Xu Y, a solo traveler from Australia originally from China, shared a deeply traumatic experience that occurred during her stay at a resort hotel. Shortly after checking in, she was assigned a butler named Usham, who initially appeared helpful—assisting her with her phone issues and offering his own device so she could contact her mother. However, the situation quickly escalated when Usham began asking inappropriate personal questions, including ones that revealed he had been watching her in private moments. Without her consent, he then sexually assaulted her in her hotel room.
Xu Y describes multiple violations, including being physically forced into unwanted sexual acts, groped, and ejaculated on. Despite managing to escape and reporting the incident immediately to hotel management, she says her concerns were minimized. Although the police eventually arrived and took a statement and evidence, Xu Y was told there was insufficient reason to arrest the perpetrator and was encouraged to leave the hotel before results of forensic testing would become available. The hotel, according to Xu, refused to support her further and even accused her of fabricating the experience to avoid paying. She paid the full amount for her stay and left the property feeling violated, disbelieved, and retraumatized.
This review serves as a sobering reminder of how vulnerable solo travelers—particularly women—can be in supposedly secure accommodations, and how critical institutional response is in the wake of such events.
