Can anyone identify the DC-area Hilton in this video?
May 30, 2018 4:24 AM Subscribe
Some Reddit edgelord filmed himself cutting the tape that some school chaperones had placed on the hotel room doors of their students. Assuming he's too cowardly to own up himself, they need somebody to tip off the adults and clear their name. Can anyone identify the DC-area Hilton in this video and help save a bunch of kids from being unjustly punished?
Some wannabe comedian on Reddit filmed himself cutting the tape that chaperones for a school trip had placed over the doors of their students' rooms. He since deleted the thread, so the kids themselves are unlikely to come across it, but you can tell from his comments (and his keycard) that it's a Hilton property in the DC area, rooms 707-710.
Considering any zero-tolerance policies could mean these kids get sent home, suspended, or worse, I'd love for them to get a head's-up so they can escape this random assholery. Tried calling the desk at the Downtown Hilton Garden Inn last night based on some quick amateur sleuthing but that wasn't it. Can the hive mind identify the hotel and tip off the front desk before a bunch of kids have their summer trip ruined?
Some wannabe comedian on Reddit filmed himself cutting the tape that chaperones for a school trip had placed over the doors of their students' rooms. He since deleted the thread, so the kids themselves are unlikely to come across it, but you can tell from his comments (and his keycard) that it's a Hilton property in the DC area, rooms 707-710.
Considering any zero-tolerance policies could mean these kids get sent home, suspended, or worse, I'd love for them to get a head's-up so they can escape this random assholery. Tried calling the desk at the Downtown Hilton Garden Inn last night based on some quick amateur sleuthing but that wasn't it. Can the hive mind identify the hotel and tip off the front desk before a bunch of kids have their summer trip ruined?
I think you're worrying unnecessarily - he said he cut the tape on all doors but one, so unlikely nearly all students would be punished and given that they'd all deny leaving their rooms would probably check cctv if wanting to take it further. I think will be quickly spotted as an obvious prank, teachers will chuckle and move on.
posted by JonB at 4:30 AM on May 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by JonB at 4:30 AM on May 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Note that it looks like a keycard from a Hilton property, not necessarily a Hilton proper. Hopefully somebody can recognize the carpet/decor/signage? Or knows who to contact at corporate to find out? Corporate Twitter loves playing the hero in stuff like this.
mccxxiii: "I think the way he did it, making a cut in the tape with a room key, it would be obvious that it was damaged from the outside and not from the inside."
Dunno, seems likely a sleepy and irritable chaperone might not notice or care about that, or go to the trouble of checking security footage. Plus the fact that he left one door alone makes it seem less fake. (Also, reading horror stories in the comments of people who got suspended, sent home cross-country, or abused by their parents for *actually* breaking curfew convinced me this was worth looking into.)
posted by Rhaomi at 4:36 AM on May 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
mccxxiii: "I think the way he did it, making a cut in the tape with a room key, it would be obvious that it was damaged from the outside and not from the inside."
Dunno, seems likely a sleepy and irritable chaperone might not notice or care about that, or go to the trouble of checking security footage. Plus the fact that he left one door alone makes it seem less fake. (Also, reading horror stories in the comments of people who got suspended, sent home cross-country, or abused by their parents for *actually* breaking curfew convinced me this was worth looking into.)
posted by Rhaomi at 4:36 AM on May 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The room is a Hampton Inn, from the looks of the room door signage and general decor.
Chaperones travel in packs, make collective decisions arrived at via MUCH talking, and generally err on the side of leniency, while sometimes giving the kids the impression that they're grave sticklers for the rules. The chances that they will see the tapes on multiple room slit semi-neatly and come to any other conclusion than tampering from outside (and that it's a bad system and the only solution if they really care is to patrol the halls) is nil.
Also, consider this: one misbehaving kid is the parent's problem. If they ALL were to be seen as "breaking" the rules, then it becomes the sponsor's problem.
I wouldn't worry.
source: was a band student, and later a band parent.
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:59 AM on May 30, 2018 [12 favorites]
Chaperones travel in packs, make collective decisions arrived at via MUCH talking, and generally err on the side of leniency, while sometimes giving the kids the impression that they're grave sticklers for the rules. The chances that they will see the tapes on multiple room slit semi-neatly and come to any other conclusion than tampering from outside (and that it's a bad system and the only solution if they really care is to patrol the halls) is nil.
Also, consider this: one misbehaving kid is the parent's problem. If they ALL were to be seen as "breaking" the rules, then it becomes the sponsor's problem.
I wouldn't worry.
source: was a band student, and later a band parent.
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:59 AM on May 30, 2018 [12 favorites]
Response by poster: It's definitely a Hampton Inn, just not sure which one. The downtown/convention center location has the same decor and signs, but looks like a different floor plan. Tweeted the active corporate account about it and have heard nothing back so far. A signal boost from anybody who actually uses Twitter on the regular might help. Here's hoping.
posted by Rhaomi at 1:33 PM on May 30, 2018
posted by Rhaomi at 1:33 PM on May 30, 2018
Response by poster: I was feeling down about this, but decided to take one last look at the local Hampton Inns on Google Maps. Turns out there's one just outside of the District that's a perfect match for the hallway shot from the video! I gave them a call and they confirmed they had been hosting a school group Tuesday. Sent them an email with everything I knew (including the dude's name, from self-promotion of his crappy stand-up elsewhere on Reddit), and they'll let me know how it goes. I'll keep ya'll posted.
And special thanks to randomkeystrike -- I never would have narrowed it down to something searchable without that comment! And boo on the corporate Twitter account, which ignored video proof of minors being harassed on their property but had plenty of time to tweet apologies about dirty bedsheets. I guess you need at least 100 followers to get your reports taken seriously by social media-based customer service.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:11 PM on May 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
And special thanks to randomkeystrike -- I never would have narrowed it down to something searchable without that comment! And boo on the corporate Twitter account, which ignored video proof of minors being harassed on their property but had plenty of time to tweet apologies about dirty bedsheets. I guess you need at least 100 followers to get your reports taken seriously by social media-based customer service.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:11 PM on May 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
Dude. I think you need to chill out. I don't really understand why you're so concerned about this it's literally a harmless prank. If these kids opened the door it would rip anyways so the prank is absolutely harmless.
Is it silly? Yes; but the fact that this posts exists is far more concerning. I think you have far too much time on your hands and you really need to take a chill pill.
posted by naterd00d at 11:17 PM on May 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is it silly? Yes; but the fact that this posts exists is far more concerning. I think you have far too much time on your hands and you really need to take a chill pill.
posted by naterd00d at 11:17 PM on May 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: There were many, many dismayed and angry comments from students and teachers in the original post citing times when broken curfews resulted in kids getting grounded for the rest of the trip, sent home early at parents expense (even across the country), suspended from school or from their team, barred from future outings, and verbally or even physically abused by furious chaperones and parents. And even if they weren't punished, being unfairly suspected and mistrusted is a shitty, demoralizing, gaslighting thing to have happen to a kid on what should be a memorable experience.
And sure, the chaperones could have realized what happened. But given all the risks people cited, doing a little sleuthing to give them a head's-up (and hopefully reprimand the guy for being such an ass) feels totally worth it.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:43 PM on May 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
And sure, the chaperones could have realized what happened. But given all the risks people cited, doing a little sleuthing to give them a head's-up (and hopefully reprimand the guy for being such an ass) feels totally worth it.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:43 PM on May 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
Cool. Well, I'm not an expert, but I did stay in a ...
posted by randomkeystrike at 11:16 AM on May 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by randomkeystrike at 11:16 AM on May 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Follow-up: the guy's remorseful, and set things straight with the staff.
posted by Rhaomi at 4:02 PM on June 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sorry it took so long to respond. I’ve gotten a million messages about it. I wouldn’t have let anyone get in trouble and they didn’t. [...] If o had gotten to your message sooner I could have saved you from your countless hours of sleuthing. I’m not mad that you did. You were concerned for the kids. No Harm in that! And why I came clean about it. It was all in good fun. As you can imagine, it’s hard to sift through thousands of messages since it made the front page.I do wish he'd said this in the thread in the first place instead of ghosting on it, but still great to see everything resolved.
No hard feelings. Best wishes
posted by Rhaomi at 4:02 PM on June 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
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I think the way he did it, making a cut in the tape with a room key, it would be obvious that it was damaged from the outside and not from the inside. If they had opened the door from the inside, the tape would have peeled away and broken in a raggedy manner, instead of the uniform straight-line breach that's created with the action we see in the video.
P.S. This is a double-asshole situation ... I'm calling it on both the guy who made the video and whoever put the tape there in the first place.
posted by mccxxiii at 4:29 AM on May 30, 2018 [7 favorites]