Instead of changing your life due to this incident, have you considered getting some therapy? It is possible to get over phobias. You do not have to live with panic attacks. Your doctor can even prescribe anti-anxiety medication if it's that bad. Personally, I would just force myself into the work elevators for longer periods of time everyday until I got over it. That's how I got over my lifelong fear of heights. Let me tell you about a phobia. I would get queasy standing on a chair. I couldn't even watch heights on tv. That's how scared I was. Watching movies like Vertical Limit or Cliffhanger are traumatic experiences for me. But, I wanted to snowboard so badly that I forced myself to get on the chairlifts. My friends would hold my hands and I would keep my eyes closed until the last possible moment. Now, I can ride one with hardly a thought, unless it stops and even then I don't really panic. The point is that you shouldn't let irrational fears take over your life. And yes, I have been stuck in elevators before. Three times in fact. It happens. I don't really think that you should fault the hotel for it. I think they were very generous comping your room like that. Of course, that's just my opinion. Besides, this all happened really recently. I bet that your fear subsides fairly soon on its own as long as you don't give in to it. Good luck to you.