A woman is going viral on TikTok after sharing the story of how a Days Inn worker repeatedly snuck into her hotel room without her permission.
Melissa (@meltx2020) said she works remotely out of New York, but that her job is based out of Dallas. As a result, she said that she’ll occasionally fly to Dallas to go into her office. During her most-recent visit to Texas last month, Melissa said that she checked herself into a Days Inn by Wyndman in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Melissa said she didn’t stay at a nicer hotel because “the goal is to make money while I’m there.” But even at an inexpensive place, she said she’s guaranteed her right to privacy. Still, she said she claims she experienced a series of strange events during her stay that ultimately caused her to leave and find a new hotel. Melissa shared her stories with viewers in a two-part video series that, as of Monday, had amassed a combined 246,300 views.
“A man at the front desk of a hotel used his master key to enter my room multiple times,” she said. Melissa noted, too, that she recorded her videos for “educational purposes” and wanted to answer the questions she’s received from viewers since first sharing what occurred.
What happened while at the Days Inn?
On Oct. 19, Melissa said she left the hotel to work. Upon returning, though, she said she noticed that things had been moved in her absence.
“When you’re staying by yourself… you know where you leave things,” Melissa said. She said she left the “do not disturb” sign on her door, so housekeeping shouldn’t have entered.
Later that night, Melissa said she went to a friend’s birthday party and returned to the hotel at 7:30am.
“I decided to sleep in the nude,” she shared. “I’m in a hotel room alone and no one’s going to see me.”
Or so she thought.
In the morning, around 11am, she said she was awoken by her light switching on. “Nobody knocked. Nobody announced their entrance,” Melissa said. Initially, she said she couldn’t tell who opened the door. Then the stranger who entered turned the light off and left. Laying in bed, still shocked, Melissa said the stranger re-entered 5-10 minutes later.
“They flip on the light and I hear them in the bathroom,” Melissa said, noting that she heard both man and woman. “As I’m recording… this woman came around the corner and saw me and jumped.” She said that the man—who she recognized from the front desk—came around and locked eyes with her. Melissa said she yelled at him to leave. But instead, he stood by her front door and attempted to speak with her.
Melissa said she was “in a state of shock.” While her friends advised her to call the police, she said that they offered little-to-no help. In fact, they told her that no crime had been committed because nothing was stolen and nobody got hurt. They advised Melissa to take her issues up with the Days Inn.
“So that’s what I decided to do,” she said.
Content creator says Days Inn kicked her out
From her bed, Melissa said she called the front desk and told a worker that her privacy had been invaded and that her safety was compromised. She said she also requested a refund and stated that she wished to leave the hotel.
But the front desk worker wasn’t helpful, either. He apparently said that he would need to contact his manager. To make matters worse, Melissa said that the front desk worker who entered her room didn’t bother to apologize. He also didn’t state why he was in her room, other than telling her that the “do not disturb” sign had allegedly fallen off of her door.
“At this point, I get dressed and decide to leave,” Melissa said. On the way out, she said she, once again, told the front desk that she wanted a refund and was told she couldn’t get one.
“That was the first thing that upset me,” Melissa said. She said she also told the front desk person to stay out of her room while she was at work. “The DFW-area is huge for sex trafficking. Now is that what they were trying to do? I don’t know. But as a single woman in a hotel room who’s asleep and not dressed, of course that crossed my mind.”
After leaving the property, Melissa said she received a phone call from the hotel alerting her that she was “no longer welcome” on the property. Melissa said she came back to the hotel to retrieve her stuff and noticed that no one was at the front desk. She also said that her key card was deactivated.
Content creator issues PSA about Days Inn hotel
In a follow-up video, Melissa said that the front desk worker continued to lie about what happened. He insisted, for instance, that Melissa did not have the “do not disturb” sign on her door and that he entered her room because Melissa was allegedly “yelling” at a housekeeper (which Melissa said is not true).
After checking into another hotel, Melissa said she finally received an email from a Days Inn general manager who apologized to her. They offered her 25% off on her next stay there, but Melissa said she would never “step foot” on their properties ever again. “All I wanted was my refund to go to a safer place,” she said.
Melissa then showed viewers a picture she took of the man who entered her room and later kicked her out of the hotel. She also showed evidence that her “do not disturb” sign was left intact and that she didn’t yell at any of the housekeepers.
After returning to New York, Melissa said she looked up this hotel’s reviews and found that multiple people reported similar occurrences. For instance, she said people wrote that things were stolen out of their room or that they had “terrible interactions” with the front desk.
“I’m not the only one that this has happened to,” she said. “I’m not the first and I’m pretty sure I won’t be the last. It’s horrifying that they can use their master key to enter at any time.”
Melissa said that, after contacting the Better Business Bureau, she was refunded for the two nights she didn’t stay at the hotel, but wanted a lot more.
Hotel guests are afforded certain rights
According to findlaw.com, hotel guests are generally afforded a right to privacy in their rooms. Hotel management is only allowed to enter the premises if it’s believed that an occupant is behaving in an illegal or irresponsible manner.
It noted that one exception to your right for privacy is in the event of cleaning and maintenance. The law also states that hotels cannot authorize law enforcement to conduct a search of an occupant’s room without their consent or without a proper search warrant.
Viewers encourage content creator to take legal action
In the comments section of Melissa’s video, several commenters encouraged her to contact lawyers or news stations to share her story.
“I hope you get a lawyer this isn’t right on so many levels,” one woman wrote. “I’m sure they were trying to steal.”
“You have a good case to sue,” another added.
“I would continue to pursue this via corporate. Sounds like they’re a franchise and have to answer to corporate,” a third viewer advised.
“As a hotel person, write it on trip advisor if you haven’t,” a fourth user said. “That’s where it hits us hotels the hardest!”
Others offered safety tips for other hotel-goers.
“You should bring a camera with you on these trips,” one user said.
“I video every new car and hotel room (and apartment if I’m moving) the moment I enter and when I leave,” another wrote. “I have a lot of random videos of interiors but better safe than sorry.”
@meltx2020 #DaysInnDFW ♬ original sound – It’s Just Melissa
“Get a door jam or specialized lock for when you’re inside the room,” a third woman advised.
But mainly folks expressed happiness that Melissa was now safe.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” one viewer said. “I love you and [am] glad you are safe.”
“This is so scary! I’m sorry it happened to you,” another added.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Melissa via TikTok comment and to Days Inn and Wyndham Hotels by email.
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