01/23/2025
I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels. For the last two and a half years, I’ve had to do so on a bi weekly basis due to my primary business requiring me to travel. This is mostly in a medium sized city for Kansas/Oklahoma, and I stick to mostly the relatively inexpensive places that cater to transient workers. No big deal. Until this morning.
I’ve been staying at this particular hotel for over a year now with regularity. They know me at the desk. This week I just had one night scheduled there. At 6:45 am, I am standing between the TV stand and bed, with one leg in my jeans when there is a “whooshing” kind of sound and the curtain starts flailing. I most assuredly was thinking “what the f*ck”, until a head comes around the side of the curtain. I lock eyes with this middle age man and I’m sure I had a huge look of disbelief on my face. My pistol is on the table, well within arm’s reach. This man very quickly starts saying, “sorry, sorry, sorry!” as he exits the window and closes it. I get my pants on and go to investigate the window. I find that the latches are broken, there’s a crack in the window itself, and it won’t shut all the way, which also explains why it was chilly when I woke up.
Normally, I don’t go to the desk to check out, but management needs to be aware of this. It didn’t really register as having been as potentially dangerous until I was about to exit the room with my things. I called my wife to talk it out for a minute before going to the desk. The manager apologized profusely, immediately refunded my stay, and informed me they had had a squatter(s) in the area. They were immediately looking for said individual, and were going to get on repairing the window ASAP. It was a profuse relief in that moment to know it was most likely someone homeless looking for a warm spot. None the less, from now on, I will be checking all hotel windows to ensure they are properly locked.
Photo is from the outside of the cracked open window.