BILLINGS — If you’re booking a hotel in Billings and have a local address, you could be turned away.
While some hotels have a policy in place and show a sign on the front door stating they will no longer book local residents, other hotels practice heavy caution to whom they book.
“We’ve had rooms totally destroyed. Furniture busted up, TVs busted up,” said Steve Wahrlich, who owns the downtown Best Western Plus Clocktower Inn. “I think there’s a hesitancy to rent overnight stays to people from the city in particular.”
At the Clocktower Inn, the policy isn’t black and white. Wahrlich said staff uses caution when allowing someone to book a room because the hotel experiences more vandalism from locals.
“I would venture to say it’s 90/10. 90% have been local, 10% have been travelers,” Wahrlich said.
Last year, the hotel experienced at least five cases of vandalism with damage totaling more than $1,000.
“A lot of times what we see is there is a correlation between local residents using hotels for some sort of criminal activity. Right? So, it’s not just vandalism,” Billings Police Lt. Matt Lennick said.
Lennick said police get called to Billings hotels for a multitude of reasons involving locals, such as drugs.
“If somebody sets up shop in a hotel, they’re going to be dealing or using. Probably both in that space,” he said.
Along with drugs, human trafficking is also a concern. Most hotel clerks are trained on the warning signs to look for when a guest checks in.
“To identify different language that’s used, body language that may present itself,” Penny Ronning, a Yellowstone County Human Trafficking Task Force member, said.
According to the Montana Department of Justice, 106 cases of human trafficking were reported in Montana in 2022, which is up from 68 in 2021 and 41 the year before.
Ronning said that seeing those numbers go up is actually good news, because it means law enforcement is catching the criminals.
But don’t worry just yet if you’re planning a stay-cation in town. Wahrlich says you’ll find a room and that they do make exceptions.
“It’s not like ‘oh, you’re from Billings? Bye,’ hang up… If you’re staying locally, explain to the people why,” he said.
