I haven’t heard - were there any access controls on fthe freight elevator? Like needing a key or a keypad code, which would restrict it from being used by guests?
I can see the hotel not wanting to admit that any guest could have used the freight elevator at will, or that someone might have helped him.
He would not have needed a freight elevator. In every hotel I’ve been in, I’ve brought up my bags in the regular passenger elevator. It’s a hotel — nobody thinks it odd to see a guy with a cart full of luggage in the elevator or hall, at whatever hour of the day or night.
Using the freight elevator would have aroused more notice. Walking bags through the lobby would arouse zero.