A comedian shared a 'scary' hotel room situation and TikTok commenters chimed in with their own tips to stay safe

• A comedian said on TikTok she had a "scary" experience in a Dallas airport hotel.
• She shared tips on how to stay safe when traveling alone and staying in hotels.

A comedian who shared on TikTok a "scary" hotel experience she had in Dallas sparked a chain of commenters chiming in with their own hotel safety tips.

Comedian Heather McDonald said she was staying in Dallas at a Westin hotel near the airport when he returned from lunch at about 2:30 p.m.

Soon after getting back to her room, she said, she heard a "powerful" knock at her door; her assistant was staying down the hall.

"I'm like, 'Hello?' And this guy, I can't understand what he's saying, but he's saying something, and I immediately double lock the door," McDonald recalled.

She said the man at the door said he was from housekeeping and came to her room because she called for a delivery from housekeeping — something McDonald said she never did.

Instead of opening the door, McDonald explained she said "No, I didn't call for anything, I don't need anything. I don't need housekeeping."

When he kept talking, McDonald said she looked through the peephole and saw a man who wasn't dressed like the housekeeping staff at the hotel and didn't have a cart with "little shampoos."

McDonald said at that point, she called the front desk and her assistant, telling her to double lock her door and not answer the door for anybody.

"You never know," McDonald said. "You're better safe than sorry, especially when you're a woman traveling alone."

She then shared advice for her followers: "Don't open for anyone and look through the peephole. You can also ask them to leave it at the door. It's fucking scary out there."

McDonald said she only knew what to do because she saw tips on TikTok.

McDonald and the hotel where she was staying didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Commenters share tips to stay safe

The video has amassed 1.1 million views and 1,714 comments, many of which are viewers sharing their own hotel safety tips.

"Always double lock your door as soon as you get in room after doing thorough room check!" one user, who said she is a flight attendant, commented.

Another offered an unusual tip: "Always booked your room for 2 people."

One commenter said the first thing she does whenever she walks into a hotel room is double lock the doors. To be extra safe, she said she talks to "an imaginary husband" so it sounds like she is not alone.

"I always leave the TV on and say goodbye as if I'm with someone else when I leave my hotel room, and I announce I'm back when I open the door," someone else said.

To take additional precaution, another commenter said they often put something in front of the door — like a chair or an end table.