Armchair Anonymous: Hotel II

Summary

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Armchair Expert: Armchair Anonymous — Hotel II

Date: August 7, 2026
Host: Dan Rather (subbing in for Dax Shepard), Jennifer Buckmere
Theme: Wild, unexpected, and scary hotel stories — from pranks to true crime, dead bodies, and the supernatural

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Episode Overview

This episode of Armchair Anonymous dives into the world of hotels, featuring listener stories that range from bizarre guest scams to encounters with violence and tragedy — and even ghosts. Dan Rather and Jennifer Buckmere, plus other staples from the Armchair crew, facilitate conversations that move from humorous to harrowing, with each storyteller offering a vivid behind-the-scenes peek into hotel life as a guest or employee.

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Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. Rat Scam in the South of France

Guest: Jesse
Timestamps: 03:22 – 13:40

• Jesse calls in from Manchester, discussing life with her British boyfriend (footballer, sexy legs, World Cup rivalries).
• Jesse's Hotel Story:
  • Set in 2014, at a small mom-and-pop hotel near her hometown in the South of France.
  • She describes the rhythm of hotel work: breakfast shift, cleaning rooms, going to the beach.
  • A tidy, older couple from Paris attracts her attention because of a dramatic scene: the woman runs down screaming about a rat in their room and “droppings everywhere.”
  • Jesse and her co-worker check it out, skeptical due to no history of rats. Instead, they find a small, docile pet rat… and soon a pet store receipt in the trash that matches the guest’s credit card.
  • The couple had bought the rat (about €8), let it loose, spread food to manufacture evidence, and tried to scam a refund.
  • Jesse and her boss confront them; the scam is foiled, they’re kicked out, and Jesse returns the rat to the pet store.
  • The hosts discuss the hustle and speculate if the couple had done this elsewhere.
  • Memorable Quote:
    • Jesse: “[The rat] was black and white and just looked terrified. The first thing I thought was, I wonder if my mom will let me bring him home as a pet. He looks adorable.” (09:55)
    • Dan Rather: “What a racket. I want to interview them. I want to know how many trips they've taken for $9. I bet a ton.” (12:57)

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2. Active Shooter During a Wedding Weekend

Guest: Kate
Timestamps: 15:40 – 26:22

• Kate recounts staying at a Milwaukee hotel in 2021 for a wedding.
• After retiring early from the festivities, her husband calls to warn her to lock the door following an encounter with a suspicious, possibly drugged stranger at the wedding.
• Alarmed, Kate barricades herself, ready with an ironing board and hairspray.
• Loud pops ("like shooting"), fire alarms go off, police and chaos ensue.
• She’s told to “shelter in place” while wedding guests are evacuated.
• Police conduct room-to-room welfare checks; Kate’s main anxiety shifts from danger to embarrassment about having an unflushed toilet when police check on her.
• The next day, she learns that during the police welfare checks, an unrelated armed person opened fire at officers, wounding three.
• The group of friends is detained for questioning until the early morning; they abandon the hotel and leave Milwaukee.
• Notable Quote:
  • Kate: “My main anxiety was the police are going to think I’m a freak who doesn’t flush the toilet. I’m no longer anxious about an active shooter.” (23:08)
  • Jennifer Buckmere: “That sucks, on your wedding.” (26:03)

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3. The Reality of Hotel Deaths & Haunted Hotels

Guest: Savvy
Timestamps: 27:10 – 40:59

• “Savvy” details a whirlwind of hotel management jobs across Georgia and Colorado, culminating in a stint at a notoriously haunted hotel.
• Upon becoming front desk manager, she's told she must work 12-hour shifts, 6-7 days a week, and quickly realizes the job is chaos.
• On her one day off (while “feeling good” with some recreational substances), she’s called in to help with the discovery of a corpse — a young guest had died by suicide.
• Savvy emphasizes the grim routine: These incidents are more common than guests realize; she references thin walls, no one hearing the gunshot, and the scramble to “cover up” or turn around the room for new guests. Maintenance literally repaints the ceiling before the next guests arrive.
• She offers inside baseball: Hotels work hard to hide disasters from guests, get outside trauma cleanup, and move on quickly to avoid bad press.
• The hotel is famous for ghost sightings; she personally experienced unexplained noises, slamming doors, and guests submitting paranormal photos.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Dan Rather: “My grandma found dead bodies like once every six months… People go to hotels to kill themselves.” (32:29)
  • Savvy: “Working in hotels ruined me… any hotel I stay in, I check for bedbugs. Oh, no, you should check your corners of your mattresses.” (37:02)
  • Savvy on the aftermath: “I only hope that in that moment…maybe they had a sense of peace that they had been just looking for.” (38:09)
• She ends with an update: Left hotels and now owns a women-run sign company in Colorado.
• Memorable Moment:
  • Ghost stories are so common that guests send the hotel “shadow” photos for their website.

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4. Attempted Assault in a San Diego Hotel

Guest: Lauren
Timestamps: 44:14 – 55:53

• Lauren, a therapist, recounts a traumatic hotel attack from 2010 in San Diego’s Gaslamp District.
• Explains her group was in town for a Marine Corps event, staying in a major downtown hotel. The layout is described in detail (the “U” shape room).
• The story unfolds: A man, recently paroled, pounds on the door. Assuming it’s parents, the friend opens the door; he barges in, assaults and tries to rape her.
• Lauren calls 911 and pounds on the wall for help; the quick thinking and chaos in those moments are described unflinchingly.
• The assailant, after being chased off when one friend escapes, assaults another woman in a nearby steakhouse restroom before being tackled and arrested.
• The man had attempted to break into other women’s rooms moments before. He is ultimately sentenced to 55 years to life.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Lauren: “He stops dead in his tracks, stares Mara right in the eyes…‘If you grab your phone, I’m gonna kill your friend.’” (50:34)
  • Jennifer Buckmere: “Look through the fucking peephole, no matter what.” (54:18)
  • Dan Rather on trauma aftermath: “So often…the painful thing isn’t the wrestling on the bed. It’s the guilt of ‘I didn’t look through A peephole…’” (54:49)
• The group reflects on trauma response, survivor guilt, the unpredictability of real crisis, and the importance of basic safety measures (like using the peephole).
• Memorable Moment:
  • Lauren’s understated advice: “If we had looked through the peephole, this would have never happened.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Dan Rather on Parisians: “Parisians don’t think of France as a country. They think it’s Paris, and then the rest is just, like, wilderness.” (08:38)
• Jesse, on guest privacy: “People think, ‘I’m never going to see these people again, so I don’t care what I do in this room.’” (37:39)
• Savvy, on management's reaction to trauma: “Do you need therapy? Do you need to talk to someone? I can have someone come out.” (34:46)
• Lauren, on post-trauma reactions: “We all learned what we do when fight or flight happens and got to prepare…I know I will call 911. I know I’m probably not gonna fight.” (55:16)
• Dan Rather, humor after horror: “Check your water bottle for rats. Check the peepholes. A lot of checking.” (55:54)

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Safety & Takeaways

• Bedbugs & Security:
  Everyone jokes (or brags) about always checking for bedbugs and now peepholes before settling into a hotel room.
• Deadbolts & Barricades:
  Even the most mundane warning can spiral into real danger.
• Behind the Scenes:
  The hotel industry is revealed as equal parts mayhem, cover-up, and care, with staff shouldering much of the emotional burden.

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Tone & Flow

• Discussions alternate between light-hearted riffing (at the scammers’ absurdity), genuine camaraderie, and paused, empathetic response during traumatic or tragic recounting.
• There is an undercurrent of “the messiness of being human” — guests’ foibles, unexpected emergencies, and the need for vigilance and compassion.

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Episode Structure (w/ Timestamps)

| Segment | Guest | Story Highlights | Start–End | |---------|-------|------------------|-----------| | Rat Scam | Jesse | Parisian couple fakes rat infestation for refund | 03:22–13:40 | | Wedding Shooter | Kate | Wedding in Milwaukee interrupted by shooting/lockdown | 15:40–26:22 | | Haunted Hotel | Savvy | Haunted Colorado hotel, suicide, secrets, ghosts | 27:10–40:59 | | Assault/Survival | Lauren | Gaslamp District assault and survival story | 44:14–55:53 |

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a whirlwind ride through the strange, the tragic, and the sometimes comically absurd world of hotels, as filtered through the “armchair expert” lens of curiosity, human frailty, and humor. The stories, while often cautionary, highlight bravery, quick-thinking, and the resiliency of both guests and workers — and serve as a reminder to lock the door, check the beds, and always, always use the peephole.

Key Takeaways:

• Hospitality hides more stories than you’ll ever imagine.
• Be kind to staff: you have no idea what they handled before you checked in.
• And for the love of God… check for rats, bedbugs, and through the peephole.

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Transcript

[Dan Rather]

Welcome, welcome. Welcome to Armchair Anonymous. I'm Dan Rather and I'm joined by Jennifer Buckmere.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Wow.

[Dan Rather]

We have crazy hotel stories today. Feels very appropriate. It's summertime, people are traveling. Someone might be listening to this on the bed of a hotel.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

If you're on a trip, just check for bed bugs.

[Dan Rather]

I heard that, but I'm not gonna do that.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I am.

[Dan Rather]

You are.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I'm never not doing that now.

[Dan Rather]

I don't think I can see them at this point with my eyesight being what it is. Please enjoy crazy hotel stories. We get support from quints so we've

[Jennifer Buckmere]

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[Dan Rather]

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[Jennifer Buckmere]

I love a lot of stuff from Quint, honestly. They have incredible premium denim which is very important for fall. It's pretty much all I wear in the fall is denim. And Quint has such a good selection of quality denim. Their stuff is so versatile, timeless and built to last that you just grab every single day without thinking.

[Savvy]

Right.

[Dan Rather]

And all of that for 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They go direct to ethical factories, cut out the middlemen so you get all that quality without overpaying for it.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

We love that. And they do way more than clothes. They have bedding, cookware, bath essentials, travel must haves same deal and great quality.

[Dan Rather]

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[Kate]

Hello.

[Jesse]

Hi, Jesse.

[Dan Rather]

Where are you?

[Jesse]

So I am in Manchester in the uk.

[Dan Rather]

Home of my girlfriend from high school.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

That's right. Yeah, one of them.

[Dan Rather]

How did you end up in Manchester?

[Jesse]

My boyfriend is from Manchester.

[Dan Rather]

Is he a rugby player?

[Jesse]

Actually football. Well, soccer.

[Dan Rather]

Does he have the sexiest legs?

[Jesse]

He does. He has very sexy legs, a very sexy accent. Very typical.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

And are you guys super into the World cup right now then?

[Jesse]

We are. Although we're rooting for different teams.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, no.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

A house divided.

[Dan Rather]

Who are you rooting for?

[Jesse]

I'm rooting for France because I'm originally from France. And he's actually not rooting for England. He's rooting for Portugal.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, okay.

[Dan Rather]

Okay. Does he have a friend on the team or something? What's that? Allegiance?

[Jesse]

No, his family's from Northern Ireland, so I think he feels more connected to Northern Ireland. So he's now rooting for Portugal because he doesn't want England to win.

[Savvy]

I got it.

[Jesse]

Yeah, he's a bit of a traitor.

[Dan Rather]

An enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

That's right.

[Dan Rather]

Okay, so you have a hotel story.

[Jesse]

I do. So just to set the scene, this was 2014, so I just graduated high school, and I was almost 18, and I'd worked at this hotel through high school. But because I graduated and I wanted to go traveling, I decided to just work there full time for a year so that I could save money.

[Dan Rather]

Was this in Toronto? Where was this? At Montreal.

[Jesse]

This was in the south of France. So this was right next to my hometown. I don't sound French, but I am.

[Dan Rather]

But didn't you say Canada as well?

[Jennifer Buckmere]

They met in Canada.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, met in Canada. You're straight French.

[Jesse]

I'm straight French.

[Dan Rather]

This is so confusing. You don't have a iota of an accent. Wow. Am I being catfished right now?

[Jesse]

Jesse, you know what? You're not the first person to tell me that. I've had to show my passport to people and my birth certificate to prove that I actually am from France. But I traveled a lot in my childhood, I never developed an accent.

[Dan Rather]

Wow, that's cool. Okay, so you're working at a hotel in the south of France. Is it a fancy hotel?

[Jesse]

No, it's very mom and pop. 20 rooms, five floors, like very, very chill right by the beach. Still to this day, best job I've ever had. I had a great schedule. I just would work the breakfast shift and then my coworker would relieve me or finish the breakfast shift around 10 when she got in. And then I would go up into the rooms, clean the rooms, do the turnovers, and I would be done by like two or three. So then I would just go straight to the beach.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, lovely.

[Jesse]

I lived in the hotel, so it was also a really nice way to have independence. I didn't have to be at home.

[Dan Rather]

Ye, yeah.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

That's great.

[Jesse]

This was a few months into the summer season and this couple in their 60s. I never saw people check in because I was already gone at that point. So I would always meet guests around the breakfast time. That would be like my first impression of them. And then my second impression of them would be when I went in to clean their rooms. Because you can tell a lot by people by the way they keep their hotel rooms.

[Dan Rather]

Well, I think we could do two hours on this, couldn't we? Monica? I want to know what you know. Yeah, I want to know what you would think of our respective rooms.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I think I do both pretty good.

[Jesse]

Ooh.

[Dan Rather]

I don't let anyone clean my room. Let's start there. You must like that kind of guest, right?

[Jesse]

You know what? I like it until when they check out and they complain that nobody cleaned their room.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Lauren]

That's there.

[Dan Rather]

That's ridiculous.

[Jesse]

That wouldn't be you.

[Dan Rather]

Right. I hang the sign on my door the second I get there. Do not disturb. And if I'm there for a week, it never comes off.

[Jesse]

That's great. And so this couple, nothing out of the ordinary, very sweet, weirdly clean. Even when I walked into the room, everything was kind of off the bed so I could make it. Everything was neat and tidy and they were staying for a whole, which was quite rare to have such long stays. It's a small town, there's not that much to do. You can basically get it done within like three, four days max. And so about two, three days into their week long stay, the woman comes down screaming bloody murder. It's about 9am she's running down the stairs and starts yelling that there's a rat in her room and that there's droppings everywhere.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, boy.

[Jesse]

And it's disgusting. And she doesn't know what to do, and she's just complaining, which, naturally, there's a rat in your room. Fair enough. But me and my coworker are kind of listening to her, and we've never had a rat issue. We're by the sea, so we've had a lot of ant problems. We've had seagulls going into the rooms, because when the window's wide open and people leave their food, the seagulls kind of smell it from the beach, and then they go into the room. So we've had those issues before. But she's on the fifth floor. We've never had rats. It feels a little off. But we kind of just, with the benefit of the doubt, we're like, okay, well, we have to go and check this out.

[Dan Rather]

Is she English or French or neither?

[Jesse]

She's French. She's from Paris, which won't mean much to a lot of people, but being from the south of France, we don't like Parisians.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, interesting.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, tell me why?

[Jesse]

Kind of a thing, like, between the north and the south, we don't really like each other. And so I remember telling my coworker, I was like, oh, she's from Paris. No wonder she found a rat. It's probably just, like, a really big bug or something.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

It's, like, snotty. Like, Parisians are uppity a little bit.

[Dan Rather]

This comforts me a bit because I find that the Parisians hate my guts when I'm there. And it's just nice to know that y' all are hating each other too.

[Jesse]

They hate everybody's guts. Okay, good.

[Dan Rather]

I'm not taking it personal.

[Jesse]

Parisians don't think of France as a country. They think it's Paris, and then the rest is just, like, wilderness.

[Savvy]

Yeah.

[Jesse]

Okay, so we're kind of not really taking it seriously, but my coworker is terrified of rats. It's like, I don't want to go. I don't want to go. Me, on the other hand, I love to prove people wrong, especially guests. So I go up and I open the room, and the first thing I notice is I thought I went into the wrong room. Because I open up the door, and this couple that had been super neat and tidy. The room looks ransacked, like, completely turned over. There's chips on the floor. There's cheese on the floor for the rats, peanut butter on the wall. It just looks completely ransacked.

[Dan Rather]

I wonder if they relapsed. It sounds like they checked in sober. And then they had a big relapse.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, my God. Weird. Okay.

[Jesse]

So I'm just walking in, and I think, okay, well, this is a little strange, but we'll take a look. And I'm looking over, fully expecting to see nothing, and then I see little rat droppings.

[Dan Rather]

Oh.

[Jesse]

And I'm thinking, well, this is strange, but okay. And I continue to look, and I hear a squeak. And I'm looking over. I head into the bathroom, and lo and behold, there's a rat curled up under the sink in the bathroom. Ew.

[Dan Rather]

Just sleeping in. Did he look cute?

[Jesse]

I was expecting a big, like, sewer rat or maybe even, like, a field rat. Something really gross. He was pretty small, probably the size of my hand. And he was black and white and just looked terrified. And the first thing I thought was, I wonder if my mom will let me bring him home as a pet. He looks adorable. I felt bad for him. I was like, I can't believe you're stuck in this room with that awful lady screaming. And so as I'm kind of thinking this out loud, trying to figure out how I'm gonna grab him, something clicked. And I start scanning the room, and I'm looking around, and I see a waste bin. And so I go in, and I start rifling through it, and I see a receipt. And I look at the receipt, and I'm reading it, and I had to read it twice because I was just so shocked. And right there, there was a purchase for a pet rat bought the day before.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, my gosh. Now you've stumbled into a case you're investigating.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

That's a domestic rat mouse.

[Lauren]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Rather]

So this poor guy thought he was gonna be a pet, and then he just gets turned loose in a room full of cheese and peanut butter.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, no. That sounds fun for me.

[Dan Rather]

Sound like Eden.

[Jesse]

It was just kind of shocking, and I didn't really know what to do with it. I grabbed the receipt. Well, I put the rat in this little box. We had brought up this, like, shoe box with holes in it. So I managed to kind of wrangle him, and he didn't really move, which is another thing. I'm like, you're used to being handled. Clearly. I go downstairs, check the four digits of the credit card on the receipt against the credit card that we had on file for.

[Dan Rather]

You're an inspector.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I love this. You're a Veronica Mars.

[Jesse]

They both match. And we walk up to this lady, and we're just like, so you don't have a rat in your room? You Bought a rat and you set it loose in the room, spreading food around so that he would poop and that there would be droppings everywhere. She's kind of going against it, which was weird. She was saying, I don't know how that got here. I've never seen this receipt. There was also a full pet store bag. We later came to find out it had like, the logo and everything.

[Dan Rather]

They bought merch.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

They're wearing a sweatshirt from the pet store. It was just a really cute sweatshirt.

[Jesse]

We didn't really know what to do. And we said, well, obviously you're not getting a refund. Because she had been asking while I was upstairs. She was trying to get a refund and we were trying to see if we could process anything. And then the second I showed up with the receipt, my boss, being a lovely lady that she is, just said, you're done. Pack your stuff, please leave. You're not getting a refund. And we also asked her if they wanted to keep the rat because they bought it for about eight euros, I think, like nine bucks. But we just ended up bringing it back to the pet store later that day. And then we had to go around and call all the other hotels and kind of warn them that they were doing this weird little scam. It's a small hotel. You just don't want that happening in a small town. Maybe if it was a bigger hotel, they have more money to lose. But word of mouth is so important in that industry at that level of like, small, small mom and pop hotels, that it was just ruined us.

[Dan Rather]

Wow, what a racket. I want to interview them. I want to know how many trips they've taken for $9. I bet a ton.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Did they look normal?

[Jesse]

They looked honestly fine. I spoke to them at breakfast. They were excited to be in town, and they definitely felt Parisian.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I don't think they were Parisian. I think that was part of their

[Savvy]

scam to say that they're Parisian.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, because they know.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah, they know. That feels uppity. So no one would expect them to

[Dan Rather]

be scamme to be trafficking in rats. Eight year old rats.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

That's wild.

[Dan Rather]

Wow, what a unique couple. I'm kind of proud of them. I'm glad you busted them. But also look at them out there, just trying to figure out how to vacation for $8. Really good hustle, because most people aren't gonna dig through the trash.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

If that were here, I think they'd be like, that's privacy. They'd come at you, sue the hotel for going through the trash, and get even more money.

[Jesse]

Yeah, no, thankfully, they left without an actual fight. They did kind of deny it.

[Dan Rather]

Do you ever go back and stay at that little hotel?

[Jesse]

I haven't been back in a while. I actually haven't been back to France in years, unfortunately. I love it. We're going back this summer so that my partner can meet my family.

[Dan Rather]

Lovely.

[Jesse]

But I haven't really stayed there. It changed. My old boss isn't there anymore. It's a nice phase, and I have an idea of what it was, and I just don't want to ruin it with what it potentially is now.

[Dan Rather]

Right, right, right, right. Well, Jesse, what a fun caper.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah.

[Dan Rather]

This was a mous.

[Jesse]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Dan Rather]

Well, have a beautiful summer and I hope your team wins and your partner is sad. That's what I hope.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah, I hope.

[Jesse]

Me too. Me too.

[Dan Rather]

All right, well, lovely meeting you, Desi.

[Jesse]

Lovely meeting you guys.

[Kate]

Bye.

[Lauren]

All right.

[Jesse]

Bye.

[Dan Rather]

Hi. You look a little bit like Elizabeth. Monica's friend Elizabeth.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Lame.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, a little bit.

[Kate]

Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment.

[Dan Rather]

It is a compliment. Where are you, Kate?

[Kate]

I am in Minnesota.

[Dan Rather]

That's the place to be this time of year. But only this time of year.

[Savvy]

I don't know.

[Kate]

I really like the winter. I like winter sports. I like being in the cold. I was born in the winter, so I am all for the winter in Minnesota.

[Dan Rather]

When you're watching Game of Thrones and they say winter's coming, you go, ooh. You go, ooh. Can't wait.

[Kate]

No. Maybe not that much into winter, but it's definitely a good time of year. You just gotta get used to it. Gotta dress right.

[Dan Rather]

And are you by Minneapolis?

[Kate]

I'm about an hour northwest of Minneapolis, so I'm closer to the St. Cloud area.

[Dan Rather]

Do you do any snowmobiling in the winter?

[Kate]

I don't. My in laws are really into it. They take big trips and do it a lot. But I am scared of fast. I'm not like you, Dax. I am very cautious when it comes to motorized vehicles and motorcycles and stuff like that.

[Dan Rather]

We need all of us.

[Jesse]

Yes.

[Lauren]

Yes.

[Dan Rather]

You have a hotel story.

[Kate]

I do, yes. So in 2021, my husband and I went to a wedding. It actually takes place in Milwaukee. Wisconsin is where the wedding was. And the reception was in this hotel. So we were staying at the hotel where the reception was. And it's about 9, 30, 10 o'. Clock. I am a huge grandma when it comes to going out. So I was like, it's time for me to go to bed. I will see you guys tomorrow. I say goodnight to everybody. Probably 20 or 30 minutes. I've changed in my pajamas. I'm laying in bed. My husband calls me from the wedding and says he make sure the door is locked and lock the deadbolt. And I'm immediately like, what? And he goes, just do it just to make me feel better. Somebody just came through the wedding. He seemed like he might have been on drugs, was saying weird stuff like they're after me, things like that. And so I'm like, okay, freaking out. In hindsight, my husband probably should have just come up to the room and been with me. But I think he had been drinking. He didn't want to seem like he was being too anxious or anything like that. So I, being the true crime fan that I am, decide not only am I locking the door, I'm changing out of my pajamas into my regular clothes. I am gonna put the ironing board in front of my door, and then I'm gonna grab my big hairspray bottle and I'm gonna use that as mace. Because I've determined in my head this psychopath is coming straight to me in my room. Out of all the hundreds of rooms in this hotel.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, I was gonna ask. There's a few rewrites I'd put on your husband. One is probably don't even need to make that call. You got a couple hundred rooms, the odds of selecting your room. Secondly, the lock is sufficient. That's already there. If this person's gonna try to kick the door, then the deadbowl at that point's a little moot. I don't know if I would have riled up everyone over this.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

My husband to just be like, hey, I would want that little heads up.

[Dan Rather]

Don't answer the door for a stranger, right?

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Like there's a little weirdo around. Just, you know, be alert, partying down here.

[Dan Rather]

I'm thinking active shooter, Deadbolt the door, hide under the bed. I added that.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I always deadbolt.

[Kate]

They had to come back to the room, so I wasn't gonna deadbolt it yet. But so then probably 20, 30 minutes after he calls me, I hear, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And I am pretty confident at that point that there was shooting happening. So I call my husband back. By the time I get my husband on the phone, the fire alarms are now going off. My husband picks up and I hear him talking. Everybody get out. Everybody get out. And I'm like, mia, I need to leave. He goes, no, no. Okay, you shelter in place. And I'm like, what is happening? Why is the wedding party being evacuated? But I'm sheltering in place.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Thank you to our presenting sponsor HP for supporting this episode. Parents, you've got enough on your back to school list right now. Ink cartridges do not need to be on it. They just don't. The HP Smart Tank printer uses a refillable ink tank and comes with up to three years of ink included. It's the last printer you'll ever need to Learn more Search HP Smart Tank

[Dan Rather]

we are supported by Walden University. You know that feeling when you've been thinking about making a move? Going after the degree, the promotion, the thing you keep telling yourself you'll get to someday? Walden University is built for that moment. For over 50 years, Walden has helped working professionals get the w, the knowledge, the skills and the confidence to create real change in their careers and communities. Their programs are designed around your life, not the other way around. With Tempo Learning available in select programs, there are no rigid schedules or set weekly deadlines. You move at your own pace. And Walden's faculty aren't just academics, they're practitioners who bring real world experience into everything they teach. From your first class to career coaching and beyond, Walden is your partner the whole way. Take the first step and learn at a pace that works for you. Visit waldenu. Edu Walden University Set a Course Course for Change Certified to operate by Chev

[Jennifer Buckmere]

we get support from Skims. Oh man, do I love skims. I've been living in the Skims lightweight cotton collection all summer and I have to tell you, getting dressed has become so easy. I just throw it on. It just feels right immediately, whether I'm grabbing coffee or I'm on the couch all day or I'm out even going to dinner. The cotton is so lightweight and breathable, which in this heat is a non negotiable. The Cotton Jersey T shirt. I just need everyone to know about this. This one hugs in all the right places. It's very soft and it still looks and fits the same after months of washing, which is very hard to do, I feel, with T shirts. I've been wearing the black cotton jersey T shirt with basically everything all summer long. It goes great with any patterned skirt or shorts or pants. I mean anything truly. I believe that's probably my favorite piece from the Cotton collection, but they also have great lightweight cotton thongs that are so comfortable and they're cute. That is a very, very hard mix to achieve, especially with undergarments. I feel if you can find some that are cute but also comfortable and do the job. That is a win. And Skims has really, really figured that out with the lightweight Cotton collection Shop, Skims Cotton and all of my favorite [e-mail] after you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you Select Podcast in the survey and be sure to select Armchair Expert in the dropdown menu that follows.

[Dan Rather]

This episode is supported by Helix.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

So I've had my Helix mattress for a few years now and I still love it just as much as the first night. That says a lot because a good night's sleep is very important to me.

[Dan Rather]

Sleep is everything. And what's great about Helix is that it's not a guessing game with finding the right mattress because they have over 20 models so you can find the one that actually fits how you sleep. And with that summer heat upon us, Helix has cooling upgrades that can get you the best rest even on hot nights.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I have a Helix Midnight Luxe mattress. I really like the level of firmness it has, but that might not be right for you. They have so many options and you just go take the quiz and it is perfectly matched for your needs, which is incredible. I also highly, highly recommend the cooling upgrade, especially in the summer. It makes your sleep so much better. If you're still tossing and turning on a mattress that's not working for you, just trust us on this one.

[Dan Rather]

Go to hel helixleep.com armchair for 20 off site wide that's helixsleep.com armchair for 20 off Site wide helixsleep.com armchair.

[Kate]

I am very anxious. I'm freaking out. What is going on? These alarms are going off so they're clearing out the wedding. All the other hotel guests are being sheltered in place. Finally, after I don't know how much time has passed, but the fire alarm stopped going off and now I hear the police going door to door for all the hotel rooms, knocking on the door, saying, please, please open up. And I'm assuming at this point they're looking for the shooter. They don't know where he is. So finally they get to my door. Please, please open up. I open the door and when I open the door, I realize now I have been anxiously peeing this whole time, like going to the bathroom. But I also haven't been flushing because I'm like, the shooter's gonna hear me flush and it's gonna come to me.

[Dan Rather]

I thought you meant. Oh, I just realized now I'm talking to this officer. I've gone six times in my pants.

[Kate]

I did think that it's in the toilet. But so now all I can think about is they're gonna think I'm a freak who doesn't ever flush the toilet. Cause it's just filled with pee and toilet paper. Like, I'm no longer anxious about this active shooter. I'm just anxious that these police officers who I don't know and will never see again, are gonna think I'm gonna

[Dan Rather]

judge you right, for going pee pee.

[Kate]

Oh my God.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

There's so many things to be anxious about in this world.

[Kate]

Then they obviously clear my room. They leave, after which they come back and they esc down to the wedding party. My husband had finally asked them to come get me so that I could be with him and our friends. And him and all of our friends had to be questioned by the police because they saw that guy run through the wedding. I guess there was more things that they could have been witnesses to. So they ended up being not held by the police, but like asked to wait by the police until like 2 or 3 in the morning is finally when they were like, okay, we can be done. Like, go on, get out of here. By that point, none of us were going to stay in the hotel. We were all ready to. To hightail it out of there. So we pretty much packed our bags and we drove all the way home to Minneapolis.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, wow.

[Kate]

The next day we found out from the news what had really happened was the police were called for shots fired in the hotel, which we didn't hear the original shots fired. But when they were going door to door for welfare checks on the hotel guest, they were met with gunfire from a separate person. Like not even who they were called for.

[Dan Rather]

Oh my God.

[Kate]

So the police ended up up being shot at and three police officers were injured from this.

[Dan Rather]

Oh my God. No way.

[Kate]

So it turned out to be like this way bigger deal than what they were originally even called for.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

So that guy had nothing to do with it.

[Dan Rather]

He's the red herring.

[Kate]

It was totally random, like, just happened to stumble upon this other crazy person.

[Dan Rather]

God, you just gotta wonder if the police ever randomly went to a hotel, knocked on every single door, if that's awaiting at every hotel. I mean, that's just so crazy.

[Kate]

It was intense. We were only a floor above the shooting. I just feel so heavily for the people, like on the same floor. There was like a mom and a child right next to it. So much closer and so much more affected than I was. But it was insane. And for a long time we were like, we're never going back to Milwaukee. As if it couldn't happen anywhere.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah. Scary boy.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah. Kate, we're so different. One time, Brie and I were at this terrible hotel on the side of the i5 in Stockton. Clearly, the guy next door is dealing drugs and there's people in and out. And sure enough, there was a gunshot in the middle of the night. We just stayed.

[Kate]

Yeah, if we weren't in a group of people, we would have stayed, but because there are so many of us, we were like, whatever, we can all just make a thing of it.

[Dan Rather]

And are they still married?

[Kate]

They're still married. I have only ever met them at their wedding because they're my husband's college friends and they live far away from us. But to my Facebook knowledge, they are still happily married. And besides that happening, it was a really beautiful wedding and very fun until

[Dan Rather]

the very end and very memorable for everyone.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

That sucks on your wedding.

[Kate]

I hope they take it as like, rain on your wedding means good luck.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Exactly. Well, it rained bullets.

[Dan Rather]

Well, Kate, it's so nice to meet you. We're so delighted to have someone as nice as you listening.

[Kate]

Thank you so much.

[Dan Rather]

You guys have a great summer. Winner will be here soon. Don't get impatient.

[Savvy]

That's true.

[Kate]

Perfect. Thank you so much. Bye.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Hello. Hi.

[Savvy]

Can you hear me?

[Dan Rather]

Beautifully. Is your name Savvy?

[Jennifer Buckmere]

It is.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, my God. I've never met a Savvy. I'm sure you hear that often.

[Savvy]

All the time. I usually on the phone get Abby, Gabby, or once Debbie.

[Dan Rather]

And do you just go with it

[Savvy]

like I do all the time until later when. Because I own my own company. And they're like, well, we talked to an Abby. And I'm like, I promise you didn't.

[Dan Rather]

And how did your parents come up with Savvy Savannah?

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, cute.

[Dan Rather]

And are you from Georgia?

[Savvy]

I am.

[Dan Rather]

Maybe you and Monica were on the same Savannah streets as kids.

[Savvy]

We probably crossed paths. Part of the story goes into that a little bit.

[Dan Rather]

Oh.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, my God.

[Dan Rather]

This is so exciting.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Let's hear it, Savvy.

[Dan Rather]

Let's go.

[Savvy]

Okay. It's going to start in 2022. Off the tail end of COVID and I had completely switched careers and gone into hotels. I've always been part of customer service. So I was like, I'm gonna like this. And I got a job for a pretty well known hotel chain in Athens, Georgia. And if you know where the Classic center is, it was right across the street.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Okay, got it.

[Savvy]

I started in hotels. I loved it. I worked every position, and by the tail end, I was head of housekeeping. Which I didn't want to do, but if you want to move up in hotels, you have to learn every position. Ended up loving it. It was one of my favorite positions.

[Dan Rather]

Tell me why really quick. What was the bennies of housekeeping?

[Savvy]

It was the staff. I loved my staff. And it was hard, dirty work. And at the end of each day you high fived and felt good about the work you did great. So I'm in this hotel and I'm not loving it and I'm wanting a change. And my best friend who lived in Colorado, we've been friends for over 15 years now, she was like, you need a change in your life, come out here. I have some ideas I want to run by you. I was like, okay. So me and my boyfriend went to visit. She's like, I want to buy a business with you. And I'm like, like okay, I need to move to Colorado. So that was in January and I decided to move to Colorado in May. So during this time I was like, well, buying a business, I've never done that before. It's going to take some time. I think I need a job. In between that I got a job offer from a and I can't say it but a pretty well known haunted hotel in Colorado.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, okay, great. A lot of clues there.

[Savvy]

Very famous, very haunted. I was very excited and getting this job wasn't easy. They paid me a lot of money. I think I may have sold my soul for it for this year that I worked here because we get out there and I kind of knew from my first day within 30 minutes I may have made a mistake.

[Dan Rather]

Oh wow, 30.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

That fast.

[Savvy]

The first 30 minutes I meet my boss. The position I had was a front desk manager. She said, well, we're really in our busy season right now and you're going to be working a lot of 12 hour days, probably six to seven days a week. We'll give you a day off here or there. And I kind of stated, well that was not in my contract. I'm a 40 hour work week. Obviously I know I'll work a little bit, but I'm salary that doesn't come with overtime. We had 400 people coming in and out every day. Our check in time, even thinking about it now, my stomach hurts a little bit. 400 wild four o' clock always was doomsday. Cause that's check in time and if that room's not ready, you're gonna be yelled out.

[Dan Rather]

It sounds like the type of hotel people are only staying for a night or two. Not Like a week.

[Savvy]

Only could afford to stay one night.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, okay, okay.

[Savvy]

Turnover's high. The complaints are high because it's definitely a destination. So this was a very hard job, just setting the stage every day. There was a fire to put out, There was a ghost to be seen, a customer complaint. I had been working there for about six months. I got my feet under me. And there used to be two office managers, so me and another person, and we would kind of divvy up stuff. I mainly worked mornings until around 5:36. They would come in around 4. We'd overlap, go over the day. They'd finish out, the day starts over the next day. And you would just keep rotating like that. When I was gone, there was always someone supposed to be on shift covering. At this time, they had fired the other front desk manager. So I was kind of taking on everything. And with that paycheck, you're kind of expected to be on call 24, seven. Things happen. And I was also required to live within 10 miles of wow. Because things happen. And so it was a day off. I have my phone on, but I'm at home. I'm relaxing, and I may have been partaking in things. Coloradians. Partaking.

[Dan Rather]

Sure, sure. Some edibles.

[Savvy]

I'm feeling good. I'm cleaning my house and I get a phone call. And it's my supervisor. So not the manager, just my guy who's on. And it's around 5 o', clock, so people are checking in. And I'm like, hey, what's up? And he's like, housekeeping just came. They're about to leave for the day. There is a room we can't get into. And I was like, okay, let's go through the process. When were they due to check out? They were due to check out this morning. Okay, did we knock on the door? Yes, we knocked on the door. Okay, do we call the cell phone number of the room? Who? The person who signed in. You have to have a cell phone number to check in in. We called, no answer. Did we call the room? We called, no answer. So I'm going through those processes. And I said, well, you need to go to maintenance in hotels, even though you lock your door, we can get into your hotel room if we need to. We were very limited of who had those master keys. And so I go. Go to maintenance, have them make you a master key. And the way my supervisor's talking, he's like, can you come in? And I'm like, yes. So I asked my husband to drive me in or My boyfriend at the time. But I was like, can you drive me into work? It's five minutes down the road. And he's like, yeah, of course. And I was like, and will you wait here while I go in? And so I get there and I'm on the phone with my supervisor and he's like, well, we got the door open. They're dead.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Okay.

[Dan Rather]

In all of your hoteling, was that the first corpse of your career? No. Right.

[Jesse]

Okay.

[Dan Rather]

I was gonna say my grandparents owned, I don't know what it was, a 36 room motel on the border of Indiana. My grandma found dead bodies like once every six months, I think because people go to hotels to kill themselves.

[Savvy]

100%.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah.

[Kate]

Wow.

[Dan Rather]

Okay, so it wasn't your first rodeo.

[Savvy]

Wasn't my first rodeo, but first rodeo in a very stressful environment with people who weren't prepared for this. So I go up to the room and the old school chain, it's one of those. So we can get the door open. And I'm trying to move my hand, I'm like, I can't get it. So we go get the tool, we get it open and it is what we all think it is. This kid, I will say, checked in the night before. One of my very close friends had checked him in, so they had to do a police report. But here starts the process of hotel work. When you're in a hotel of this capacity and you have people who have reserved their rooms a year in advance, they've paid a lot of money. This is a one time experience for them. You don't want them to know what's going on. This hotel is also very, very, very old. And we have one elevator. This happened to be on the fourth floor. The fourth floor is my most popular floor because it has all the haunted rooms.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Okay, and now another.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, now a new one.

[Savvy]

I've oversold this hotel by three rooms, so I need this room now. I have probably four people who aren't going to stay in said hotel that they wanted to stay in. And so I'm thinking of how I'm going to do this. And I obviously have to call the police. I have to call hr. So my HR person is coming in as well and they're talking to me. I just got on scene. This is what's happening. My housekeeping staff was not okay that day. I sent them all home and I tried to just get everyone as far away. I have to shut this floor down, in a sense. And it's got over 40 rooms on it. And I'm trying to talk to the police about. You don't want people knowing what's going on behind the scenes. Just go get free drinks. Here's some coupons. Go away, please. That's how all hotels are. You have fires in the background, but nothing. Everything's fine, guys. Just keep going. So I don't want them to put up the crime scene tape, but they will. The police of this city were so wonderful. They took care of everything. It was very stressful. I don't know how they did it. I think they went down the back stairs. I have to do a police report with the HR person who's also like, are you okay? Are you okay?

[Kate]

Are you?

[Savvy]

And I'm. Yes, I'm fine. I'm just really inebriated right now and did not expect this on my day off. My staff at the front desk is not doing well either, so I have to kind of handle things with them. And I don't mean this in a joke. Do you need therapy? Do you need to talk to someone? I can have someone come out. They were awesome, though. It was just very traumatic. I go through the records of the night before. These walls are thin. You can hear people throughout the walls. It's such an old hotel. No one heard anything. It was a gunshot.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, really? Did he have, like, a silencer on the gun or something? That's crazy.

[Savvy]

He didn't. The rooms next door were full of people. The other thing is, now you have cleanup. So the next day, I come in after everything with the police, and I'm talking to hr, and they're like, well, can we do it? And I was like, no, I'm not doing it. No. I was like, you can either pay for therapy for your whole housekeeping staff, or you can pay a company. I promise you're going to want to pay a company.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Also, what about, like, biohazard stuff? I mean, there's, like, blood everywhere.

[Savvy]

This hotel may not have followed a lot of rules.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Sure.

[Savvy]

We get a company out, they take care of everything, which is nice. So when you're in a hotel, you have to have a room inspection before the room goes out. Theoretically, you should never have a complaint about a room because it's been cleaned and it's been inspected. Did things happen? But I was going to do my inspection. I was feeling weird about going in this room. I had seen everything that had happened. The kid was very young. It messed with me for a couple weeks after this. I go in there and I'm like, all right, it's looking Good. Oh, my God. They did not get the ceiling.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

No.

[Kate]

Oh.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, boy.

[Savvy]

Can you imagine if I checked someone into that room?

[Dan Rather]

Into the horror hotel.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Exactly. They would think you were doing it as a joke.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah. Like, as a shtick. Oh, cool. They put ketchup on the ceiling.

[Savvy]

I promise you, I would have went with it. Yeah, exactly. It was awful. So I called maintenance, and I was like, I have a problem. And they're like, what? And I explain it. We'll be right there. They painted the ceiling for me right then and there. I sold that room. That room sold for the night.

[Dan Rather]

People had no idea that 24 hours earlier, the bed they were laying in, so on.

[Savvy]

Isn't that wild?

[Dan Rather]

I wonder if I've ever been in a room, like, within 24 hours.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah, of course, we all wonder that now.

[Savvy]

Working in hotels ruined me, because any hotel I stay in, I check for bedbugs. Oh, no, you should check your corners of your mattresses. And I always just kind of do a glance over, what are we working with here? But it's very sad. This was a very awful story. I ended up finding the kid on Facebook because he was missing for a while. We kind of helped the police find who he was through some Facebook posts, because a lot goes into this. It's not just, oh, it happened. And I think maybe people think this when they stay in a hotel. I'm never going to see these people again. So I don't care what I do. This room.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Right.

[Savvy]

And so I'm happy his family didn't have to find them.

[Dan Rather]

It's selfish, but I understand. It's like, they don't want to ruin their house. They don't want to burden the people in their lives with cleaning up the way you guys had to. I mean, I think they think they're doing everyone a favor, but I think

[Jennifer Buckmere]

it's also, you know, like, when dogs go to die and they go away, they, like, go into, like, the forest, and they just want to be not in their environment. In a way, it's kind of like that.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, that too.

[Savvy]

I'm sure the peace I got from this, because I still had to work there for quite some time after this. But where they had positioned themselves, they were looking right out the window, and it was such a beautiful view. And I only hope that in that moment that maybe they had a sense of peace that they had been just looking for. And we kind of. I don't say joke, because it's nothing to joke about, but we said, maybe they get to be part of the Other ghost at this hotel?

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Well, exactly. Exactly.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, yeah. Did you see any ghosts?

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah, I was going to ask that.

[Savvy]

Oh, all the time.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, oh, all the time.

[Savvy]

Multiple times. Where? I would work a night shift there because someone called out and you have to do hotel walks. So you're walking through the hotel, you're just checking, making sure no one's being too rowdy. Making sure nothing's out of the ordinary. And there are these long hallways. So I'd be walking and then all of a sudden I'd hear a whisper, just a whisper behind me. And you turn around, there's no one there. Oh, multiple times. If I was cleaning a room because I would jump in and help housekeeping, doors would slam, the doors would get stuck and you're like, please don't do this to me, please, please. And it would open. But there were constantly people coming and showing us photos. We took this photo in our room last night. Do you see this shadow? Yes, we see it. You can submit that and we'll put that on our website.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Rather]

This is like a whole subculture.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

It is.

[Dan Rather]

I bet. My cousin stayed there. My cousin, you know, is obsessed with ghosts and he's like ghost tourist.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, he takes vacations to all these haunted places.

[Savvy]

A lot of famous people too.

[Dan Rather]

I'm gonna guess. Nick Cage has stayed at that hotel. Seems like a ghost hunter.

[Jesse]

I could see that.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I could totally see that.

[Dan Rather]

Well, savvy, currently you're in hospitality, but not a hotel.

[Savvy]

I ended up buying my business.

[Dan Rather]

Okay, great. And it's going well.

[Savvy]

It's stressful, but I work with my best friend, my then boyfriend, now husband. We got married in February. He gave up real estate to come work for me because I needed help. And so it's kind of like my whole family now. And it's a wild dream. And I tell myself every day, you can't fail if you don't give up.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Do you want to shout it out? What's the business?

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, what's the business?

[Savvy]

I'll say. It's a sign company. So we're a women owned sign company.

[Dan Rather]

Okay.

[Savvy]

We do everything from vehicle wraps to billboards to huge monument signs. It's a very male dominated industry. So there's only a few of these women owned.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

One ones love it.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah. And printing in general is very male.

[Savvy]

We actually just had a job come in that my employee was like, come look at this. And I was like, is that a. Oh, this is very erotic.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, yeah. I'm sure you get a lot of fun requests Will you print this?

[Savvy]

Absolutely.

[Dan Rather]

Love to. Well, Savvy, it's a delight meeting you.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Nice meeting you.

[Savvy]

It was so nice meeting you guys.

[Dan Rather]

All right, well, take care. Have a great summer.

[Lauren]

Thank you.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Bye. We are supported by hp. If you're a parent or you know one like I do, or you can help take care of kids. You already know what August feels like. It's not summer anymore. It's the pre game. The supplies list, the forms, the we need this printed by tomorrow texts that come in at 9pm And I say this as someone who's been on the receiving end of those texts in a former life.

[Lauren]

Life.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

You're ready to help. And then the printer says, no. Out of ink, blinking at you. Useless. It's such a small thing, but it will absolutely derail your night. So when I heard about the HP Smart Tank printer from hp, America's most trusted printer brand, I thought this is the kind of thing that actually makes life easier. Not in a big flashy way, in a one less crisis way. Instead of those little cartridges that run out the second you need them, the HP Smart Tank uses refillable ink tanks. And it comes with up to three years of ink included. Three years. That's three back to school seasons without the cartridge panic. HP can't fill out the forms for you, but they can make sure the printer is never the reason you're up past midnight. Search HP Smart Tank.

[Dan Rather]

This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. We've talked before about Rob building our website on Squarespace, and I bring it up again because it's a perfect example of what they do. Well, Rob had all the pieces, the content, the vision, the ideas. But he needed something to actually take all that and make it public. Facing in Squarespace space was that bridge. Maybe you're in the same spot. You've been developing something, a business, a skill set, a body of work. And it's been private, it's been yours. But at some point you're ready to put it out there. And that transition from private to public can feel like a huge leap. Squarespace makes it feel like a step. Beautiful templates built in, SEO, email campaigns, scheduling analytics, everything you need to go from I've been working on this to here it is, come find it me all in one place. No code, no stitching together, a bunch of different tools. So if you've been sitting on something and waiting for the right moment, this might be it. Head to squarespace.comdax for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use, offer code DAX to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. We are supported by AutoTrader. All right, if you've been putting off car shopping because it sounds like a whole thing buying your car online on autotrader makes it way easier. Really? You can shop tons of cars online, compare prices, check financing and trade in options, all from wherever you are. And if you want to start online and go to the dealership for a test drive, you can do that too. Really? What I like is the flexibility. Start online, finish at the dealer or the other way around. Your info stays with you so you're not starting the process from scratch. Plus, you're working with local dealer listings so you've got real people helping behind the scenes. And when you're ready, you can pick up your car or have it delivered. Really? Buy your car online on Autotrader. Really? Hi, Lauren. Where are you?

[Lauren]

Hi. I'm at work in southern Orange County.

[Dan Rather]

This is an inviting space.

[Lauren]

What do you think I am?

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I think you're a therapist.

[Dan Rather]

That's a great pick, but I'm thinking medical.

[Lauren]

Monica. Nailed it. Yes, I'm a therapist.

[Dan Rather]

Yes. Oh, wonderful.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, wow.

[Lauren]

But I'm sitting on the couch, not in my chair, because. Because I'm at work and I had clients before and I have clients after. We don't have closets.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

It looks like a very inviting therapeutic space. I've sat on many couches like that.

[Dan Rather]

Do people ever fall asleep on the couch?

[Lauren]

Yes. So I'm an anxiety and OCD specialist. My boss actually worked with Allegra and Kimberly for many years. What they do is what I do all day. And so I do a lot of meditation and mindfulness stuff. And, yeah, they fall asleep.

[Dan Rather]

Sometimes I gotta imagine you're in a tricky situation. Like, once they start snoring, great. We know for sure what's happening. But I bet there's a confusing zone where it's like, oh, are they out?

[Lauren]

Thousand percent. And when I do a lot of virtual therapy too. And then it's really awkward and usually you're doing okay. And wiggle your toes and fingers and start to blink your eyes open. And then I'll wait a minute and I'll repeat it again. And sometimes I just call it out. I'm like, you totally fell asleep, didn't you? I also just want to thank you guys as a therapist. Your guys's vulnerability and humility and ability to really, like, correct things and update yourself and keep learning. It's so cool. And I talk about your guys's content with clients all the time, in fact. Was it Cohen? This gets so effective. I just shared that podcast like two hours ago with a client.

[Dan Rather]

That makes us really happy because we played a little fast and loose. We get into some depths that maybe. Sometimes I worry like, God, I wonder how the psychology, psychology community feels about us wandering into this stuff. So I'm relieved to hear that feedback. What are you gonna say? The only problem is when I'm diagnosing people.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Well, no, I mean, the expert is the expert. I don't ever feel guilty about that. Yeah, like, whatever you say or I say should be taken with a massive grain of salt. But the expert, sure, if you're a

[Lauren]

listener, you know, you guys aren't claiming to be experts about it.

[Dan Rather]

One time I did say. What did I say? We had a funny moment where I said in something, we say, oh God. It wasn't an anthropology, because that was somewhat legit. But I said like, you know, in psychology we say I said something like that to be funny. One time. Monica's like, hold on a second. There's no we. Okay, so you have a crazy hotel story.

[Lauren]

I do, yeah. And I originally submitted this for a different prompt, but I won't tell you what that prompt is until the end. So this Takes place in 2010 in San Diego in the Gas Lamp district, to be exact.

[Dan Rather]

For people who haven't been beautiful, historic, looks like Charleston, South Carolina.

[Lauren]

Super cute, very busy. Me and my five girlfriends were down in San Diego for the weekend. For my girlfriend, Brie parents fostered a young gentleman and he was graduating from the Pendleton Marine Corps Boot camp. So we were there for that weekend and celebrating him and it was really cool. It was the five of us and Bri's parents. So we were spending the night in the Gas Lamp district in a hotel that is very reputable. I won't share their name, but everyone knows it. It's a 10 story building right in the heart. It was about 5 o'.

[Savvy]

Clock.

[Lauren]

We finished up everything at the Marine Corps base and Bri's parents were like, okay, go upstairs, change, do whatever you need to. We're going to go to dinner in 20, 30 minutes. So we all go upstairs to the eighth floor. The five of us girls go in our bedroom. Bria's parents go down the hall to their bedroom. And as 22 year olds do, we turn on music and we're chatting and dancing, shooting the shit. For context, the hotel room is a U shape. And so like if you start at the top of the side of the U It's the door and a kitchenette with a little table. Table. And then windows, two queen beds. And then the bathroom on the other side of the ute. So if you're in the bathroom or on the beds, you can't see the front door area. I'm sitting in the bathroom peeing. My other girlfriend is in there doing her makeup as us girls do. Another girl is right outside the bathroom. One's on the bed. And then my girlfriend Allie is in the kitchenette area. Allie hears a pounding on the door. And it had been about maybe 15 minutes since Free's parents left us. And so, so thinking confidently, it must be Bree's parents coming to say, hey, time's up, let's go. She just confidently stands up, opens the door nice and wide.

[Kate]

Wow.

[Lauren]

And who's standing there but a 40 something year old man with really sketchy tattoos on his face and neck. He's very clearly drugged out on something. He's got a LA Dodgers tattoo on his neck that was probably done behind bars. And he's wearing a floor length black trench coat. I'm peeing. So this is all what I'm hearing from Allie afterwards. But he says to her, I'm an undercover cop and I've been shot and I really need your help. So Allie realizes immediately I'm gonna back up and get out of here. And so she placates him, right? And she says, no big deal, I'll totally help you. Let me get my phone. And she kind of goes to back up and close the door. And when she does that, he pushes it in, grabs her, comes in the room, closes the top, and they start wrestling.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh my God.

[Lauren]

He starts sexually assaulting her, like putting down her pants and ripping out her jeans. So I hear pound at the door, loud scuffle, screams, arguing. And the next thing I know, my girlfriend Mara runs in the bathroom and is screaming like I've never seen her scream before. Allie's being attacked. There's a man in our room. Oh, wow. I'm the Monica of the group. We've had more than one instance where I've had to call 911 and I had my first. And so I immediately call 91 1. I jumped in the shower, which was right next to the bathroom, and start pounding on the wall because I knew it shared a wall with another hotel room. So I was like, I'm gonna beat the shit out of this wall, hoping that someone can hear us screaming bloody murder while I'm calling 91 1. And this all feels like it was 15 minutes. But it was seconds probably. He probably was in our room for two minutes max. But Mara then realizes, I'm gonna get my phone and call Bree's parents who are down the hal. She opens the bathroom door, goes to grab her phone from the nightstand. And now we can see them. They're wrestling on the bed. He's trying to pin Allie down on the bed.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, my God. And he knows there's other people in there.

[Dan Rather]

Well, did he know there were other people?

[Lauren]

We don't know, so we don't think so. But there was three of us in the bathroom. He didn't see us until that moment. And so Mara goes to reach for her phone, and I'll never forget it. He stops dead in his tracks, stares Martin, Mara right in the eyes. And like, he doesn't let go of Ally. But he stops and he says, if you grab your phone, I'm gonna kill your friend. And I can hear the dispatch saying, listen to him. Don't move because he's got a trench coat on. We have no idea. He's not in his right mind, so we don't know what to do. So she just says, listen to him. So we do, we stand there, we freeze. But Ally has been wrestling with him for a minute now. So she's like this, you guys like, let's get out of here. And she screams to Bree, run. Run, Bri. So Bri literally jumps over them, runs, gets out, and she turns right and sprints down towards her parents room. He follows Bri goes right, falls, as luck would have it, and then he goes left and goes to the stairwell. So about five minutes later, police showed up. And of course they take all of our statements and swabs off of Ally. They take all of Ali's clothes and stuff. And maybe 20 minutes into them getting our statements and stuff, the police get a call saying, we have him. We think we have him downstairs. We need Ally to come down and ID him. And it was him. He left our hotel room again. 8th floor, there was a Fleming steakhouse that was basically attached to the hotel. And he went into the steakhouse, went into the women's restroom, hid in a stall, and then another young woman came in to use the bathroom and he sexually assaulted her as well.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, my God, he's like on a rampage.

[Lauren]

And luckily the bathroom must have been next to the kitchen staff or something because they were able to help her out and tackle him until the police came. So that is where he got arrested. But a couple more little fun details to add. We found out later that night that he actually was on the ninth floor before coming down to our floor. And he tried to get into another room that had two or three women in it as well. I don't know how or what they did, but they were able to keep him out of the room. And so he then came down to us.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, my God.

[Dan Rather]

He was in no hurry or fear.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I know.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah. You would think if you were thwarted once, you would, like, get scared and run out of the hotel, not go down to the eighth floor.

[Kate]

Wow.

[Lauren]

We don't know if he saw us at any point or just got lucky or heard us because our hotel room wasn't right next to the elevator or anything. Even more interesting little cherry on top is he had been paroled five days days before his incidents with us. So come to find out, he had a litany of charges of burglary, robbery, drug charges, assault charges stemming in Santa Barbara from the 90s. Maybe you guys crossed paths.

[Dan Rather]

Yeah, truly, I'm afraid I might know this person.

[Kate]

You might.

[Lauren]

And so because of that, he ended up pleading guilty. He had a bunch of charges, and he is serving 55 years to life for everything he did.

[Kate]

Whoa.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Oh, my.

[Dan Rather]

What photo do I have here that we haven't looked at?

[Lauren]

Yeah, yeah, you have a photo of him.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, I can't wait to see. Maybe I'll. I'll know him like.

[Savvy]

Oh, it's Steve.

[Kate]

Oh,

[Dan Rather]

he looks like. I was expecting him to look.

[Lauren]

Yeah.

[Dan Rather]

That's terrifying. Thank God your friends fought so hard. Valiantly.

[Lauren]

She's a gangster. No one was seriously hurt, but obviously there was some emotional trauma and some trauma responses that come for a while, but we're all still best friends. And, oh, I wrote in for or cautionary tale. Always look through the people.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Definitely.

[Dan Rather]

Big time.

[Lauren]

If we had looked through the people, this would have never happened. So I'm constantly telling, especially young women, but telling anyone, like, look through the fucking people, no matter what.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Scary. I'm so happy everyone was.

[Dan Rather]

Did she shake it off or is she had like, kind of residual.

[Lauren]

She's probably had less residual stuff than the rest of the of us. I think we had a lot of guilt. We've all had to stay in the gas lamp since then. And I've definitely had my fair share of panic attacks related to it.

[Dan Rather]

It is wild, the maze of the traumatized mind because it's like so often the painful thing or hard thing to get over isn't the wrestling on the bed. It's like the guilt of I didn't look through A peephole. The guilt of I didn't run and jump on his back. It's like all this guilt we put on ourselves after the fact. Which is so sad because we didn't do anything.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I know.

[Dan Rather]

We just made, like, less great decisions in a very heightened sit situation. And then we judge ourselves as if that was our game plan. We thought of all of us.

[Lauren]

Learned what we do when fight or flight happens and got to prepare. Like, I know I will call 91 1. I know I'm probably not gonna fight. Usually, like, that isn't my instinct. My instinct is to fix somehow. But it's helpful because people are always like, I know I'm gonna fight. I thought I would have too.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Right?

[Dan Rather]

Mike Tyson's famous quote, everyone's got a game plan until they get punched in the no nose.

[Lauren]

Exactly.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Yeah.

[Jesse]

Yeah.

[Dan Rather]

Well, Lauren, it's lovely meeting you.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

So nice to meet you. Thanks for that story.

[Dan Rather]

I think you have lucky clients.

[Lauren]

Oh, I appreciate that. Thank you guys so much.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Guys, look at that peephole. I think you just helped a lot of listeners.

[Kate]

That's my hope.

[Dan Rather]

Check your water bottle for rats. Check the peepholes. A lot of checking.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

There's a lot. Yeah, life is about checking.

[Lauren]

You guys, this is not going to help Monica's anxiety. Very cool to meet you guys.

[Dan Rather]

You too. Be well, Lauren. Have a great summer.

[Lauren]

Thank you. You too.

[Kate]

Bye.

[Dan Rather]

Bye.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

I'm about to be in three hotels.

[Dan Rather]

Are you scared now?

[Kate]

Yes.

[Dan Rather]

I'm excited. I hope something interesting happens. I'm going to be in a. Not to you, to me. Okay, sorry, to me now something. I'm going to be in hotels and I hope something interesting.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Well, you'll be with people. I'll be by myself. I shouldn't tell people that.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, look in your people.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Guys, I'm gonna be home.

[Dan Rather]

Happy hoteling.

[Jennifer Buckmere]

Happy hoteling.

[Dan Rather]

Love you.

[Lauren]

Love you.

[Savvy]

Do you want to sing a tune or something?

[Kate]

We don't have a theme song.

[Dan Rather]

Oh, okay, great. We don't have a theme song for this new show. So here I go, go, go. We're gonna ask some random questions and with the help of armchairs we'll get some suggestions on the fire rhyme dish. On the fire rhyme dish.

[Jesse]

Enjoy.