After seeing this news video from San Francisco, you may just start!
Seems that some hotels and motels in California (and maybe other states?) house released sex offenders by contract with California. Only they certainly don't tell you. If I was staying at a hotel where my kids might likely be walking around or visiting the pool, I would certainly be interested in knowing there was a registered sex offender in room 107. In the case of the hotel in this news clip, there were 8 offenders living there!
As a traveling business person, I may not care. But if I was visiting with my family, it would make ALL the difference as to whether I stayed there or not. One thing that might be a warning flag for you is if the motel is one of the cheaper ones around, or allows for long term guests. (Our hotel will not allow anyone to stay past 30 days) Because the stipend from the state is so small, these released offenders living off general assistance will ALWAYS gravitate toward the cheap hotels.
As one who has commented often about the pitfalls of staying where you find ridiculously low rates, this is just one more reason to be aware of what you might be getting into. The hotel in this news clip has rooms listed on the web for as low as $39 per night - pretty cheap for such an expensive area as San Francisco.
Very useful article! I would never have thought of this possibility. This is especially something for women traveling alone or with children to know about. Thank you.
Posted by: Kathryn Merrow - The Pain Relief Coach | May 27, 2009 at 09:09 AM