A Man Follows Her To Her Room At Tennessee Best Western. Then The Security Footage Reveals Something Terrifying: ‘Large Object In His Pocket’

Traveling solo, especially as a woman, presents some safety risks that travelers are very aware of. Or at least they should be.

According to a 2026 Solo Female Travelers Club survey, one of the top concerns for women traveling by themselves is personal safety, which 68% said they worry about. 

Additionally, almost half said they feared something bad happening during a trip. Dining alone also made the list, concerning nearly a quarter of respondents.

Those fears aren’t unfounded. A 2018 survey of 400 U.S. women found that two in five reported experiencing sexual harassment or unwanted interactions while traveling. Slightly more than half said they had felt unsafe while traveling alone.

One Texas woman’s story, which she says happened at a Tennessee Best Western, shows how something frightening can unfold after something as simple as an elevator ride.

In a video that has garnered over 354,600 views, TikTok creator Gracie (@graciejohnsn) describes the scary encounter and thanks staff at Best Western for taking her concerns seriously and assisting her.

What Happened At The Tennessee Best Western?

Gracie says she was traveling to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee for work when something terrifying happened.

“Hopefully anybody who sees this, if you’re ever in the situation, do something smarter than me,” she prefaces.

After checking into her Best Western and picking up dinner, she returned to the hotel and noticed a large group of men in construction vests. As she headed toward the elevator, a smaller group rushed to get in behind her.

“I don’t really think anything of it at the time because I just assume they didn’t want to miss the elevator,” she says.

But something felt off. “Ladies, listen to your intuition,” Gracies says. “Even though I had a completely normal… small talk conversation with them, my stomach dropped.”

Two of the men got off on her floor and went into the room next to hers. A third man stayed in the elevator.

About 10 minutes after Gracie got into her room, she says she heard knocking at her door. When she looked through the peephole, she says it was the two men from next door.

After she didn’t answer, they eventually left.

A little later, however, the knocking started again. This time, Gracie says one of the men stood outside her door while she could also hear knocking through the wall from the room next door.

“They’re saying, ‘Hey, you in there? We know you’re in there. Come out,’” she recalls.

At that point, Gracie called the front desk. The employee then offered to relocate her to a different room, which she agreed to. She then moved to the first floor.

Gracie thought that was the end of it. The next afternoon, however, the same employee stopped her and said hotel staff had reviewed the security footage from the night before.

What The Footage Showed

According to Gracie, the footage showed another man returning to her old room after she had moved.

“A man came back, stood outside my door, pacing, looking in the peephole, knocking, kind of just trying to get me to open up for nearly three hours,” she says. “And he had a large object in his pockets.”

The hotel employee allegedly showed Gracie a zoomed-in screenshot of the man so she could recognize and avoid him.

That was when she realized he wasn’t one of the two men who had initially knocked on her door.

“This was man number three,” she says. 

According to Gracie, security footage appeared to show that this man had seen her arrive at the hotel, waited outside while she went to get food, and followed her back inside when she returned. He was also part of the group that rushed onto the elevator with her.

“So I’m assuming there was some kind of communication telling him what room I was staying in,” she says.

The front desk employee apologized and told Gracie the hotel would do everything it could to keep her safe. Staff also offered to move her to another property.

Grace initially decided to stay. However, when she went out for dinner later and returned, she saw the same men hanging around the parking lot. 

“At this point, I’m very scared,” she says.

So she checked out and went to Nashville.

Before she left, Gracie says the front desk worker told her the men were linemen staying at the hotel for work. She says the employee contacted their boss about what happened, and the man was subsequently fired. 

Despite the experience, Gracie says she left the Best Western a good review because of how seriously the employees took her concerns.

“These ladies did such an amazing job of being kind and accommodating and doing everything in their power to make sure that I was safe,” she says.

How Can Solo Travelers Stay Safe?

Several viewers said Gracie’s story reinforced precautions they already take while traveling alone.

“I’m a flight attendant and if a man gets in a hotel elevator with me I leave. Every time,” one commenter wrote.

Another shared a trick they use when entering a hotel room alone.

“Always talk to an imaginary person who’s in your hotel room when you enter the room by yourself,” they wrote. “I always say something really loud like: ‘Hi Honey, I got us some food.’”

Because of the many risks associated with traveling alone, women have compiled plenty of lists with precautions they take to stay safer. Solo Female Travelers Club, for example, recommends researching a destination before arriving to understand the risks, sharing a detailed itinerary with someone you trust, keeping your phone charged and connected, and using location sharing when possible.

It also advises women not to disclose where they’re staying, to avoid telling strangers they’re alone, and, perhaps most important in situations like Gracie’s, to trust their intuition and leave when something feels off.

Others praised the Best Western employees for taking Gracie seriously.

“Shoutout to the ladies believing you and not brushing it off!!” one viewer wrote.

Best Western and Gracie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

@graciejohnsn little hotel story for ya @Best Western® Hotels & Resorts #hotelsafety #solotravel #hotelhell #womensafety #worktravel ♬ original sound – Gracie