jbart74

I'm going on vacation next month for a week leaving and returning BOS. Staying at the CY Logan the night before departure and the night after return. Flying direct out of BOS the next morning for work.

I really don't want to take my laptop with me on vacation, too heavy, too easy to try to work on vacation etc, but I need it for my week of work right after.

So, what are your thoughts and/or experiences on asking the manager to lock my laptop in the office safe for the week I am off property?

I don't like the idea of shipping it, so that's not an option for me.

dd992emo

If I were the GM, I would probably say no to your request. Too much liability.

jbart74

Yes, that is certainly a possibility, dd. But one never knows with Marriott GMs these days. Some will bend over backwards, it seems, while others do their best to inconvenience you at every turn.

But you are probably right

hnewman

My work laptop never leaves my sight. If you decided to do it you better have a valid backup and insurance and an encrypted drive.

VA1379

I am willing to check a laptop for part of a day with a Marriott hotel. A week? No way. Take the laptop and don't touch it on your vacation. Besides, if you come back at a late hour, you might not be able to get your laptop back right away, due to restrictions on who has access to the office safe - usually a manager.

Also, if you have a really big laptop, it might not fit in the hotel safe - happened to me at the County Hall Marriott when I went sightseeing after checking out. I had to leave the laptop with them in the security office. Of course, the number of employees with access to that office is restricted.

jbart74

Thanks all for the replies. You have basically reminded me that losing my laptop just isn't an option, therefore, it needs to stay with me.

I appreciate the reminders!

John

CJKatl

John -

My laptop was stolen - from my house - a couple years ago. My company replaced it immediately and the person who robbed my home is currently in jail for breaking into both my home and a neighbor's home. Although he is on camera in both my home and using my neighbor's credit card at a Big Lots, he still claims he didn't do it and has not returned the computer. (If I was using a stolen card, would I be bargain shopping at Big Lots?)

Despite having back-up, it took me about 20 hours to reload every MicroSoft update, piece of software and setting. The newest documents and changes were lost and had to be recreated. At this point, I take the computer with me to the grocery store or lock it in my newly installed bolted-to-the-floor safe. Leaving it at some hotel for a week would destroy my vacation, as I would be worrying about it constantly.

Good call on taking it with you.

CJ

DenverBrian

Courtyard back-office safes aren't exactly cavernous. It's possible the GM would turn you down because there simply wouldn't be enough space to store your laptop. Or if there is, they'd have to remove your laptop every time they needed to access stuff in the safe.

Did you check on the size of the safety deposit boxes at the CY? There might be one or two that would be big enough for a laptop. A hotel safety deposit box, if large enough, would be a much more secure solution for a week.

vicarious_MR'er

There are many banks in the area nearby
Maybe if it is that vital to you NOT to bring the laptop then you could perhaps rent a safe deposit box there for a month?

honu

What about leaving a locked suitcase at the CY LAX on Century Blvd.? Has anyone done that? This would be so that I can avoid checked stuff on a one-week trip. Of course, there wouldn't be anything particularly valuable in the suitcase (books, dirty laundry, snorkelling gear which I don't need at my next destination).

DenverBrian

This one shouldn't be a problem logistically - hotels store boxes and luggage for groups all the time.

AMA

whatever solution you come up with, consider also:

* make a full backup of your hard drive before leaving home. Lock it up in a home safe(fire/theft).

* maybe take hard drive out of 'puter, take it with you on trip, lock it in room safe or front desk safe. Is small & portable, so no big deal to fly/travel with.

What's most valuable is your hard drive & data. Laptop can be replaced much easier than trying to reconstruct a hard drive.

All that said, I do like the idea of a locked luggage case, stored at the hotel while on vacation.

And, one more thing - if you do have your laptop swiped, but still have the hard drive, it will only work in a mostly exact same type laptop. Windows has low level config files tailored to the specific hardware on which it operates. Keeps it from booting up on other models. Sometimes even during a model run, hardware will change enough to mess things up.

GrizShel

I haven't been turned down yet when I wanted to leave some luggage behind for a few days - don't think I've done it for a week though.

Leave a small piece of luggage with your battery and laptop power supply inside and take the remainder of the laptop with you. That should cut out some of the weight and will likely keep you from using the laptop during vacation.

If your hard drive is easily removable, you could just take that with you.