SeeCalifornia.com

I read this week that a man killed his ex-wife in a hotel room in the city where I live. The newspaper article didn’t mention the name of the hotel, though I want to know. I am kind of superstitious about ghosts or residual energy that may exist around places of violent death, which this murderous event appeared to be.  It turns out that if you live in a tourist destination in California or any city with hotels, there are all sorts of stories that would amaze you about what goes on at these accommodations, especially  between the sheets! The next time you step into your hotel room where the bed is made but the air smells kind of different, try to imagine the stories the walls would tell you if they could talk.

• DEATH – The most dramatic stories involve murder, death and dying under suspicious circumstances. Every hotel owner / manager  has to be prepared for this inevitable, dreaded occurrence in which someone dies in their hotel–usually in a bed. Death doesn’t bode well with guests. If a person dies under suspicious circumstances (overdose of drugs, murder, heart attack when having sex with a prostitute, etc.)  the investigation can blemish a hotel’s reputation if they don’t manage to keep it under wraps. Most times the hotel is able to enact damage control and keep the chatter to a minimum, even getting newspapers not to mention the hotel by name.
• PROSTITUTION – This goes on in nearly every hotel in existence and is as old as life itself.  The only time prostitution becomes an issue is when it makes the news. In one instance, a prostitute filed a written complaint with our local police department that the client stiffed her and wouldn’t open his hotel door to pay the fee. It happened in one of the trendy, new, upscale hotels in the city which was mentioned by name.  In California prostitution is illegal and is hidden between the sheets, though it goes on daily and happens in nearly every hotel.
• ROCK STAR PARTIES, DRUGS – In West Hollywood, San Diego and cities around California the late night celebrity and musician parties can get out of hand. On Hollywood tours you are driven by hotels and learn about incidents in which rock stars are asked to move out or leave after throwing TVs out windows, hanging from balconies and tearing the place up. When celebrities such as Whitney Houston tragically die in a hotel room or suite, the price  can actually go up on obtaining that accommodation, or it may temporarily be placed out of commission. That can cost a hotel money, which isn’t a good thing.