at risk.

I am not ranting on front desk workers, I am ranting on a potentially dangerous hotel policy. And it doesn't have to be a random person to be a person you would not want having access to your hotel room.

[Nyoibo]

Checking the article, the person checked the ID to make sure it matched, the woman named not only the occupant of the room but the room number without being given any of the information and the front desk worker called the room to check but there was no answer, they also checked the booking to see if there were any special requirements like not letting anyone in, there weren't.

[insertNameHere]

Checking the article, the person checked the ID to make sure it matched, the woman named not only the occupant of the room but the room number without being given any of the information and the front desk worker called the room to check but there was no answer, they also checked the booking to see if there were any special requirements like not letting anyone in, there weren't.

But as many have established, there are plenty of ways to know the room # and name and we aren't faulting the worker but the policy to let anyone who appears to belong in.

Most people don't realize how easy it is to social engineer information out of people and then up to another person and repeat said information to appear as you belong.

[Greenday]

Checking the article, the person checked the ID to make sure it matched, the woman named not only the occupant of the room but the room number without being given any of the information and the front desk worker called the room to check but there was no answer, they also checked the booking to see if there were any special requirements like not letting anyone in, there weren't.

And yet she wasn't supposed to be in the room so it's the employees fault for letting an unauthorized person into the room.