jelane

These long holidays I just want to take certain things with me, may not be expensive jewelry but I don't want it lifted. Do you have any issues with what you put in the hotel safe or do you just leave all the good stuff at home....

Hans

Never had anything missing from a hotel safe. Actually I also had never anything missing from a hotel room either with the exception of a very basic hostel.

Steve_James

I leave all the good stuff at home

Rhea58

No issues; nor do I travel w/anything I would miss losing.

adeben

I have never lost anything from any hotel room in which I have stayed, but I've only been in about 300, so there's still a chance if I keep travelling for a few more years.

Luisah

I frequently use hotel safes for my airline tickets, passport (I carry a photocopy) and extra cash. I've never had anything missing. I don't take expensive jewelry or anything else that I'd hate to lose -- through my own carelessness or by theft. However, I have put jewelry that I've purchased on trips in the safe and it's been okay.

yk

I have never had anything stolen from the hotel in-room safe. However, I recall reading 1 or 2 reports here that someone had stuff stolen. I guess it's quite rare really; at least less of a chance being stolen from the safe than carrying it with you and get pickpocketed.

AAFrequentFlyer

Never had anything stolen from in room safes.

I suspect the few reports that we read about are partially the fault of the guest. Perhaps they forgot to lock the safe although they will never admit it. I've done that couple of times and thankfully nothing was taken but it happens.

LJ

Never had anything stolen from the safe, even the time I forgot to get my stuff back out when we left...the hotel kindly returned it to me when I called and gave a description of my mother's pearls (big, big 'oops'-never traveled with 'good' jewelery again!)

Travelnut

Note that most room safes are too small to house a laptop. And remember that the staff has access to the master key or code for all room safes.

AAFrequentFlyer

Access is usually limited to the security office or top managment. It's not like the maid has a code to open any safe.

Padraig

AAFrrequentFlyer wrote: "It's not like the maid has a code to open any safe."

I often leave stuff of some value in hotel bedrooms (most often a laptop and, most conveniently for the light-fingered, modest amounts of cash). Nothing has ever been taken. Human nature being what it is, I am sure that not everybody on the housekeeping staff of hotels is trustworthy, but I think the risk of stuff being taken is acceptably low.

Christina

I wouldn't ever take anything that needed to be put in a safe (I don't even own anything like that, actually, although I do have a few small diamond studs but that's about it). Why take anything on vacation that you need to keep in a safe, what's the point? So you'll have to go through a whole bunch of trouble just to wear some jewelry and then return it? Why even do that, unless you're going to some grand ball or something.

yk

I never take any jewelry with me on trips, except for my watch and wedding band (I leave my engagement ring back home). But I still use the hotel safe to put extra cash, passport, reservation print-outs etc.

Sometimes if I return to the hotel after sightseeing in the day, then go out again for dinner, I will leave my camera in the safe as well.

AAFrequentFlyer

<b>Christina</b>,

not everybody staying in a hotel is on vacation...

I never carry my passport around. I always just take one CC when venturing out, leaving the other 2-3 in the safe. I like to have couple of $K in cash during my travels but I don't carry that around either. Stuff like that.

I also always leave my laptop(s) out and never had a problem.

Connie

I know you asked about the safe but...

My teen daughter had her cheap souvenirs (plastic Eiffel Tower, etc) and an irreplacable chalk portrait stolen from her Paris mid level hotel room. Never could figure out why anyone would have wanted them.

francophile03

Yes. Of course, it can happen and does. Someone I know put her valuables in the hotel safe at the front desk and some items were missing.

SeaUrchin

An aquaintance of mine had cash not returned to her from the hotel's safe in Paris. She put in a large amount of USD and when she asked for the envelope, there was no trace of any records of it and she had a receipt but not for the cash amount, just for a few other things with it, I think her passport, which was returned.

yk

SeaUrchin - per your description, I take that this occured with a hotel safe in the reception, but not an in-room safe?

ParadiseLost

Poetic Justice &nbsp;
View profile
&nbsp;More options Apr 14 2006, 5:14&nbsp;pm
Newsgroups: rec.travel.europe
From: [email protected] (Poetic Justice)
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 17:14:07 -0400
Subject: Re: Hotel room safes.

From irwell's posted Ombudsman article:
&gt;Though we will never know how the
&gt;money disappeared from the Sgrois' safe,

How about; &nbsp;Housekeeping or another hotel staff member wipes the safe's keyboard clean before the guest checks-in.
&nbsp;Or wipes it clean and then sprays keyboard with a light film (furniture polish, hairspray, etc).
&nbsp;(These keyboards are usually plastic covered IIRC)
&nbsp;The next day; Guest puts valuables in safe, locks it with a 4 digit PIN and leaves for the day.
&nbsp;Housekeeping/staff either uses a woman's blush brush and a fine power to find fingerprints on the safe's keypad.
&nbsp;Or if a light film was applied the fingerprints could probably be seen if you looked closely (an angled penlight would help).
&nbsp;The thief now has the 4 digits of your PIN but of course not in order.
&nbsp;With a pen and paper they write down the combinations or put them in some kind of graph.
&nbsp;If your PIN number is 4 different numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) there are only 24 combinations.
&nbsp;If your PIN is 3 different numbers (1, 1, 2, 3) there are 36 combinations.
&nbsp;With practice a thief could probably pull this off in under 10min.
Regards, Walter

..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...