Travelodge has apologised after a “disgusted” female guest found a hidden camera – in her shower.
Harmony Hachey, 23, was using the cubicle when she noticed a small electronic device hidden behind the vent.
On closer inspection she realised it was in a hidden camera which was pointing directly at where she was standing naked in the shower.
She immediately informed bosses at the Oxford Wheatley Travelodge, who traced the device to the janitor’s cupboard which backs onto the room.
The police are now investigating the incident, which has left Harmony feeling “violated”.
“I was absolutely disgusted,” she said. “I got a fork and stuck it in the vent. You could see so clearly it was a camera.
“I broke down at one point. I just felt so violated.”
Harmony travelled down to Oxford from her home in Edinburgh with colleagues last Friday as she was working at an event in the area over the weekend.
She explained: “One of the girls had a shower and then I went in.
“It was the first thing I noticed. I was trying to convince myself I was crazy and it wasn’t really there.”
“I had my shower and I just carried on as usual convincing myself I was crazy. I was going through scenarios in my head.”
After realising it was a camera she took a number of photographs as evidence and alerted hotel staff.
When the receptionist investigated she went to the janitor’s closet located in the main hallway at the back of the shower.
There, she found the USB cable attached to the camera, but it appeared to not be switched on.
Harmony said: “The boss was called and as soon as he saw the camera he took a plastic bag and took it out.
“After that the police came, they had a look at my pictures and looked at the camera itself and the vent.”
She then received a call from upper management, who told her it was there for maintenance.
Harmony added: “She told me to calm down and there was no footage on there. But no one had looked.”
After giving a statement to Thames Valley Police, Harmony tried to find another place to stay for the weekend, but ended up having to switch rooms.
She said: “I didn’t want to stay in that room. They moved the bed into another room.
“Later I got a call from customer services saying I was going to get a full refund and that was it.”
A spokeswoman for Travelodge confirmed that what appeared to be a camera had been found in the room and apologised to Harmony.
She added: “We can confirm that on Friday 28th August 2015 a customer at our Oxford Wheatley hotel made us aware of the presence of what appeared to be a camera in their room.
“The privacy of our customers is a matter of the highest importance to us and the hotel team investigated immediately.”
“While the camera appeared to be inoperative, we have reported this matter to the police and we are now supporting them fully with their ongoing investigations.
“We would like to offer our sincere apologies to the customer affected and will remain in contact with them to ensure the matter is resolved.”
Police have confirmed a camera was recovered from the Travelodge in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, for examination.
They added the flex from the camera was not linked to the caretaker’s room but was dangling inside the maintenance unit behind the shower.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “We can confirm that we did receive a report of a webcam being found in a hotel room at Travelodge, Wheatley on Friday night (28/08).
“A camera has been recovered for examination.
“Reports of this nature are very rare, but we always treat them very seriously.
“We are working very closely with Travelodge to secure as much evidence as we can and an investigation is ongoing.”
