Flight attendant shows her regular 'hotel security routine' in video and it's an eyeopener

Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 18, 2023. It has since been updated.

People often are worried about cameras or other security issues in hotel rooms. It is understandable with the sort of stories coming out of these places. A flight attendant Allyah McIntyre shared her regular security routine in hotel rooms in a TikTok video. And she sure has valid reasons for this routine. In the 17-second video, McIntyre can be seen looking through cupboards and the bed and then using a hanger to check behind curtains. She also puts an extra portable door lock to ensure that the front door is secure. In the end, she uses a door stop for extra security that has an alarm that goes on if anyone comes into the room. 

"I don’t care how many hotels I go to, I will never stop doing my hotel security search,” she says in the video. She continues, "I check everything, and you already know that. A senior [flight attendant] told me that when I check behind the curtains, to use a hanger, because if they grab something, it’ll be the hanger and not you. Golden advice.” 

The video has gained over 8 million views. It is captioned, "My hotel security routine. | Stay Safe!!" People on social media could relate to what she shared. @kimjohnson26 commented, "Note to self….. add hanger check to my security list! Thanks." @thegeekyknot wrote, "If it keeps you safe, it doesn't matter how anybody else feels about it." @theprissypilot shared, "I never thought about using a hanger to check the curtains!! I’ll be doing that going forward. Thank you!" @angiechilee pointed out, "I really need the door lock thingy the amount of time I’ve screamed in shock at the cleaning lady who just stood in my room." @paulinetierneymul commented, "My team and I always did this, we called it ninja checks."

In a follow-up video, McIntyre addressed a comment that she was paranoid, which is why she was doing this. "A very common misconception that was commented on my last security search video was that I'm paranoid," she says in the video. "I'm not paranoid in the least bit. I don't do my hotel security search because I'm going to find someone or find something. I do my hotel security search in the rare case when there is someone or something in my room," says McIntyre.

The video has more than 209k views. @yvonne83marie commented, "A friend of mine found a man hiding behind her room curtains. She saw his feet and she ran out of the room. Always search!!" @randibarnes2 wrote, "I do this every time before I let my daughter come in the room. Oh, and a good tip take the office chair if you get one in German under the doorknob." @redwolf_gaming expressed, "I don’t get why people are saying that, she just wants to stay safe and know that she’s somewhere safe, I do that too if I were alone." @statik1978 commented, "You know for a very long time I thought I was the only one that would check the whole room."

As someone who travels a lot, McIntyre has had experiences that made her realize how easy it was for strangers to have access to a hotel room. "There have been countless times where I've been locked out of my room or forgot my key and have gone to the front desk and asked for a new room key without providing any identification," she told Buzzfeed. She added that her coworkers have had people try to enter their rooms. "Sometimes under normal circumstances, and plenty times in the middle of the night, which is a lot less 'normal' and actually very scary and uncomfortable."