DoubleUA

Dear all,

Some time ago I checked into a very well known luxury brand hotel for a couple of nights.
When checking in I stored all my valuables in the safety deposit box in the room and made sure it was locked.
After that I didn't pay much attention to my belongings until I checked out.
When I was packing my stuff and took my belongings from the safety deposit box I noticed a part of the money was missing.
The person who stole my money didn't take everything hoping that he/she would get away with it without me noticing. You know how it goes... You're always short of time when checking out...
Unfortunately I noticed and immediately I called the hotel management who sent the security staff to my room. They started asking me all kinds of questions and I just felt that they didn't really believe me... (I would probably also have strong doubts about it, surely they had cases of opportunists claiming the same).
Being persistent about my story they offered to call the police and I didn't hesitate to accept the offer although it meant I would get into serious time trouble... 15 minutes later the police arrived, asked me some questions and invited me to go to the police station which I did. The amount of money that was stolen was enough for the police to open up a criminal investigation. I told them my story, told them the safety deposit box was locked for 100% and how I discovered the theft and signed my declaration.
After that the police drove me back to the hotel, I checked out and rushed to the airport where I arrived with less then 15 minutes of check-in time remaining.
When the police dropped me of I did noticed that they brought some investigation materials and my declaration also gave them the opportunity to have a look at the CCTV surveillance tapes...
End of story? Surprisingly not...
A week later I received an email from the hotel management saying that they will take full responsibility, that the police solved the case and caught the thief (someone from their staff members) and that they will pay me back all the stolen money which they did in the meantime.

Until to date I kept this case very discreet, didn't blow a whistle on any social media channel and tried to peacefully settle this with the hotel group.

My question? What can I do in this case, what are my rights? Do I have any?
I know this thing is going to haunt me for some time especially when storing valuables in the room.

Would like to know the opinion of my fellow travellers.

Thank you.

obscure2k

I am glad that it ended well. Case solved.
Be grateful that the hotel and law enforcement were so cooperative. This episode may haunt you. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
I suggest traveling with as few valuables as possible. Use the in-room safe. The lesson learned is that everything worked in your favor and hopefully feel a sense of gratitude.

nrr

I once checked into a (casino) hotel. The safety deposit box in the room was locked; I wanted to use the box. They sent up an agent who had a special electronic device which allowed him to open the box.
I'm wondering how the box in the OP`s room was compromised--did the "thief" have one of these devices?
[Another possibility: a hotel employee planted a video device to record the combination for the safe(???).]

AldoNOLA

If I understand you correctly the hotel accepted responsibility and made full restitution. Authorities apprehended the thief and are presumably handling the matter in accordance with local law. In my opinion you're extremely fortunate and I'm not sure what else you are hoping for. Please elaborate?

nrr

The OP DID use the in-room safe.

mike2200

What are you looking for? Looks to me that the system worked someone stole something you got it back and the thief is in jail... All good great ending. Close the incident and move on

Jages

Interesting timing for this thread. I had a long discussion with a GM (friend) on this exact scenario this morning. I was interested to hear what the hotel's responsibility was as I was surprised to read a sign in an IC recently that the hotel takes no responsibility for anything left in the safe in your room.

Of course it depends on which country you are in, but according to the Inn Keepers Act in Malaysia, the hotel's liability is approx $150 USD if its in your room safe and its proven to be due to the hotel's negligence (staff stealing it is the hotel's negligence), and $1500 if its in the hotel's safe and again proven to be due to the hotel's negligence.

So if this was in Malaysia, the max you could claim from the hotel would be $150, and of course hopefully still recoup the money from the staff member who stole it.

Annalisa12

I agree. The situation has ended. No need to go any further.

Badenoch

You got your money back. The thief was caught. What else do you want? Additional compensation from the hotel?

Count your blessings. Put this behind you as best you can.

84fiero

What do you do? Thank God, Odin, your lucky stars, or whatever you believe in that you actually got your money returned! I can't imagine what else you could possibly want.

I'm sure there are variations but it seems to be a pretty common theme that hotels are not liable for valuables left in room, and have at best limited liability for stuff left inside an in-room safe. In many places this information is posted inside the guest room door along with other notices.

Fleck

You had the right to get your money back and you did. Congrats on that. Not the outcome I'd expect.

Often1

Not sure what OP wants. The cops caught the thief, the property made good on the loss. What more can be done? If you can't get past what's in the past, see a counselor.

For the future, don't travel with valuables if you aren't willing to risk their loss. It's that simple.

Finally, as this is a forum to provide travel advice to others, why not identify the property? It's hardly a secret and others might as well know that the property's in-room boxes aren't secure.

imlikeabird

Unfortunate events like this do happen. Best to be very cautious, even if you're staying at a first-rate, 5-star hotel. It's great that it has been resolved and you got your money back. Be very thankful as not everyone who encountered the same incident found the justice that they needed really.

jaimelannister

So everything worked out perfectly and you're sill upset? I think it's safe to say that everyone here is thoroughly confused as to what you're asking...

What, exactly, is going to "haunt" you about this incident? You can't possibly have thought that valuables stored in your in-room safe were 100% secure, can you?

paul4040

Just because there's a sign up doesn't make it the law in the relevant jurisdiction.

In the UK the hotel would have been liable for the damages if it was a locked safe, provided for the customer's safe storage of items.