When violence broke out near his home, Rusesabagina brought his family to the Mille Collines, the hotel he manages, for safety. As other managers departed, Rusesabagina secured a letter appointing him the acting general manager of the war stricken area's premiere hotel. Despite some difficulty in getting the staff to accept his authority, he was able to use his position to shelter orphans and other refugees who came to the hotel. Paul let his neighbours move into his house for safety reasons. He described the hardships they faced, which included having to drink the water from the hotel's swimming pool. Murderous Hutu militia threatened to enter the Mille Collines, so Rusesabagina made sure his wife and children had a plan to flee in a truck located past the militia road blocks. He himself had to remain in the hotel because the refugees needed him. Rusesabagina and his wife discussed this decision for hours, because he had promised her he would never leave her in this situation, but he had faith in God and his wife that they would be safe. Rusesabagina wanted to stay however, fearing the remaining refugees would be killed and feeling that he would never be able to forgive himself.

The truck that was going to be used to take his family away from the hotel was forced to return to the hotel, never having reached the airport. Everybody in the truck, including Tatiana and the children, had been beaten. Tatiana was a specific target for the beatings because she was the wife of the manager of the Mille Collines. The Hutu militia knew she and her children were in the truck because of radio messages sent out by presenter Georges Ruggiu. Ruggiu was a Belgian who together with other presenters on the station urged the Hutu population to kill all the Tutsis. Ruggiu called Rusesabagina's family "cockroaches who were fleeing, but would return later to kill all the Hutus."