Theft at a Marriott
 

I checked in to the Zurich Marriott last month for a 3 day certificate stay. The front desk was very cooperative and not only upgraded us to the executive level but even gave us a suite. The suite wasn't ready and we were booked on a walking tour so the front desk suggested we leave the bags with the bellman and they would be waiting for us in the room when we returned.

So far so good. We came back from the tour, the bags are there. I notice that the outside unlocked zippered compartment where I had stuffed two weeks worth of my dirty laundry now seemed to have more room. I commented to my companion that the clothes must have settled since packing in Zermatt the day before and now there would be more room to stuff laundry in to the bag. I never thought of looking inside.

Our next stop was Scandinavia visiting relatives. This was where I had planned on doing laundry. When I unpacked and started sorting laundry for washes I realized that someone had stolen all my soiled undergarments and lingerie, plus a couple of shirts that must have gotten mixed in with the rest. Since this represented two weeks worth of laundry, it would be no small amount to replace. What stunned me the most was that this could happen at a Marriott.

I called the Zurich Marriott immediately upon discovery of the missing items. This was the day after checking out. I was put in touch with a man in their accounting department who "handles these things". He said Marriott would accept no responsibility because I had already left the hotel and because the door to the room was not broken!

Now I was really stunned. I have always found Marriott to be so responsive to their "Honored Guests". And with employees having easy access why would a door have to broken?

I can't believe that a hotel which just upgraded me would now ignore me. I think the information went to the wrong person.

My thought is to send a letter to the General Manager of the Zurich Marriott with a copy to someone at Marriott Corporate Headquarters. Do you concur? Who would you write to? What should I reasonably expect from Marriott?

I agree with Marriott. Once you left the hotel and more than a few moments of time passed, Marriott shouldn't take any responsibility. The time to be sure you had all possessions or to ensure that nothing was tampered with was as soon as you got the bags back in your hands. But in any event, certainly before you left the hotel.

Imagine all of the possibilities for situations where people have things stolen and (unlike your situation) are unsure where it happened. If Marriott were willing to accept responsibility in such situations, word would get around quickly and the floodgates would open for many, many invalid claims. I know you’re sure where it happened. But we all know that there are many others who would say they are sure it happened there if they thought Marriott would take responsibility.

Looking at it another way, it appears that you noticed the "settling" of dirty clothes after your walking tour and before going to your room for the first time. You then stayed at the hotel for three days and apparently never looked in that compartment of your bag. So it was only four (or more) days later upon arriving in Scandinavia that you first noticed the disappearance. Many (most?) of us tend to put our dirty clothes in one section of our bag. Your dirty clothes section now "had more room to stuff laundry". So you had numerous opportunities to open that compartment to stuff more dirty clothes in there and to find that something was missing. It would seem as though you would have, given that you had several more days of dirty clothes. There were also likely other opportunities over four plus days for the bag to be out of your control, including when it was checked (if it was) on your plane from Zurich.

So how can Marriott reasonably agree to take responsibility? I don't think a reasonable person or company would take responsibility in such a situation.

Interesting that you brought this up, as I was just about to post my tail of woe with stolen items.

A month ago I stayed at the Guatemala City Marriott for 5 days. On day 3 I contracted a horrible case of "Montezuma's Revenge". 102 fever, chills, the whole enchilada. When I checked out I was not in my right mind, so when the porter, a 70 year old man named Pablo, asked to carry my bags (duffle bag & laptop bag), I let him. We walked together to the parking lot where I watched him load my bag & laptop into the hold of the shuttle van and close the door. 3 more passengers were behind me, and everyone loaded their bags into the hold. When we arrived at the airport 10 minutes later and the driver started unloading...no computer. A ride back to the hotel turned up nothing.

Even though a Marriott porter was handling my bag, and loading it into a Marriott shuttle van, they were not liable as I had already checked out. If you have never been to Guatemala, the Marriott is like a compound...complete with guard gate. The parking lot was empty, there were no "street people" within the gates. It was early on a Saturday morning, so it was very quiet and seemed very safe. I'm still not sure how they did it. BTW the other three passengers also had laptop bags in the cargo area, but I guess mine just looked best!

Normally I watch my laptop like a hawk. I never put it through the airport x-ray until I walk through with it. I always carry it on the airport shuttle on my lap. I cable-lock it to the desk in the hotel. I mocked those who had laptops stolen, thinking they must be total idiots to let their laptop out of their site. In this one moment, shaking with fever, I let my guard down and became a statistic.

It was a company laptop so it was insured, but what a tremendous pain-in-the-... a theft is...changing passwords, wondering if you had any sensitive info on it, etc. I had a checkbook in that bag, so accounts had to be changed, etc. No fun.

The moral? You have to have your guard up 100%, all the time when on the road...even when ill, or in the most seemingly benign circumstances. And dont be too smug like I was...it could happen to you.

There is a silver lining however...thanks to my little Guatemalan parasite, I lost 15 pounds! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

PF

We had binoculars stolen from our room at a Holiday Inn in Corpus Christi and got absolutely nowhere with them. They kept referring to the theft as "our misplacing them" but they were on the table when we went to dinner, the maid came in to clean what had not been cleaned the first time (so maybe a little resentful??), and the binoculars were gone when we got back. Tough cookie. I wrote everyone and still had no response so I just don't stay at Holiday Inn anymore. Your choice also. Their standard response is that you could have put your valuables in a safe. Now, who would expect dirty laundry to be a valuable??

Pointfreak:

One word: Ciproflaxin. Really strong antibiotic; $5/pill by prescription in the US or about $1/pill in Mexico, no scrip.

Take one and then another 24 hours later if the first one doesn't cure things. If you travel often south of the border, I'd carry a few of these with you just in case.

Of course, your mileage may vary and be sure to talk with your doc before taking it.

Thanks for the med advice. After I got back, my wife bugged me for not going to the Doctor. I said "Can I wait to go until I lose 20?" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

PF