She complained about safety at a White Settlement hotel. The hotel told her to check out
A woman who spoke with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about her safety concerns with the extended stay hotel she lives at is being forced to check out after she spoke out.
Charlotte Smith has been living at the Red Roof Inn in White Settlement the past year with her daughter. Smith spoke to the Star-Telegram about safety concerns at the extended stay — which White Settlement police say has the highest number of calls made for service — for a story on the department’s task force and its efforts to curb crime at area hotels, motels and extended stays.
Smith told a Star-Telegram reporter Saturday that Red Roof management had previously been patient with late payments on her room. The family’s next paycheck does not come in until Friday, and Smith’s daughter has been out of work for the past two weeks, Smith said.
Red Roof Inn manager Bhumi Jariwala said she did not have time to wait for Smith’s payment and that she would have to pay the full amount for the room or check out.
The patience Jariwala once had with Smith ran out, she said, after she learned of Smith’s “complaints” in the Star-Telegram article. Jariwala said she previously thought Smith and her daughter were satisfied guests.
“I did say, ‘Did you read the Star-Telegram, and if you’re not safe or you don’t feel safe here and if you’re not satisfied and have all these complaints, then I don’t know why y’all are here and staying here,’” Jariwala said. “’So even if you want to stay here, that’s fine, but I can’t wait till Friday until you get paid anymore.’”
Jariwala said she wished Smith had come to the hotel with complaints.
When asked what type of message this sends to other guests who might feel unsafe staying at the Red Roof Inn, Jariwala said guests should express their concerns to the property first.
There are few protections for those who live in hotels long term, according to an article by Scott Alagood with Denton-based law firm Alagood Cartwright Burke PC. Texas Property Code exempts transient housing, hotels and extended stays from leasing laws.
Red Roof Inn is not the only hotel in White Settlement facing an issue with crime. White Settlement police have clocked nearly 3,000 calls for service across eight properties on Interstate 30 and West Loop 820 South since January 2021. Those calls include everything from assaults and burglaries to stabbings and shootings.
