My friend turned our shared hotel room into her remote office without asking

My friend said she needed to answer a few emails during the trip. I pictured twenty quiet minutes with a laptop while I showered.

On the first morning, she set an alarm for 6:30, opened the curtains, and joined a video call from the desk beside my bed.

I woke to a stranger’s voice coming through her headphones faintly enough that I could not understand the words but clearly enough that my brain kept trying. My friend whispered through most of the meeting, which somehow made the room feel more like an office. I stayed under the covers because walking to the bathroom would put me behind her on camera.

At breakfast, she apologized and said it was the only time her team could meet. I told her it was fine.

It was not fine, and the lie immediately became tomorrow’s schedule.

She has another call at 7. Then she needs an hour in the afternoon to finish something. The hotel lobby has seating, but we have not checked whether it is suitable or permitted for her work. A coworking space, private room, or schedule change may exist, but availability and cost need current verification. The shared room is simply the easiest option for her.

For me, it means the room is no longer a place where I can sleep late, change clothes, or return unexpectedly. I paid half for a bedroom and have become a silent person in the background of someone else’s workday.

I know jobs do not vanish because a trip begins. She may be handling pressure she did not create. But “I need to work” does not answer “Where will that work happen?”

I need to correct my fake agreement before resentment becomes the main activity. Would you say no calls in the room before a set time? Ask her to arrange a private alternative for every meeting? Accept one emergency call but require advance notice? How do I draw the boundary without turning her work problem into a character judgment?