For the record, and not to challenge anything you said, the background to my rude security inspection at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines was quite different. I had interacted with the housekeeper both days, getting water and coffee. There were multiple key lock entries — one as recent as a few hours before I was ordered to present myself at the door. I had charged a restaurant meal to my room a few hours earlier.

The manager on duty made clear by his repeated references to Las Vegas as the motivation for the practice that terrorism and not the welfare of guests was behind the practice.

OP, if you consider this to be a “very upsetting intrusion”, you may wish to either re-set your expectations regarding stuff that can happen when you travel or take your dollars somewhere else. Their policy has been communicated to you. Accept it or move on. Entirely unclear if you’re more upset about the perceived injustice of them checking on the room or your encounter with the manager. As with most stories like this, I’d love to hear the other side.

It’s not daily.

Have a lovely Sunday.

First, I want to apologize for the thread title. I tried to edit it both to remove the word “daily” (I was not told this would happen each day — for me the inspection occurred on my second day with limited housekeeping service) and to correct the spelling of “corporate.” I could not figure out a way to edit my thread title. Sorry.

Second, to respond to the above:

I fully intend to take my dollars elsewhere and I will not be returning to the La Jolla Torrey Shores. I will be returning to the area next month and have already booked for a nearby property.

I think my expectations regarding stuff that can happen in travel are set properly. I have travelled for decades — including lots of business travel in less developed countries where one learns appriopriate cautions in hotels (such as not opening door for unexpected persons claiming to be security.). I have elite (in some cases the very top and lifetime) status in airline and hotel programs. I deliberately to not include such self-aggrandizing information on my FT signature. This is not my first time around the hotel/travel block,

I still am unaware of the “policy” of this hotel or Hilton corporate. I have written about this matter to corporate, but have not yet received a response. All I know is that the manager on duty told me that all Hiltons were required to conduct inspections after Las Vegas. He did not say how often, whether the guest should be alerted by a notice or call from front desk, etc. Perhaps corporate can respond here on FT and provide “the other side of the story.” I would welcome that.

There is no “perceived injustice” on my part regarding their checking on the room or a guest. It’s not the practice to which I object but, rather, the way it was carried out — without any prior notice of the practice, without the simple courtesy of a call from the front desk saying Security was on its way for a brief visual inspection — with unanticipated pounding on the door from a voice purporting to be that of Security demanding that I open the door.

Finally, it is in fact the case that the dismissive response of the manager on duty — including his demand (not request) that I give him the name of the property at which I had stayed immediately prior to checking in at Torrey Pines so that he could report them to corporate — aggravated the situation for me. The manager on duty (Michael?) could have apologized for the lack of notice, said that he was sorry I was upset, said that he understood my concern, that he would raise with your fellow managers the suggestion that such inspections be preceded by a call from the front desk, etc., etc.

Thank you. An interesting thread, esp. the Gary Leff article quoting Hilton corporate materials.

The La Jolla Torrey Pines property has no printed in-room Guest Services Directory with tabs. Instead they refer guests to some TV material (with tabs).

I could find no reference on the TV material to this policy/practice. There is a section on safety on the TV. It speaks mostly of what to do in case of fire/earthquake. It says nothing about exercising caution in opening the door for unexpected persons. Nor about the possibility of inspections if one does not receive housekeeping service.

Similarly, I received no card under my door regarding the inability to service my room and/or the possibility that my room would thus be inspected.

It may be that the corporate policies described in the Leff piece are no longer in place ~18 months later. If they are, it is curious that the La Jolla Torrey Pines, whose manager on duty was so eager to report to corporate regarding my previous Hilton stay, is itself non-compliant in this matter.

Thanks very much. I have never had occasion to use that button. I assumed it was to be used only to alert the moderator to inappropriate content, In any case, I have requested that the thread title be modified.