I'm far from a frequent poster at FT but I figured this is the right place for an issue like this.

I'm currently staying with a friend at the Ramada Limited (at Lombart St.) in San Francisco. Having been out to some bars last night, I noticed when I got back that the door was not properly closed. I didn't think much of it at the time and went to bed. However, waking up this morning I realized that two laptops and my camera bag (DSLR + several lenses) were gone. The layout of the hotel is such that all rooms are easily accessible from the street-- it is one stairs leading from the sidewalk straight up to the area where the rooms are, so it is no problem for unauthorized people to access the area.

I am completely positive that we closed the door when leaving last night, and when I spoke to reception this morning, they said that we "probably hadn't closed the window properly" (as the windows are located just next to the doors). However, my friend is positive that he fully closed the window before leaving the room last night as well.

I'm off to the local police station in a while to file a report (mainly for insurance purposes), but I was thinking there might be a chance to have Ramada liable for what happened. What more can one do than making sure that the door and windows are properly closed and that the curtains are shut-- especially at an establishment with such easy access for outsiders?


Any thoughts on this?


Best regards