Tourist issues warning to people who leave ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs on hotel door

We've all stuck a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on our hotel room door once or twice - whether you simply want a lie in, don't need the maids to turn down your bed or just fancy a bit of privacy.

But it turns out you might need to be wary when using the door hanger, as it might have the opposite effect than intended.

A tourist has warned travellers to reconsider using the age-old signal for telling someone to do one after her hotel stay ended up involving a visit from the police.

You may be wondering how on earth a ‘Do Not Disturb’ placard may lead to that, but, such is life.

Let's have it right, the power of them is still up for debate - remember when you'd make your own homemade version to keep your parents and siblings from barging into your bedroom? Look how that turned out.

Anyway, journalist Sophie Vershbow explained that she and her dad had checked into a hotel in Las Vegas and hung up a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on her door as they didn't need the room to be cleaned on a daily basis.

But it all went a bit Pete Tong after they left the door hanger on there for a prolonged period of time.

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In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sophie explained: "So apparently in Las Vegas if you leave the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on your hotel door for more than 72 hours they automatically send over a police officer to make sure you're still alive. Steve was very nice."

She decided to share the bizarre experience with other social media users after the copper came knocking on 'a random Tuesday afternoon', which obviously gave her quite the shock.

But it turns out that this 'checking up on guests policy' is across the board - as thousands of hotels also send someone to your door if the 'Do Not Disturb' sign has been left there for quite a while.

Obviously the circumstances vary from place to place, but the sentiment remains the same.

The majority of hotels in the US will send someone to confirm everything is hunky-dory if the sign is on display or if they haven't seen or heard from you in a while.

According to KXAN,: "Currently, nearly all major hotels have a 72-hour do not disturb policy to ensure that no more than three days pass that activity within a hotel room is not visible by hotel staff."

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Employees refer to these door knocks as 'welfare checks', but it could either be a member of staff or a police officer coming to conduct a check on you, depending on where your staying.

A 'Do Not Disturb' sign on your door doesn't guarantee a completely uninterrupted stay anyway - as at some point, the hotel will want to check on the state of your room to make sure everything's okay.

Travel experts at Upon Arriving said this only usually occurs if there 'was some type of urgent situation where an emergency or unlawful conduct was suspected'.

They explained: "For example, if the hotel suspects property damage, illegal activity, or a health emergency, there’s a good chance they would enter the room or contact their security to deal with it."

This might be due to noise complaints about your room, suspicious traffic in and out of it, or issues like a water leak.

The bottom line is, its for the safety and wellbeing of you and every other guest in the hotel.

Hilton Hotels give people with a 'Do Not Disturb' sign just 24-hours leeway instead, as they want to 'ensure the well-being of our guests and confirm the condition of the room'.