“It’s for your safety.”

[AFwifelife]

Standing in the doorway is good if you are alone but not so much if you have napping littles.

 

[binkee12]

.

 

[drummerwife]

The 4th amendment applies to search and seizure by the government. It does not apply to a private company wishing to enter a room that they own, on property that they own.

In other words, the 4th amendment prohibits the Orange County police department from searching your room without a warrant. It does not prohibit Disney from entering their own hotel rooms.

You know it’s their property right? The police would need a warrant to enter but Disney changed their policy regarding employee entrance and the do not disurb signs.

I beg to differ.

A. Hotels and the Fourth Amendment
In general, the Fourth Amendment “requires police officers to obtain a warrant before searching or seizing persons, houses, papers, and effects.”19 Courts have held that “this constitutional protection also applies to hotel rooms.”20 However, before being able to suppress the results of an illegal search, a defendant must meet his burden of showing a reasonable expectation of privacy in the hotel room.21 This is done by establishing a subjective expectation of privacy in the place searched and society’s willingness to accept the reasonableness of this expectation.22 Thus, a hotel room, as “a temporary abode,” receives the same Fourth Amendment protections as a home,23 because the occupant of a hotel room has an expectation of privacy “no less than a tenant of a house, or the occupant of a room in a boarding house.”24 It makes sense to apply the same legal test to hotels as to apartments or homes, rather than assigning a lesser degree of privacy.

19 United States v. Allen, 106 F.3d 695, 698 (6th Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 20 See, e.g., id. (citing Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293, 301 (1966); Stoner v. California, 376 U.S. 483, 490 (1964)). 21 See Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 104 (1980); see also Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 132 n.1 (1978) (“The proponent of a motion to suppress has the burden of establishing that his own Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the challenged search or seizure.”). 22 Minnesota v. Carter, 525 U.S. 83, 88 (1998). 23 United States v. Singleton, 922 F. Supp. 1522, 1527 (D. Kan. 1996) (citing Hoffa, 385 U.S. at 301; United States v. Foxworth, 8 F.3d 540, 544 (7th Cir. 1993); United States v. Richard, 994 F.2d 244, 247 (5th Cir. 1993); United States v. Parizo, 514 F.2d 52, 54 (2d Cir. 1975); United States v. Croft, 429 F.2d 884, 887 (10th Cir. 1970)). 272 SETON HALL CIRCUIT REVIEW [Vol. 7:269 25

 

[binkee12]

I haven't seen the answer to this so I'll ask again do they provide their identification and what are they wearing a full Disney security guard outfit or more like plain clothes? When I arrive at the Polynesian I'm going to ask to speak to someone in charge and ask how this procedure works and how the identification procedure works and tell them if I am not 100% sure that this is a Disney Employee then I will call 911.

 

[fla4fun]

As far as being decent o open the door if interrupted during a nap... should we shower with our clothes on as well?
Sorry not actually trying to direct that at you but more of making a general statement of how far is too far to bend over backwards for this crap.

I didn’t take your post personally. I know we’re all just trying to figure this thing out.

Funny that you mentioned showers though. I took a robe with me and kept it on the hook in the toilet/shower room, just in case someone entered the room while I was showering, and I had both the door by the sink closed and the door to the toilet/shower room closed while showering. Normally on a solo trip I would not have worried about either, but I felt like I had to be prepared just in case. I would much rather leave the bathroom doors open so air can circulate.

 

[LYSE]

I beg to differ.

A. Hotels and the Fourth Amendment
In general, the Fourth Amendment “requires police officers to obtain a warrant before searching or seizing persons, houses, papers, and effects.”19 Courts have held that “this constitutional protection also applies to hotel rooms.”20 However, before being able to suppress the results of an illegal search, a defendant must meet his burden of showing a reasonable expectation of privacy in the hotel room.21 This is done by establishing a subjective expectation of privacy in the place searched and society’s willingness to accept the reasonableness of this expectation.22 Thus, a hotel room, as “a temporary abode,” receives the same Fourth Amendment protections as a home,23 because the occupant of a hotel room has an expectation of privacy “no less than a tenant of a house, or the occupant of a room in a boarding house.”24 It makes sense to apply the same legal test to hotels as to apartments or homes, rather than assigning a lesser degree of privacy.

19 United States v. Allen, 106 F.3d 695, 698 (6th Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 20 See, e.g., id. (citing Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293, 301 (1966); Stoner v. California, 376 U.S. 483, 490 (1964)). 21 See Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 104 (1980); see also Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 132 n.1 (1978) (“The proponent of a motion to suppress has the burden of establishing that his own Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the challenged search or seizure.”). 22 Minnesota v. Carter, 525 U.S. 83, 88 (1998). 23 United States v. Singleton, 922 F. Supp. 1522, 1527 (D. Kan. 1996) (citing Hoffa, 385 U.S. at 301; United States v. Foxworth, 8 F.3d 540, 544 (7th Cir. 1993); United States v. Richard, 994 F.2d 244, 247 (5th Cir. 1993); United States v. Parizo, 514 F.2d 52, 54 (2d Cir. 1975); United States v. Croft, 429 F.2d 884, 887 (10th Cir. 1970)). 272 SETON HALL CIRCUIT REVIEW [Vol. 7:269 25

I'm on your side of this, however what this means is that if they do find you planning to blow the place up law enforcement wont be able to get you for it at the trial because Disney threw the case out the window LOL (assuming they check, call LEO's and leo's search the room w/o a warrant because CM's let them in) even if LEO's did have a warrant it would be interesting how it would play out if the warrant was based off a search by CM's ..the hotel is suppose to help you maintain your 4th amendment rights.

The way I see it is they can request entry, if you deny and they can't get in they can move to evict you but that requires calling law enforcement and making a scene..something I doubt they would do.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Standing in the doorway is good if you are alone but not so much if you have napping littles.

Agreed but I think the specific advice was aimed at solo travelers or at least ones where they were the only occupant in the room at the time of the security check.

 

[AFwifelife]

Agreed but I think the specific advice was aimed at solo travelers or at least ones where they were the only occupant in the room at the time of the security check.

Yea I totally agree with that. It does make me more concerned about our future trip that I’m “solo” with two little kids. If this was more than just a CYA move, I would be more understanding but it seems just like a major overreaction to prove they are doing something.

 

[skyblue17]

Has anyone who's been confronted with this situation asked for identification from the person requesting entry? I'm curious how that goes, if it's happened.

As a single woman who has and will continue to travel alone, I would not be interested in exacerbating the situation if it occurred. As someone mentioned in this thread, I would much prefer to be as in control as possible, which to me would be making sure my wallet and phone were either in the safe or on my person prior to opening the door and step OUT of the room. I'm still trying to figure out how requesting ID would work, but I certainly would not stay IN the room with them. If it's harmless and they're just following orders, they'll be out in a few moments, and if it's not, I'm not trapped in a room with a locked door.

Some people, understandably, are upset about having to have this thought process while going on vacation. However, as a single woman who lives in the biggest city in the country, it's a thought process I have about numerous situations day to day. It doesn't bother me to be prepared and aware, but it would be nice if Disney made it a little easier for people to understand what to expect if this policy is going to continue.

 

[Summer2018]

All of this, a hundred times. The fact that anyone is going around spouting off about hotel rights and how “they will get in” like some Little Napoleon and telling women that they need to calm down, is borderline offensive. This is the age of #metoo, and we’ll see how many rights the hotel has when women start speaking up - AS THEY SHOULD! - and objecting to this kind of behavior.

NORMALIZING these actions is exactly what leads to the erosion of not only civilized interactions but actual constitutional rights. Giving up my sense of personal security in order to allow a facade of hotel security? Yeah, that makes a looooot of sense...

THANK YOU

 

[Sue M]

Personally I wouldn’t like this treatment even if it was a female security person. For me it’s more about the unwelcomed intrusion into my room at a time when I expect to be resting, showering after pool, enjoying some down time, or worse sick in bed, and not being disturbed by someone demanding I ( get dressed and) admit them into the room.

 

[Summer2018]

How did them being abrasive about doing a security check turn into a concern about sexual assault?
Not saying they can’t be polite about having to check someone’s room but I think you’re being quick to bring the issue of sexual harassment/assault into this.

Nope. The first thing my daughter (20) said about all this was, “I’m not opening my door to some stranger who says he’s checking the room for my safety. How do I know he’s legit? What if this is the line he uses to get into a woman’s room to assault her? How will I know who to trust? Will he have a photo ID stating that he’s hotel security?”

 

[Summer2018]

Someone on another thread had what I thought was a really good suggestion when confronted with this situation. She, being alone, simply stood by the open door while security did their quick check. She had an escape route, if needed, and therefore felt quite safe.

This is what I will instruct my daughter to do and what I will do if this nonsense isn’t resolved by July.

 

[pattyw]

Personally I wouldn’t like this treatment even if it was a female security person. For me it’s more about the unwelcomed intrusion into my room at a time when I expect to be resting, showering after pool, enjoying some down time, or worse sick in bed, and not being disturbed by someone demanding I ( get dressed and) admit them into the room.

Exactly! Even though a woman may seem less threatening, it is still about being able to use your hotel room for its intended purpose- rest!
And even if we ask the front desk, managers, etc.about the policy those of us here on this thread go to Disney often and know that you will get different answers from different people. Who do you believe??

 

[Darklord77]

I would be interested to read Disney's policy about this new procedure. It sounds like they are playing fast and loose with it and the employees don't have proper training. This isn't the type of policy that you want employee's free-styling with. "Working the kinks" out response is appalling for such an intrusive policy.

 

[Darklord77]

I'm in the same business and I can't imagine a security expert recommending this current policy to Disney. This seems to be more of a lawyer recommended policy and security is scrambling to come up with a way to implement it (doing a poor job at the moment).

 

[pigletgirl]

The “security” person had better have an ID, otherwise any shady creep could use this “security check” to enter a room in order to commit a robbery, rape, assault, etc. I have NOTHING to hide. Use a metal detector on me. Have a dog sniff my luggage for contraband. Xray my luggage. Housekeeping can clean my room when I’m not in it. But don’t let some pervert enter my room and violate me or my privacy. Leave me alone when I’m naked or bathing or napping. I’m paying too much money to not be able to RELAX and enjoy my vacation.

Security SHOULD present their ID when knocking on a guest room door. If they don't then I will have words with the front desk! DH had mentioned to me that he feels like he can't bring his work laptop (too big for the room safe) because of housekeeping *required* to enter each room on a daily basis.

I wonder if we could request an early visit for housekeeping? (meaning, 8am ish or so? we're early risers!)

 

[linzjane88]

Unless they are inspecting every nook and cranny...between mattresses, in laundry piles, suitcases, under the bed, in pillow cases, etc....I’m not really sure what the point is?

It kind of seems like the 'security theater' aspect of TSA. Lots of commotion and fluster to have the appearance of safety but in reality if someone is going to do something nefarious they will likely still be able to outsmart the system.

 

[marikujawa]

I beg to differ.

A. Hotels and the Fourth Amendment
In general, the Fourth Amendment “requires police officers to obtain a warrant before searching or seizing persons, houses, papers, and effects.”19 Courts have held that “this constitutional protection also applies to hotel rooms.”20 However, before being able to suppress the results of an illegal search, a defendant must meet his burden of showing a reasonable expectation of privacy in the hotel room.21 This is done by establishing a subjective expectation of privacy in the place searched and society’s willingness to accept the reasonableness of this expectation.22 Thus, a hotel room, as “a temporary abode,” receives the same Fourth Amendment protections as a home,23 because the occupant of a hotel room has an expectation of privacy “no less than a tenant of a house, or the occupant of a room in a boarding house.”24 It makes sense to apply the same legal test to hotels as to apartments or homes, rather than assigning a lesser degree of privacy.

19 United States v. Allen, 106 F.3d 695, 698 (6th Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 20 See, e.g., id. (citing Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293, 301 (1966); Stoner v. California, 376 U.S. 483, 490 (1964)). 21 See Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 104 (1980); see also Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 132 n.1 (1978) (“The proponent of a motion to suppress has the burden of establishing that his own Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the challenged search or seizure.”). 22 Minnesota v. Carter, 525 U.S. 83, 88 (1998). 23 United States v. Singleton, 922 F. Supp. 1522, 1527 (D. Kan. 1996) (citing Hoffa, 385 U.S. at 301; United States v. Foxworth, 8 F.3d 540, 544 (7th Cir. 1993); United States v. Richard, 994 F.2d 244, 247 (5th Cir. 1993); United States v. Parizo, 514 F.2d 52, 54 (2d Cir. 1975); United States v. Croft, 429 F.2d 884, 887 (10th Cir. 1970)). 272 SETON HALL CIRCUIT REVIEW [Vol. 7:269 25

None of this means Disney can't enter their hotel room when it's occupied by you. It just deals with what happens if the police try to use evidence of illegality recovered from your hotel room.

 

[DLgal]

I'm with the poster who suggested NOT opening the door and telling the security person to open it himself. That is how you will know they are legit.

As for being disturbed when you are resting or otherwise engaged in matters requiring privacy? That bothers me a WHOLE lot, as someone who has both a sleep disorder and migraines. I tend to be sleeping at crazy odd hours during my Disney trips because I come from the west coast and stay on CA time to mitigate sleep issues. I plan to have a talk with the Concierge hosts on our upcoming stay about that and request that NO ONE knock on our door before 10am. Period. I will be livid if we are woken up early after falling asleep at 2am every night.