11/10/2024

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This Flight Attendant’s Viral “Hotel Security Routine” Shows Exactly What You’re NOT Doing, And I’m Taking Notes

This Flight Attendant’s Viral “Hotel Security Routine” Shows Exactly What You’re NOT Doing, And I’m Taking Notes

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Allyah McIntyre is a US-based flight attendant who often shares her travels and behind-the-scenes of her career on TikTok. And recently, she went viral for revealing tips for how to remain safe while staying in hotels, and it’s starting an important conversation.

Allyah in her flight uniform

Courtesy of Allyah McIntyre

“I don’t care how many hotels I go to; I will never stop doing my hotel security search,” the 27-year-old says at the beginning of the clip, which has nearly eight million views.

Allyah begins her routine by checking various areas of the room upon arrival before settling in, making sure she’s actually alone and safe. “I check anything that I can’t directly see behind: doors, curtains, large cabinets, under beds, and box springs (because it’s hollow in there),” she told BuzzFeed. “[It] may seem a bit dramatic, but bodies have been found in spaces like that in the past.”

allyah in the video checking the closet space and under the bed

Allyah then demonstrates a tip she learned from another experienced flight attendant — to use a hanger to check behind the curtains in case someone is hiding behind them. “If they grab something, it’ll be a hanger and not you,” she says in the video.

Allyah using the hanger to poke through the curtains

She also secures her hotel room with an extra portable door lock, which she explained provides “more protection” than the regular hotel locks. “I feel like the hotel locks are there to give you a peace of mind, but in reality, they’re not very hard to maneuver past.”

her hand applying the extra lock

You can watch how she sets up the lock here.

@flightattendantbaelee / Via tiktok.com

Allyah ends her routine by using a door stop for extra security that has an alarm that goes off if someone enters the room. “It’s very loud, and it will for sure alert me as well as others if necessary. I stay in hotels far too much to become relaxed.”

allyah showing and placing the door stop

Since being uploaded, Allyah’s video is making conversation with thousands of comments — but some of the responses have been mixed. “On one end, I have people supporting it 100%, and on the other, there are hundreds of people saying how ‘paranoid’ I am and how unnecessary a search is. But it’s ignorance.”

“You never know what’s in the room you’re checking into,” Allyah said. She’s been checking her hotel rooms for years since she started flying, and through her video, she hopes to remind viewers to be vigilant when entering hotels, Airbnbs, and other establishments. “I honestly hope people will stop living in a fantasy land, thinking that things can’t or won’t happen to them. It’s necessary, and I hope they never have to live through an eye-opening experience first before realizing how necessary it really is.”

allyah at the airport

Courtesy of Allyah McIntyre

As someone who travels a lot for a living, Allyah has faced situations that made her realize how easy it is for other people — even strangers — to gain access to the hotel room you’re in. “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 said.

hand using a room key

“Being that I stay in hotels so much and sometimes get visitors, I have even told my friends to just go to the front desk and provide my room number, and they will give them a key without identification as well.”

Morsa Images / Getty Images

Allyah added that her coworkers have had people try and enter their rooms on numerous occasions. “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.”

hand opening a door to a room

Skynesher / Getty Images

“Most hotels only have cameras in the lobby and common areas, most times not including the hallways and elevators, which is unfortunate.”

empty hallway

Enes Evren / Getty Images

Despite some skepticism about her routine, several commenters have chimed in saying how valuable her advice is and how they want to be more cautious when traveling.

comment, i never though about using a hanger to check the curtains i'll be doing that going forward, thank you
comment: especially when you're by yourself your safety is so important
comment, if it keeps you safe, it doesn't matter how anybody feels about it

Others shared the unsettling realizations they’ve had while traveling — like this commenter who stayed at a hotel and discovered she didn’t need a key to get into her room.

i fount it on the 3rd of 4 nights i could open my room door without the key. thank god nobody tried me

Another commenter revealed that during her stay, she had a hotel clerk tell her she was “attractive” and then later on enter her room.

screenshot of the comment

Allyah also spoke about the scary reality that traveling alone as a Black woman can come with serious risks, as Black women are often targeted for crime. “I am a Black woman. Non-Hispanic Black women literally have the highest rates amongst homicides in our country, but aside from that, I’m only speaking from MY personal perspective.”

Allyah taking a selfie

And while Allyah is speaking from her own experience as a Black woman in America, she believes that everyone should take their own safety precautions in hotels. “My video was not to insinuate that other races and genders shouldn’t check as well because they 100% should. Everyone should. It’s equally important,” she said. “You literally can never be TOO safe.”

lonely luggage in the airport

Craig Hastings / Getty Images

To see more of Allyah’s travels and life as a flight attendant, be sure to follow her on TikTok @flightattendantbaelee.

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