TV personality Anele Mdoda had an unpleasant encounter when two strangers barged into her hotel room in a Cape Town hotel over the weekend when she was judging the Miss SA finals.
The SA celeb took to Twitter to share the "dodgy" experience.
"There is some dodgy shit going down in this Cape Town when it comes to human trafficking. I'm literally wanting footage from my hotel over two men barging into my room, with THEIR own key," she tweeted. (sic)
"Also it was not foreigners and I was luckily not in my room. My designer was there and had a VERY weird exchange with them before they scurried out. Very very strange. I want answers," she said in a follow-up tweet. (sic)
She revealed it was no syndicate, "just someone who was drunk on power putting the hotel into disrepute. We shall see how this is handled" (sic)
It seems that others have had the same experience. Responding to Mdoda's tweet, user @TshinaN replied to share her horrific story: "This happened to me in Cape Town and the person was very much South African. Not only that they claimed they were checking if I had checked in at about 1 am.... yes the hotel was doing room checks at 1 am to see if I had checked in. Trafficking has syndicates," she posted. (sic)
Here are some tips to ensure your safety during your next hotel visit:
Ask for a room that is not on the ground floor
It may seem weird requesting this, but it will give you peace of mind when you retire for the night. If there is a criminal incident at the hotel, then chances are that the thieves will rob the rooms on the ground floor as it allows for an easy escape. With that being said, it is always important to remain vigilant in whatever room you stay in.
Use the swinging lock
For added security, ensure that you use the swinging lock, that way it will be harder for anyone to get inside.
Memorise or keep hotel contact details at all time
Incidents, whether criminal or natural, can take place at any time. Travellers should keep all the information of the hotel to ensure that that they can contact them should there be a crisis. Ask the hotel to share some business cards with you and try not to keep it with your valuables.
Use the safe
Travellers usually scatter their valuable items all over their hotel room and often many of their items go missing. To avoid any loss of items, try to keep all the important items in the safe.
Keep your passport with you at all times- but also keep some copies in your luggage
Getting a passport can be a mission to obtain. Think long queues, unhelpful staff and hours of waiting. Imagine now what would happen should you lose your password in another country. Travellers should always keep copies of their passports tucked away in sections of their bags to avoid any unfortunate incidents.