The only time I have ever been accosted at a hotel, or motel, over thousands of miles of domestic car travel was in Albuquerque, NM. It was Christmas, and a man stepped out where he had been concealed behind an archway support and demanded money for gas when were were on our way to breakfast. My husband gave him $20, and he went on his way, thankfully.
Since then we have been careful about the motels we choose. We never stay on the first floor, with our room opening directly to the parking lot. We always stay at larger, more expensive, hotels that have all their amenities inside. We park in a lighted area and keep the car doors locked with nothing visible on the seats when we leave the car for the night.
Excellent advice. I traveled a lot during my working days and stayed in a great many motels and hotels, and that was a rule I adopted after an experience in a Holiday Inn in Jacksonville, FL. I was awakened during the early AM hours by a gunshot followed a few minutes later by sirens and blue lights. Next morning I learned that a man had been shot and killed by an intruder in a ground floor room below my room.
I suppose the shooter could have gone up to the 2nd or 3rd floor, but he probably figured that the stairs or elevator would slow down his escape after the robbery/murder.
Sometimes, the higher dollar areas are not guaranteed. I stayed in a Hampton recently, south of Detroit. When I got the ironing board out of the closet, there were bloodstains on the inner door. Slightly unsettling.