Woman smelt 'weird smell' in hotel room and found man hiding under bed

Daily Mirror

30-04-2025

A woman got a whiff of a "weird smell" in her hotel room and when she looked under her bed, she found the stuff of nightmares.
Taking to TikTok on April 25, Natalisi Taksisi told how she had been travelling solo and booked into a supposedly-secure hotel that "looked legit" and required a key card to access her floor, as well as her room. Returning to her room after a day exploring, she settled down to relax then smelled something 'weird' in the room.
"I came back around 7.30 p.m, unlocked my room like usual, took off my clothes, and lay down on the bed," she said. "And then I noticed a weird smell. At first I thought it was coming from my hair or the bed sheets, but then I realised it was coming from under the bed."
Deciding to investigate, she crouched down to look under the bed - where she was met with a horrifying 'pair of eyes' staring back at her. She continued: "I saw a man under my bed, and I started to scream and jumped to my feet. The man climbed out from under the bed and stared at me for three seconds.
"Those seconds felt like my life was over," she continued. Takasisi said the man then screamed before leaving the room. After screaming for help, the influencer reported the incident to hotel staff who in turn called the police.
"They found a power bank and a USB cable under the bed," the influencer said. "I kept asking the hotel, 'How did it happen?' and they didn't have any answer for me." Footage appeared to show Taksisi speaking to police in the room.
Speaking in a viral clip that has since been viewed more than 5.2 million times, the Ukrainian influencer said the incident happened in the APA Hotel and Resort in the Ryogoku Eki Tower in Tokyo, Japan.
The clip then cut to a response the hotel sent her following the reported incident. The message, reportedly sent to Taksisi, real name Natalia Khomenko, said: "I would like to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience cause to our guests regarding the incident that occurred last night.
"As a hotel, we believe that it is unacceptable that such an incident occurred in a hotel that should provide safety. The police's opinion is that the situation is the same as last night, and that since there is no video recording of the entry and exit, it is difficult to identify the culprit, so the case cannot be made into a crime and the investigation is difficult to continue."
Taksisi said she felt uneasy following her "nightmare" trip and added: "I couldn't sleep, and I was constantly on edge, checking every corner of my room."
The influencer said she contacted the hotel again for compensation and was offered $1,600 in damages. She added: "Now, I'm left wondering how someone could get into my room, how someone knew that I was alone in my room. And how can the hotel not take responsibility for such a severe breach of safety?"