jkburns1

What if, god forbid, OP had a heart condition and.. well... Wonder the compensation package on that?

I fail to even fathom how one can say $60 is sufficient and suggest he doesn't deserve the points refunded.

I don't think I've ever latched or deadbolted a hotel door. Fortunately, I have NOT been on either side of such a mishap.. (getting up to deadbolt door)

CNWO4LIFE

I am usually armed as well, and being woken up with some strange guy standing over me could result in a dire situation.

mecabq

Sure, and the person who entered the room wrongly could have been an axe murderer, or could have just escaped from a mental institution prior to checking into the hotel. Or it could have been a SWAT team with shoot-on-sight orders.

By the same token, the guest in the room could be staying in the hotel to recuperate from open-heart surgery, could have a gun under this pillow, or could have been in the midst of a cocaine-fueled tryst with an underage girl.

Just because we can dream up these unfortunate scenarios, doesn't mean that the victim deserves a level of compensation that would be appropriate were one of them the actual case.

I think that every instance in which this has happened on this board has been like my experience -- the enterer of the room quickly realizes the mistake, gets embarrassed, then sheepishly but quickly exits the room, then the victim dead-bolts the door and goes back to sleeping or whatever else he/she was doing.

Keyser

not quite....when this happened to my wife & me, my wife couldn't go back to sleep for the rest of the night....she was too scared to turn the light off....she stayed up all night watching tv....thank god i had booked a suite & there was a tv in the living room, otherwise i would have been up all night as well thanks to the tv....

Tak

OP wrote: "Needless to say, I didn't sleep after that."
I do not know OP didn't or couldn't sleep, but he is a frequent visitor/guest of the hotel and this was his weekend getaway.
GM should take more considerations to his case.

HNLbasedFlyer

I think the hotel gave fair resolution to this situation, which is some goodwill compensation, but I don't agree everything should be free - there should be a middle ground.

I'm really surprised there isn't more of a call for personal responsibilty here. It's second nature for me in a hotel room, which isn't my home, to close the door, click the double lock, and latch the door. Nobody is getting in by accident that way. Isn't this a best practice followed by most people?

The hotel made a mistake. If it wasn't malicious or on purpose, it was an accident. Nobody was harmed, there are no damages - and the lesson learned is to be more diligent as a guest, as we all should be. And, ultimately, the hotel gave some compensation back for their ownership of the mistake. Free everything seems extreme for a mistake/accident.

And for all those, what if he/she just had open heart surgery - come on, what the heck are you doing in a hotel room, rest at home! (please have a sense of humor)

ByrdluvsAWACO

Yes, being in a situation where it is possible that keys can be issued to occupied rooms, one should know to use the latch.

Oh please. You're turning this into a Lifetime movie.

FrankC6

Having once received a room key to a room occupied by four unaccompanied minors, I make a point of always deadbolting my hotel room. I would strongely urge all others to do the same.

As for the compensation, I received none at the time. Considering the circumstances, a free night would be the most suitable compensation. A partial refund and the vague promiss of an upgrade probably isn't the worst gesture ever either.

Yankeeflyer

So if your kid forgets to lock a house door, and someone steals all of your stuff, it's your fault you got robbed? You and the low-life who robbed you are equally at fault?

So if you go for a walk at night and you get mugged it's your fault because you should have known it's not as safe to walk after dark? You and the criminal who attacked you are equally at fault?

I think the whole "the OP didn't take adequate precautions" as a way of absolving/mitigating blame for the hotel is weak.

Out of my Element

As has been said, OP should have thrown the latch thing. But if I'm asleep and my door opens 2 inches and that latch catches it, I'm STILL not falling back to sleep that night. No "ho ho ho, wasn't that weird, zzzzzzzzz" for me, and I bet not for many of you.

manneca

I sometimes forget to latch the door, but if I'm staying just one night, I always put the do not disturb sign out when I check in. I hope that it keeps people out when I'm not in the room. Have no idea, of course, whether it does. I would think seeing a do not disturb sign would alert someone with the wrong key that something was amiss. (If I'm staying multiple nights, the sign goes on when the room has been cleaned.)

I would be frightened out of my mind if strangers came into my room at night.

Allan38103

In the grand sceme of things, there are errors with disastrous consequences and there are mistakes with minor results. This was one of them.

Get over it.

If the OP had simply locked his door, nothing would have happened and he would have received nothing for his troubles.

Flews

My view is this is more serious than not. I'm leaning towards the hotel doing more to acknowledge that fact. Mistakes happen, yes. When they do, the right thing is is take responsibility & corrective action, in this case with more appropriate compensation.

Cheers,

yeunganson

That's one of the fears I have of the USA. I did, once, given a key to a room that was still occupied. It was the afternoon though and they guy was getting dressed in front of the mirror.

I do fear crazies that would shoot first and ask questions later.

At this case, results matter. No one was shot and no one got a heart attack thus it is a minor mistake....

Of course if something serious happened, then eventhough the front desk clerk's actions are the same, the mistake is serious. Luck plays a part in life.

beachfan

I have had the same thing happen to me and my wife, and was annoyed, but since it was quickly dealt with, I didn't take it further.

However, this goes to a very central issue about safety and security and one shouldn't presume that one can just "get over it" easily. If you were not raised in a secure environment as a child, or had some serious unfortunate occurances as an adult, this can be extemely traumatic.

I would guess that the posters saying "no harm, no foul, get over it" are mostly, if not entirely, male.

Given that compensation was offered and it was a bit stingy, points should be refunded.