Sexual liaisons arranged through the Internet are raising heightened awareness over hotel security.
Hotel operators can’t monitor every visit to every room, but last week’s slaying in Boston of a masseuse who advertised erotic services on Craigslist has hotels taking a fresh look at safety issues.
While sexual encounters in hotel rooms are as old as hotels themselves, the Internet is making it easier for people to hook up, and hotels provide a convenient venue.
“The Internet has become the new street corner in a lot of cases,” Denver Police Department spokesman Sonny Jackson said. “I would imagine a lot of it occurs in hotels because (a neutral location) helps you protect your identity, whether you’re a prostitute or a john.”
Hotel guests and visitors offering services to guests — legal or illicit — can equally be at risk without proper security measures, said David Craig, general manager of the Hotel Teatro in downtown Denver.
Vendors at the Teatro, such as yoga instructors, babysitters, legitimate massage therapists and dog walkers are required to provide detailed information to the hotel about their identities and credentials, Craig said.
Most hotel guests are identifiable through the credit cards they provide at check-in and by the vehicles they drive.
Craig said hotel staffers take special notice of guests who pay in cash, offer no credit card and don’t use the hotel’s valet parking.
Still, Craig said, if guests invite people up to their rooms in consensual arrangements, the hotel has no oversight.
“While the American Hotel & Lodging Association does not set security standards, it encourages lodging properties to continually evaluate existing security risks, policies and practices as a precautionary measure,” said Jessica Soklow, a group spokeswoman. “The lodging industry views guest and employee safety as a top priority.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
