I was staying at a hotel last night and I happened to be at the desk, sitting in my underwear, searching for some things on the internet. The next thing I know the room door is unlocked and two strangers walk into my room. I am left there totally exposed to them in my underwear. My question is was my privacy violated by negligence of the hotel and would there be grounds to take legal action against them?
Michele J A
Your privacy was violated, but the best you are going to get out of it is a voucher for a free night's stay. No decent lawyer will take this case. To win damages, you have to prove you were emotionally or physically harmed by what was just a simple error. Go for the free night's stay.
Yours Truly
No. You were in the room so it was your responsibility to deadbolt the door.
Increase Traffic
This is a tough one to answer. You may want to consider consequences of a lawsuit. Before you do, think about what you are really trying to get out of it. More humiliation? SURE, your privacy was violated and it is something you should at least take up with Hotel Management. They may have some explanation as to their negligence. You may even tell the manager that you feel your intimacy and privacy were violated, and that if nothing is done to remedy their big mishap you will ruin their credibility. IT is a tough one, especially if it is a major hotel chain where a lot of bureaucracy is involved. But I can assure you that in order to avoid a scandal they may do something about it.
PETER M
Yes your privacy was violated and you have the right to take legal action against them. You may have difficulty doing so unless you have a good description of the two people who entered your room and they can be identified and be interviewed by the police and confess to entering your room. It appears that they may have had the intention to burglarize as they were probably looking for doors that were unlocked and just entered and when they discovered you were there they left to burglarize another room. You should have reported this to the hotel desk immediately and they will have called the police. I suggest you lock your door next time, and I'm willing to bet you thought of this after the fact.
whitefangz1
Relax. I am sure that they were more scared of you than you were of them. Or am I thinking of bears? Either way, you don't really have a case here. You suffered no damages, there was no willful misconduct or malice, and they violated no law since it was not intentional.
I hope, however, you mentioned it to the management. While you don't have a legal case here, you could possibly get a free night or two from the management. This exact same thing happened to me once and the hotel management was so embarrassed by the mistake that they gave me a free stay.
Alli K.
Yes, the hotel was likely negligent and, yes, your privacy was very likely violated by that negligence.
However, I'm not seeing any damages here that would make suing worth anyone's time. What, exactly, is +/- 0 second of semi-nudity worth? Before you go and say, "pain and suffering!", know that pain and suffering is not exactly a freebie. Can't imagine an attorney taking this case - not worth it financially. You are better off to complain to the hotel and request either a refund or voucher for a future trip. Send that request in a polite, concise, amicable letter via certified mail.
Orignal From: Was my privacy violated by law?
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