Predators targeting women staying at popular hotel chains in alarming crime trend: report

A frightening crime spree of rapists allegedly targeting women in hotel rooms is unfolding at major U.S. hotel chains, according to a new report.

“I think this has been a long-standing modus operandi. I think what’s new is that survivors are willing to come forward and that the climate is changing so that perpetrators and systems are held accountable,” Emilee D. Whitehurst of the Houston Area Women’s Center told New York Post.

The store found several cases, mostly in Texas, where criminals managed to get key cards into hotel rooms by lying to staff. The criminals then enter women’s rooms and rape or attempt to sexually assault them, according to the New York Post.

In a disturbing incident at a Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Gonzales, Texas, a woman reportedly woke up in her hotel room last year to a man with his pants undone.

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“The woman was sleeping and woke up to the man crouched at the foot of her bed with his pants undone and the condom out,” a lawyer for the unidentified victim told the report.

“She was able to scream and get him out of the room and immediately called the front desk. They admitted, ‘Oh yeah, we gave the guy a key. He said he knew you,” the lawyer recounted.

The suspect allegedly entered the room after obtaining a key from the front desk. He was charged with attempted sexual assault and his case is ongoing in the court system.

IHG Hotels & Resorts, which owns Holiday Inn, told Fox News Digital that the hotels mentioned in the article are “independently owned and operated” and that “IHG requires hotels to verify the identity of a registered guest before providing access to a room”.

Anna Greenberg of Blizzard Law represents four victims in such cases and told the Post that despite hotels having policies against handing out room keys to people without verification, it happens anyway.

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“Almost every hotel chain I’ve seen has a policy that says under no circumstances can you issue a key to someone’s room without verifying with ID that that person is registered to the room,” Greenberg said.

In another case, a woman named Kathleen Dawson was found unconscious on a street near her room at the Hilton Americas in Houston after a night of drinking. A person saw a man standing over the woman with his pants down and called 911, according to the New York Post.

Hotel staff and police arrived at the scene and the man said she was his best friend and lived in the same room. Hotel staff did not check the man’s identity and the woman was placed in a wheelchair and taken to the room, her lawyers at the store said.

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She was awakened later that night by the man who raped her, according to her lawsuit.

The defendant’s felony charges were later dismissed, but Dawson won a civil suit against Hilton for $44 million.

A Hilton hotel sign. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

“While Hilton does not typically comment on legal matters, we respectfully disagree with the jury’s verdict and affirm that members of our hotel team acted in accordance with the instructions of the Houston Police Department,” a Hilton spokesperson told the New York Post . “At Hilton, the safety and security of our guests is a top priority and we do not condone violence of any kind.”

Similar crimes have reportedly taken place at other hotels such as the DoubleTree and Embassy Suites.

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A woman at a DoubleTree hotel in Austin, Texas, said she woke up to find a man had a key in her room and was trying to open her hotel door in January. She said she jumped out of bed and slammed the door on the man’s hand.

“I ran as fast as I could and shut the door … I slammed it … and I said honestly, ‘Get the f— out,'” the woman, identified only as Mandy, told the New York Post. “I heard the gentleman say, ‘Oh f—‘ and hurry away.”

She called 911 and soon realized the man’s finger had been cut and was still on the door latch when police arrived.

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A king-size bed in a room at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites on Vaca Key. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“I realized the finger was still in my door under the safety latch,” he said. Her lawyers argue that although Mandy was not assaulted, hotel staff allowed the man access to the room.

Mandy said she travels frequently for work and now takes extra security measures for hotel doors to further protect herself.

“Unfortunately, sometimes people and processes fail and you have to make sure you protect yourself,” he said.

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Hilton, which also owns the DoubleTree and Embassy Suites, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.