Update (Oct. 14, 2021, 6:00 pm EST)
A rep from Choice Hotels has issued a formal statement to Travel Noire:
“We are highly concerned about the incident at a franchised property in Washington, DC that we recently learned about, and we are in contact with hotel management to conduct a full review and investigation of that incident and of reports of other guest experiences. We take the safety of guests seriously, and it is always top priority for us and for the owners of our independently owned and operated hotels.”
— Choice Hotels representative
Original (Oct. 14, 2021, 11:07 am EST)
A woman at the Cambria Hotel in Washington, D.C., has gone public with her recent ordeal about suspicious behavior after a recent stay — and this prompted others to come forward with their ordeals at the hotel, raising suspicions of human trafficking.
One woman, who goes by the name Maya Angelique on Twitter, detailed how her alleged attempted kidnapping happened while she was in the shower.
“I was in the shower at around 1:00 A.M. when a man with dreads wearing a blue shirt, jeans, and a mask tried to violently break into my room. He somehow had a KEY to open my room door,” she wrote.
She went on to explain that if it weren’t for the doorstop, he would have been in the room with her. But when she tried to explain her ordeal to the Cambria Hotel front desk, the concierge explained that it was merely “housekeeping” trying to get into the room by mistake. (At 1:00 in the morning?)
Maya Angelique’s story prompted others to share similar, and equally harrowing, stories about their experiences at the Washington DC hotel.
A man by the name of Matt Corasanti shared his experience with the hotel in a Google review, which was also shared on Twitter. According to Mr. Corasanti, he and his wife witnessed a “girl” getting dragged, unconscious and shoeless, into the elevator. The man who was dragging her had scratches on his face and fled the hotel when confronted by other guests. The woman was subsequently taken to the hospital, and the Corasantis were subsequently “evicted” from the hotel.
Another woman, Nikita Purvis, detailed a similarly harrowing experience at the hotel.
Traveler Kayla Martin (@kayyylaMartin) also weighed in, warning everyone to stay away from the hotel altogether. The tweet as been shared over 1,000 times. There is no word on if she experienced something similar at the hotel as well.
Travel Noire contacted the Cambria Hotel in Washington, DC, to get an official statement on the matter. The woman at the front desk informed us to contact the corporate office to get an official statement.
Subsequently, Choice Hotels routed us to call centers in Manila, The Philippines, where representatives refused to give a statement regarding the matter.
As of publishing, a follow-up email has been sent to Patrick S. Pacious, President, CEO & Director of Choice Hotels, and we will update this story with any comment Mr. Pacious makes on the matter.
