‘Unsafe for occupancy’: Taylor Swift fans stranded after arriving at closed hotel

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A Swiftie from Illinois was left stranded in Kansas City Thursday after her hotel — booked about a month and a half in advance for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour — appeared closed.

A sign on the door read “Do not enter” and “Unsafe for occupancy.”

Cassidy Beshel, 22, traveled 403 miles by plane to see one of her favorite artists perform in Kansas City.

But once her Uber driver arrived at the Countryside Inn and Suites in Independence, where she and her best friend were supposed to stay for three nights, she started to panic. The lights were turned off, and paper signs explaining the building was unsafe were taped to the doors. She couldn’t get the website for the hotel to even load.

Worse, she had received no advance notification of the closure after booking the hotel online. No one picked up the hotel phone when she tried to call.

Luckily, she said, her Uber driver dropped her off at another nearby hotel to find a place to stay for the remainder of the trip. And she did. Three different hotels to cover all three nights — including one about 30 minutes away from Arrowhead Stadium and another about 45 minutes away.

It wasn’t ideal, however, both girls said they just felt lucky they were able to find a place to stay. Since Taylor Swift’s announcement that she would perform in Kansas City, hotels in the area have been fully booked for this weekend.

After Beshel had found out that she wasn’t going to be able to stay at the Independence hotel, she went to TikTok and posted a video about it. One comment said the exact same hotel had canceled on them one day before she arrived.

Another TikTok user commented that she should try to talk to corporate management. However, she said since the hotel never charged her and she was able to find other places to stay, she is probably just going to move on.

The hotel has a 2.6 star rating on Google with 303 reviews.

The signs taped to the door were from Independence Community Development, which handles building inspections.

Riley Newton, assistant communications manager for the city, explained in an email to The Star that the hotel closed April 19 after an inspection that found health and safety concerns including a leaking fire line that was affecting surrounding businesses.

On Friday, the city reinspected the hotel and found it did not correct multiple violations, she wrote.

“To ensure public health and safety, the City of Independence is not allowing the hotel to re-open at this time but will continue to work with the owner to achieve compliance,” Newton wrote.