A woman was left worried for her safety when the hotel she was staying in accidentally gave a man access to her room.
Janelle Rupkalvis, from Washington, is a full-time content creator who shares updates on her life and travels to her TikTok account @janelleonajet.
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On a recent trip to New York City, the 30-year-old realized the hotel had checked another person into her room when her TV switched off to instead show a welcome message addressed to a man.
Rupkalvis immediately began recording "for my own safety and because I wanted proof of anything that was about to occur," as she anticipated someone coming to her room. She captured the moment a man knocked on her door.
The incident happened at the Tempo by Hilton Times Square hotel, a spokesperson for whom told Newsweek, "the well-being, safety and security of our guests and team members are of paramount importance and allegations such as these are taken very seriously."
"We can share that there was an isolated check-in error with a guest room last week, which the Tempo by Hilton Times Square team immediately addressed," the spokesperson said.
Janelle Rupkalvis realized something was wrong and began recording for her safety. The man knocked on her door and apologized.Janelle Rupkalvis realized something was wrong and began recording for her safety. The man knocked on her door and apologized.TikTok @janelleonajetRead more: How to Choose a Travel Credit Card
"As part of its ongoing commitment to guest safety, the Tempo by Hilton Times Square management team reviewed check-in procedures with front-desk staff and continues to make every effort to ensure all practices are in line with strict safety and security protocols."
In the clip, the man at the other side of the door apologizes and explains he realized there must have been someone already in the room as Rupkalvis had left a bag of finished food containers outside.
The pair have a brief conversation, with Rupkalvis thanking him for knocking rather than barging in, and she told Newsweek she was thankful he was "extremely kind and observant."
But, she added, "it's a massive safety and security risk."
"I could've been asleep, in the shower, etc. and this stranger had complete access to entering my room. And if I wasn't in the room at the time, this incident would have also opened me up to the opportunity of theft," she said.
"How many times does this happen where someone isn't in the room at the time?"
New York City has a high crime rate, with 126,589 felonies committed in 2022 alone, according to Statista. Of those, the most commonly committed felony was grand larceny—the theft of something with large value—with 51,565 cases.
The man had noticed a food package outside the door, left, and figured someone was in the room. Rupkalvis realized someone had been checked in to her room when her TV switched to a welcome...The man had noticed a food package outside the door, left, and figured someone was in the room. Rupkalvis realized someone had been checked in to her room when her TV switched to a welcome message for a man, right.TikTok @janelleonajetTikTok users were horrified, with one writing: "Thank the gods he was a safe man. This could have played out like a horror movie."
Another agreed they were glad the man involved "handled that with such care, I can only imagine how freaked out I would have been."
And one user shared their own horror story, writing: "You're so lucky he was nice and you were awake! I had a man standing at the foot of my bed in Morocco."
Rupkalvis called the hotel's response "completely lackluster," saying she "did not feel as though they took my concerns seriously," claiming that they apologized only for the "inconvenience, completely ignoring the risk to my safety that they just opened me up to."
After publication, Rupkalvis confirmed to Newsweek that she had another meeting two days later with a more senior manager who she feels gave a sincere apology about the incident.
Rupkalvis says she was offered 7,000 points as an apology, eventually brought up to 20,000 points when she was unhappy. But, as she told Newsweek, "this barely covers a quarter of the price to stay here for a single night."
Hilton hotels and resorts offer a points system, with 10 Hilton Honors Base Points accrued per one U.S. dollar spent. These points are earned by booking rooms, using room services and other related charges.
Update 7/2/24, 11:44 a.m. ET: This article was updated to add that Rupkalvis later received an apology from a hotel manager.Do you have great travel stories or videos you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
