Experience teaches that intrusions can be very disturbing — even when no physical scars are the product — and lead to a change in comfort level or even behavior. I hope this incident doesn’t turn you off from traveling, whether on personal or business travel. Some revisions in habits may be able to up the comfort level in future travels and reduce the odds of such intrusions happening: use the deadbolt, use door stopper wedges, etc. to make the door harder to open; book the room with an additional guest and maybe even children listed in the room count and provide an uncommon name for that additional adult guest who is neither on the trip nor otherwise coming around; try to otherwise avoid coming off as being an easy target (whether it’s by carrying too much luggage by one’s self or other things); and be careful about the conditions under which the room door is opened for others; checking the room on arrival for signs of whether another guest has recently used the room (perhaps to quickly use the toilet before leaving the room to get their stuff or go out for the day).

While the chances of a hotel guest becoming a target for intentional bodily harm from a stranger is extremely low in most major brand hotels, things can happen. Fortunately most people are socialized to be good people and a loud commotion usually gets help. The most susceptible targets to violence and harassment in the hotels are probably the hotel staff themselves — more so the housekeepers — and yet it seems like most hotel workers don’t encounter worse than some angry customers who are just huffing and puffing but won’t do worse there.

I hope you get the trail you need in case something makes the rounds that you would rather not have see any light of day and need to pursue the matter via court action. The hotel really should try to inform the guy with the phone in hand about the potential risks of having any unauthorized recording of you that may have taken place.

Hotels generally try to get hotel guests to avoid bringing in the police more than they perceive as in their business interests. [They also may not want to have a track of incidents that show a pattern of problems that can come up as being a sign of a pattern of negligence or other problems.] Hotels also try to button up when told about potential litigation coming from a customer. So don’t be surprised if your complaints don’t get much of a response from the hotel unless and until a lawyer is involved.