Tag Archives: Hotel

What People Steal From Hotels

Have you ever taken something from a hotel? How about travel-sized shampoo or unused soap? Hotels expect that and even see it as advertising for the hotel you take home. However, what some people steal from hotels goes beyond that. Some hotel guests steal large and expensive items like towels and robes. No doubt you’ve found a card placed on the hanger holding the robe that it can be purchased upon check out, this is an attempt to reduce theft and keep people honest. Perhaps the thieving hotel guests want to make their home feel as luxurious as a five or four-star hotel?

Wellness Heaven, the luxury hotel and spa guide recently surveyed 1,157 hoteliers to determine which items are the most commonly stolen from hotel rooms. The top five stolen items from hotels are towels, bathrobes, hangers, pens, and cutlery. According to Wellness Heaven’s below chart, hotel guests will also steal batteries, remote controls, and even lamps!

What people steal from hotel rooms

The overwhelming majority of hotels reported guests stealing:

1. Towels are the most popular at 77.5% of hotels surveyed, have you ever stolen a towel?
2. Bathrobes are the second most item that thieving guests can’t resist, 65.1% of hotels report.
3. Hangers just about 50% of hotels say these are stolen too.
4. Pens about 40% of hotels say guests take pens. We think pens with the hotel’s name on them are advertising for the hotel, hot just souvenirs.
5. Cutlery one-third of hotels report having cutlery stolen. Whatever is taken surely won’t match what the guest has at home.

Other High-Value Items Stolen
Coffee makers are stolen at 6.9% of hotels according to this survey. These thieves must have a lot of extra room in their bags.
Tablet computers commonly referred to as “suite pads” are stolen 8.2 times more frequently in 5-star hotels than 4-star hotel.

Hmmm, maybe theft is contributing to why hotel stays can be costly.

Hotel Room Luxury at Home

If you love hotel luxury, recreate the feel at home, start with hotel towels.
While most hotels use white towels, you can have the same luxury towels but choose from any color.

If you’re craving a new luxurious hotel-style robe, Amazon offers the best selection of hotel style robes. Think if you want a lightweight cotton or a thick terry style robe.

 

 

 

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Every “how to” article about keeping your valuables secure in a hotel recommends placing them in the in-room safe. So how safe are hotel room safes? Your hotel safe is a very good place to keep valuables out of view and it is a much better solution than trying to hide them in your room. So how safe are hotel room safes?  The answer is no hotel room safe is 100% secure, here’s why.

Hotel Room Safes Have a “Backdoor” to Gain Entry

All hotel room safes have a backdoor or “special way” to access room safes so the staff can get into the safe in case a guest forgets the code, or loses the key to the safe, or electronics fail. Some safes may use a master key or card while others may have a special override code to open the door. Either way, when a safe has a way for someone other than you to get in it, your valuables are never 100% safe.

If a dishonest hotel employee does take something from your hotel safe, it is always going to be hard to prove who exactly stole from the safe during your stay, and hotel management may not always be willing to cooperate, especially in foreign countries.  Worst of all, without any evidence, your travel insurance usually won’t cover your loss.

Here is a video of a dishonest hotel employee who gains access to a hotel room safe and removes only a portion of the money inside so as not to raise suspicion.  It takes place at a hotel in Spain/Canary Islands.

What You Can Do To Help Stop Theft From Your Hotel Safe

Employees know that many people set very simple access code—like 1234 or 0000.  A dishonest hotel employee may be likely to try out these codes making a passkey or override code unnecessary to facilitate the break-in, so the first piece of advice, make your code a random series of numbers like a birthday or house number that only you would know. The next thing you can do is use a theft deterrent device designed just for hotel safes.

Hotel Safe Theft Deterrent Device

One unique way to secure your valuables inside your hotel room safe is with a device called the Milockie Hotel Safe Lock. The Milockie is a special lock and strap device. It allows you to secure the safe with your own padlock, preventing anyone else from gaining access to your safe. The Milockie Lock fits most hotel safes. It is a deterrent and a layer of additional security that only you have the key or combination for removing it. Tip: the lock that is included with the Milockie is not robust, we highly recommend that you use a stronger padlock

The Milockie Hotel Safe Lock helps protect your valuables and provides peace of mind as it is a visual deterrent to hotel personnel or anyone else who enters your room. The bottom line is not to become completely paranoid about your hotel room, but to use your common sense. Don’t leave large amounts of cash or irreplaceable jewelry in your room. Always lock valuables away out of sight in the hotel room safe and use a secondary lock like the Milockie on the hotel safe to stop the safe door from opening.

A Portable Travel Safe is something you take with you to lock up your valuables. Designed to fit flat into your travel bag it is made with a cut-proof material and locks closed with a steel cable. The cable has an important second function as you can wrap the cable around a stationary item like a bed frame, exposed plumbing, or a clothing rod so no one can just carry off the safe with your valuables inside. This is a useful item for the office, a vehicle, or a dorm too.

Should You Be a Victim of Theft From Your Hotel Room Safe

Hotel liability is a confusing issue made even more so by the fact that it varies from country to country, from state to state, and from hotel to hotel. Unless you can prove that a property was negligent, you virtually have no recourse, even if the hotel cooperates and entertains the claim, following up on it—especially if the hotel is in another country—can entail an insufferable wait. That said if you feel that you have a legitimate claim and that the property was negligent, be persistent. And always file a police report as evidence of the crime.

Since hotels routinely refuse claims, explore an alternative source of relief: homeowner’s insurance. It usually covers thefts that occur while policyholders are on vacation, although you may have to pay a deductible leaving you out of pocket in the end. The solution is to do whatever you can to mitigate loss by using a secondary hotel safe lock, or by packing a portable safe.

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e best bet here is to never assume that your hotel door lock is secure. All sorts of people have access to your room, starting with cleaning staff. There are also lots of other ways to defeat hotel door locks including traditional lock-picking and key card magstripe locks. This is why they give you a hotel safe in your closet. Oh wait, people can trick hotel staff into opening the safes or just use a paper clip. The bottom line is not to become completely paranoid about your hotel room, but to use your common sense. Don’t leave large amounts of cash or irreplaceable jewelry in your room and make sure that you carry copies of your passports with you.

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Prevent Garage Door Burglaries

Do you sleep with peace of mind knowing your hotel room door is really locked?  Are you doing all to stop burglars from opening hotel room door? You may think it is hard to get into a hotel room without a key, but given the right tool, a little bit of time, and depending on the lock it can be done and done quickly. If the burglar or intruder has a passkey or passcode it is even easier and faster.

The Best Way to Stop Burglars From Opening Your Hotel Door

Pack a portable door lock to augment the hotel room door lock even before you start packing your clothes. It’s actually best to travel with two devices for your safety and the security of your possessions. The first device will help keep intruders out of your hotel room and the second recommended item will secure your valuables.

See for yourself.
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#1 Must-Have Security Device is a Portable Door Lock for Personal Safety

When you are in the hotel room always use a secondary portable lock. Below are some suggestions to secure your hotel door for peace of mind. Lightweight and small the portable travel door locks secure hotel rooms, dorm rooms, and homes by preventing entry even if someone has a key. Fortunately, there are various styles of secondary door locks you can use for additional security. Here’s a quick review of a few of our favorites. Not all door designs are the same or you may consider two different types of secondary locks to travel with to stop burglars from opening your hotel room door.

The Door Jammer – Portable Door Lock

The Door Jammer is placed at the foot of the door. Should the door be opened the horizontal force of the door swinging open is transferred to the floor stopping the door from swinging open.

Door Jammer portable door lock, to stop burglars from opening your hotel door

The Portable Door Lock

The portable door lock is placed in the strike place of the door lock in the frame. It offers resistance if the door is opened even with a key it works on lever style and knob style handles.

New portable door lock

Door Stop with Alarm

This travel door stop is the only one with a built-in alarm. It’s a doorstop you use to stop the door from swinging open. Should an entry be attempted the door will swing onto the plate pressing it down triggering an alarm. The alarm is 120 db which is loud enough to scare an intruder away and to wake you from sleep. The device has an on/off switch so it won’t accidentally go off in your luggage.Door Stop and Alarm portable door lock, , to stop burglars from opening your hotel door

 

 

#2 Must-Have Travel Security Device is a Hotel Safe Lock or Portable Safe to Secure Your Gear

Is your gear safe when you leave your hotel room? Secure your values while you’re away from your hotel room by using a tamper-evident hotel safe lock for securing your valuables. Use a tamper-evident secondary lock such as the Milockie Hotel Safe Lock on the safe. Hotels have passkeys or passcodes to enter safes for guests who forget their code. The passcode or passkey could be used on your room safe while you are out of the room and you’d never know that someone had been in your room and opened the safe.

If your room doesn’t have a safe, or the gear you need to safeguard doesn’t fit inside the safe, then plan on traveling with a portable travel safe. If you prefer, use a portable travel safe to secure your valuables. The safes store flat in your luggage and can be used in cars, dorms, outside, at home, and in offices too, long after your trip is over. A couple of smaller and lightweight portable safes we like are:

Portable Travel Safe Flexsafe, , to stop burglars from opening your hotel door Portable Safe, Flexsafe for Smaller Valuables

The Take-Away

Be prepared to protect yourself and your valuables. Keep burglars out of your hotel room by planning to use travel safety devices designed for safety and security while traveling. The bonus is you can use any of these items at home too.

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You need to be vigilant about your safety and security even in top hotels and resorts. While most properties do have security programs in place to protect their guests, you still need to know how to protect yourself and your family in case of an emergency as well as when just undergoing ordinary activities such as staying in and leaving your room. These are the top hotel safety tips that frequent travelers and experts agree on. These safety rules are simple and easy to follow. If you’re traveling with children share the rules with them and make sure they practice them too.

Upon Checking In

  1. Request a room that’s not on the ground floor. Security experts agree that staying between the third and sixth floors – where rooms are high enough to avoid easy break-ins and are low enough to be reached by fire engine ladders in the event of an emergency is ideal. Be sure to also make your room location preference known at the time of booking and when confirming the reservation.

 Entering and Leaving Your  Hotel Room

  1.  Don’t keep your room key in the key folder handed to you at the front desk upon check-in. The room key folder typically has your room number written on it.  If you accidentally lose or leave your key folder with the key in it, then anyone finding it can access your room. Our advice is to only take the key with you and leave the folder behind in the room.
  2. If you’re going to leave your room and don’t need housekeeping to come in then turn on the TV and hang the do not disturb sign on the outside of your door on your way out.  Now you’ve left the impression that someone is in the room who doesn’t want to be disturbed. This decreases the chance that a stranger would try to enter it.
  3. Your mother told you, and she’s right, never open the door to a stranger, especially if they claim to be a member of the hotel staff, and you’re not expecting them. Ask them to wait and call the front desk if they sent someone up and then verify their identity.
  4.  To keep hotel staff or anyone with a pass key or code from entering your room while you are in it pack and use a Door Jammer as a secondary lock. The Door Jammer is not only a travel security item but a handy security item for home, office, and dorms too.

The Portable Door Lock is also a great option. It works on inward swinging doors like those of a hotel.

5. Read the evacuation plan and make sure everyone in your room knows it and knows where you all would meet        up in the event of an emergency.

Internet Security

  1.  Once you’ve entered your room, you might feel a bit safer than in the lobby or a public place in the resort or hotel. That sense of safety translates to internet safety too. Yet your internet may not be any more secure than in an airport or coffee shop. In reality, you’re still using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. When connecting to the hotel Wi-Fi tell your computer that you’re connecting to a public network. The objective is to set your computer firewall to its maximum. Your best option is to use a wired internet connection instead of Wi-Fi. Never access banking or other personal websites from a public network.

Valuables in Your Hotel Room

Protect your valuables by using the hotel safe. Increase the security of the hotel safe by using a separate and additional safe lock with it.

Two reasons for the additional lock:

  1. A little-known fact, but many hotels do not accept liability for items left in a guest room safe, the an additional external lock increases the security of the safe.
  2. The mere presence of an additional lock should deter a thief from attempting a break-in of your safe and to move on to a room safe without an additional layer of security in place.

Final Thought on Resort and Hotel Safety Advice

Follow these six tips to enhance your safety and peace of mind while on vacation. make sure to share this advice with those you’re traveling with too.

 

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Technology has advanced so that photos on your cell phone can quickly help save your missing valuables while traveling. When anything is missing, lost, or stolen while traveling, it can be extremely stressful. Your cell phone can actually facilitate the return of valuables if you take pictures of your valuables prior to departure.

  • If belongings are damaged inside of your luggage and you have photos, it becomes easier to file a claim with the airline.
  • If anything is stolen, the photos will help you when you file a police report.
  • If any identification needs to be replaced, the photos will help you take swift action.
  • If anything is missing, a cell phone photo will expedite its return on an airline, at a hotel, in a restaurant, or a tourist location. Lost items are oftentimes turned into a certain area. You’ll have to be able to identify the item to collect it and cell phone photos facilitate those returns.

cell phone photos while traveling

Take Photos with Your Cell Phone of Valuables

What items should you take cell phone photos of prior to your next trip?

  1. Passport – A photo of your passport can expedite a replacement or help you while traveling abroad. Take two physical copies of your passport when traveling abroad, but please guard them.
  2. Identity and Driver’s License – Cell phone photos help expedite replacements or return.
  3. Credit Cards – Photos of both sides allow you to cancel credit cards faster so you don’t have to search for direct phone numbers or credit card numbers.
  4. The Exterior of Your Luggage – A photo of the exterior of your luggage can help the airline find it or help you file a claim.
  5. The Contents of Your Luggage – Don’t leave it to memory. Instead, lay everything out on your bed so you know exactly what was inside of your luggage so you can report anything missing.
  6. The Exterior of Your Backpack – A photo of the exterior of your backpack may help file a claim or to locate the backpack faster.
  7. Contents of Your Backpack – Don’t guess what was inside of your backpack, but guarantee what you have inside of your backpack.
  8. The Outside of Your Handbag – A cell phone photo will make it easier for a hotel to find your handbag, file a claim, or to identify an item for return.
  9. The Contents of Your Handbag – A cell phone photo of all of your contents or valuables will be helpful if you need to file a police report.
  10. The Interior Contents of Your Wallet – A cell phone photo of everything inside of your wallet will help you to cancel or replace any cards faster.
  11. Valuables – Cell phone photos of jewelry, watches, or rings can also accelerate their potential return or help in filing a police report.
  12. Cell Phone – Have your travel partner take a cell phone photo of your cell phone and its cover. You never know if someone will turn in your phone to Lost and Found on an airline or other location.

After You Take Your Photos

Be sure to send a copy of those cell phone photos to a password protected cloud location, your home computer, and a relative’s computer. An extra set of photos is important in case your cell phone goes missing. If you’re traveling abroad, you can quickly call your relative to access certain photos you need or access them from the cloud via your email account.

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