I assume that there are cameras everywhere, including the lobby, elevators, corridors, vending machines, lounge areas, .... (1) The Boston Craigslist mugger was caught on hotel videos, including the elevator. Turned out he was a med student and engaged to be married. (2) Some famous retired athlete was caught on hotel elevator video slugging his wife, right in the jaw; one punch and she went down like a sack of potatoes. Then he dragged her out of the elevator. He lost endorsements and got into other trouble. Cameras are EVERYWHERE but that doesn't make you guilty of anything.
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One time, I was traveling and I went to a hotel to meet an old college classmate at the hotel bar. I thought someone was going to call the cops!
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Consider parking "anywhere" and taking an Uber for the final mile. Don't Uber to the hotel but to an address nearby. If the hotel is 666 6th St., Uber to 646 6th St..
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Many people here remember the early and middle days of cell phone proliferation. They believed, "Whatever you do, don't talk on your cell phone while in the hotel lobby!!! The only people who use cell phones in hotels are clients calling hookers for the room number!" NOT.
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As far as keycard access is concerned (for Jaydalee), some have suggested calling long in advance to ask about hotel policy. I think one excuse was "Family travel but I don't want the kids losing key cards. Can they come and go w/o key cards?" In some hotels, key card restrictions only kick in outside daytime hours (e.g.., 8 PM to 6 AM or such). If you check in at 3 PM (no key card restrictions), don't assume that guests can get in for an evening visit.
Posted By: Maxvan68
I was at two different hotels in the last month. One, a Marriott in Birmingham, Alabama on a business trip, and one was a Quality Inn in Chattanooga, where I took my kids for a mini-vacation.
At both places they have set up paid parking like they do in parking garages. When you go up to the parking lot you have to press a button and get a ticket for the bar to go up and allow your car through. According to the instructions, you have to scan your hotel key card to exit the parking lot, or scan your parking ticket and pay $10 an hour. No cash payments can be made in the machines, you have to scan your credit or debit card to pay.
This is problematic for hotels where we go to see providers. If there was a LE sting and they busted a provider at a hotel, they now have verifiable evidence that I was at that hotel (my debit card) — and come to think of it, those machines probably take pictures of your car’s license plates too, most of them in parking garages do. So LE would know I was there at the same time a provider was there and I wasn’t staying at the hotel because I didn’t use a room key to exit, I used my debit card ... they’ll put two and two together and figure out I was there to see the provider.
Not cool.