tuckerdc

We never have. But the thread on "What do you carry during the day?" elicited a couple of comments from folks who leave things back at the hotel, in the H. safe. Which started me wondering about it. Do you carry your passport with you everywhere? Or stash it in the safe? Pros and cons for either tactic? What else do you turn over to the hotel safe?

Statia

I use the safe for my passport (I carry only a copy during the day), any extra cash, backup credit card or ATM card, airline tickets, and other important items I don't want to lose.

ira

Hi tuck,

If you do leave important stuff (passport, tickets) at the hotel, leave them with the desk clerk to put in the hotel safe, not the little metal box in your room.

Tries2PakLite

If the safe is built into the wall, and allows you to set your own combination, then yes, we definitely use the safe. We stash all of our valuables that we don't want to carry or worry about. Otherwise, we use the hotel's safe.

elaine

I have been happy using room safes. If I'm going to worry about theft, I can worry as much about handing valuables to a front desk clerk as I can about my room safe being burgled.

I leave the odd piece of jewelry, passport (sometimes), tickets, extra credit card, cash from home, exposed film, anything valuable I don't need to have with me.

Travelnut

Grist for the mill:

Author: robbiegirl
Date: 05/02/2004, 02:50 pm
Message: This was posted on another credible site by someone:
Unsafe Prague Hotel: While in Prague in July 2003 a group of 21 students and three teachers stayed at the Hotel City Club, and all our rooms were robbed. . . . we returned at 9PM 6 rooms had valuables (camera, money, CD players, CD, change,....) stolen. The rooms were NOT broken into but rather keys were used to get in. . . . Also two other people staying at the hotel HAD VALUABLES STOLEN FROM THE SAFE at the same time! The desk clerk and manager did nothing but laugh at us and said they were not responsible for any loss.

Author: FlyFish
Date: 06/14/2003, 11:52 am
Message: We were in Venice and decided to take a short walk. I took the equivalent of about $40 out of my billfold for incidentals and put everything else - cash and credit cards - in the safe. When we returned the hotel had lost power and WE COULDN'T OPEN THE ROOM SAFE FOR SEVERAL HOURS.

Author: dugi_otok
Date: 06/14/2003, 12:57 pm
Message: Hate to put a damper on the safety of hotel room safes.
Friends traveling with us in Budapest had their ROOM SAFE BROKEN INTO while we were out to dinner. This was at a big time US hotel chain.All gone- passports, $,travelers checks, airline tickets....
Earlier that evening my friend went down to the lobby and asked how do you operate the room safe. He recalls, the staff members eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.So we suspected an inside job. . . . . (the police said that hotel safe burglaries happened before), the hotel manager made good by believing my friends- reimbursed them . . . . I will never leave anything of value in a hotel safe again.

Author: E_from_Texas
Date: 06/14/2003, 03:44 pm
Message: Well, I used to trust them, but now ...
I recently returned from Europe and stayed at the Hotel Cluny Square in Paris. The Hotel Cluny Square has a big issue with room key control and will give a room key to anyone requesting it. Noting this, I made sure that my valuables were either on me or in the in-room safe and that my suitcase was locked when I left the room. However, this did not deter a thief who gained access to my room with a key and BROKE OPEN THE SAFE. Filling out a police report in the wee hours of the morning was not the way I wanted to end my stay in Paris. So I would say, the best place for your valuables (and that includes charge receipts that may have your credit card number on them) is on your person. The best investment I made for my trip was a $14 money pouch. The only item they took from my safe was receipts with credit card numbers on them.

Robespierre

I don't differentiate between the little tin box in the room and the safe in the office. The risk is the same, the consequences of loss are the same, and the honesty of the employees (on the average) is the same.

Grasshopper

Now Ira, why do you say not in the room safe? Don't you usually set your own password? Are you assuming someone from the hotel will use a master key to take your things?

Travelnut

Grasshopper, did you see my post two posts up??? People have reported having their room safes broken into. Why do folks travel with 'stuff' that has to be locked up or stored? Passport/extra cash>>moneybelt; no jewelry, carry the camera, leash the laptop or leave it at home...I've never needed to leave anything in a safe, and have never lost anything that was stashed out of sight/mind on my person. No way I will part from my passport, of all things.

Intrepid1

OK..let's hear it from ALL the people who have used the safe in the room and had things stolen....

zbjoon

I leave my passport and basically all my money, credit cards and wallet in the room safe for the most part. I only feel safe to ask the hotel clerk to put them in the hotel safe in some hotels but not all. I carry a copy of my passport and some cash for the day expenses and one credit card with me.

In a hotel that is mentioned in this forum quite a lot I changed from one room to another. Just for experiment, I tried the keys of safe deposit boxes of the rooms in both rooms. The keys opened both boxes with no effort at all!!! I reported it back only to hear that the maid could not open the boxes and therefore they are ok!!! Hopefully that was an isolated incident. Some room safes seem more difficult to break into than others though.

Travelnut

Any safe can be opened with a master key. Also, be aware that your room may be left open during the day while the rooms on your floor are being cleaned. And while I don't mind giving the key to the desk clerk each day when I leave, I'm not fond of hotels that hang the keys where anyone can take them without requesting from the clerk.

m_kingdom2

I never ever carry a passport on me (unless of course I'm at the airport), it's pointless, and shops that require it...i get them to call my hotel who have details of the number. I leave a passport in the safe, a laptop (if I bring one with me), the bulk of my cash - usually 2500EUR for a week's European trip, and my flight tickets, and some cards too.

Robespierre

Many experienced travelers carry their passport number with them - possibly on the card bearing the hotel's phone number. It saves a lot of time for all concerned - the patron, the clerk, and the hotel people who handle the request.

But I do think that mentioning the amount of cash one carries is rather <i>declass&eacute;</i>.

I still harbor this vision of an unshaven guy in a vest smoking Weights and swilling working-class beer while he types in an internet cafe.

Chele60

All I can think of is....how many people have had items stolen from hotel room safes in the US? This is not something unique to Europe.

From what I'm reading on some of these threads is: leave valuables in the room and they will be stolen, secure them on your person and you will be robbed. It only serves to perpetuate the idea that Europe is unsafe and a hotbed for thieves. Same could be said of our own backyards.

Whatever happened to reasonable caution and awareness?

(And yes, I use hotel in room safes and have never had a problem. But then, I'm probably not a suspect a thief would pick out!)

Robespierre

If you keep your valuables with you, <u>you</u> can exercise some measure of control over what happens to them. You can limit your risk by keeping irreplaceable items in a belt. You can stay alert and aware.

When you leave your goodies in a safe, you have surrendered their safety to employees whose honesty you cannot generally know.

suze

I use my own empty suitcase with the little luggage lock. I am only securing a bit of emergency cash, maybe an extra credit card or TC's (my passport is with me). I know this is not foolproof but I could tell if someone had monkied with it and nothing I have is THAT valuable. I use this method in Europe, Mexico, Hawaii, etc. so far so good.

Grasshopper

I'm still picturing the guy who's &quot;eyes lit up like a Christmas tree&quot; when someone asked him about the room safe.

makemyday

&quot;...vision of an unshaven guy in a vest smoking Weights and swilling working-class beer while he types in an internet cafe.&quot;

Or an unshaven woman.

elaine

Robespierre, I agree that the remark was declasse, even worse it was transparently deliberate and unsubtle
I usually expect at least entertainment from Mr m-k

Yes, robberies are fairly random, after reasonable precautions one just has to hope for the best, that's with room safes, lobby safes, and carrying everything on your person. I have read specific precautions as well about not locking things inside suitcases, the idea being that a thief can exit a hotel room carrying a suitcase and not be noticed at all. So I guess the moral of the story is to do what you feel comfortable with and then keep your fingers crossed.