This very thing happened last night at the Sheraton Read House in Chattanooga, which has just been a Starwood property for about a month.

Sorry for the lengthy post.

At 2:15 am, the alarm sounded. I rounded up my son and his friend from their room, my son's coach from his room, and we walked down six flights of stairs -- me in my Mickey Mouse flannel jammies and big furry boots. No firetrucks arrived.

We were given the all clear to return to our rooms a few minutes later, and we walked up to avoid the rush at the elevators. On the fourth floor, we passed a very elderly couple in their pajamas (both using canes) still walking down. We told them we had been given permission to return to our rooms, but they told us there was smoke on the 7th floor. We walked up to seven, and sure enough, the hallway was filled with smoke. We walked back down and told them at the front desk, but we were told an intoxicated guest had sprayed the fire extinguisher near the smoke alarm, causing it to go off, so the "smoke" we saw was not actually smoke, but chemicals from the fire extinguisher.

Upon returning to our rooms, I found the "safety lock" in my room had engaged behind me as I left the room. (The rooms were newly renovated and the locks were sticky). I went back downstairs and told the night manager at the desk about the situation. At first, he insisted that there was someone else in my room who had locked it and suggested I call them and ask them to let me back in! I was quite sure there had been no one else in the room with me, and then he told me, "we don't have anyone working at night who can fix this. I'll give you another room and we can have him here tomorrow after church." I explained how this was not acceptable because (1) my 13-year-old was in the room next to mine; and (2) I was catching an early flight to Atlanta the next morning. I asked for some tools and said I would take the door off the hinges myself. He then sent a clerk up to see what the problem was, who then went to find some tools. After about 20 minutes, I woke up the kids again and they came out and "body slammed" the door until the lock screws came loose. Good thing because the clerk returned and said the tool box was locked until Monday morning!!!

The next morning at checkout, other guests were being given free breakfast because of the smoke alarm. I explained the situation to the general manager and was given a discount on all three rooms and Starwood points.