in room safe comment
 

A few years ago on check-in my room's safe was left locked by (a) previous occupant. Maintenance used a special electronic device to unlock the safe.
A week ago I was in a casino hotel, the safe was left locked; maintenance used a hex wrench to loosen a small metal plate (showing the safes manufacturer), and I believe he used a metal rod (about the thickness of a paper clip) to open the safe, by inserting it into a hole. This type of safe is not very safe.:p

in room safe comment
 

Yes. These safes are very easy to break into, but still slightly better than just leaving things on the desk or in your bag.

Yes, the hotel always has a way to easily open the safe. An ex-colleague of mine got some cash and cards stolen from his in-room safe in Johannesburg a while ago. Seems that the culprit somehow managed to get hold of the electronic key thing.

safes and locks "keep honest people honest". thieves take what they want.

in room safe comment
 

Many larger hotels have a real safe near reception. They often work like safety deposit boxes. It takes time - but if you have something that really needs to be protected (and bear in mind that you may draw unwanted attention using the hotel safe) that may be an option.

in room safe comment
 

There are numerous videos on You Tube that show how to open in-room hotel safes. Your valuables are safer in them than if you just left them out but if someone wants to get in to the safe it's not that difficult.

# + #, wait,

SUPER on the display

Enter 00000, and the door will open,

Unless someone changed the mfg, code..most do not,,

Feel Safe...

Never did quite understand the point of these other than as a revenue generator for the hotel. What are they saying? That their housekeeping staff isn't honest? That their rooms can easily be broken into by random strangers?

Oh...I know what they're saying:

"Dear guest: We've come up with another junk charge to add to your bill. Even though you didn't ask for this service, you'll have to opt-out of this amenity and the associated fee. We know that most of you won't bother, so we'll gladly keep the extra money! You're welcome, and thank you for staying with us."

For any hotel I've stayed in, the in room safe has ALWAYS been free.
In my post #1, the first type of safe seemed more secure (it needed a special electronic device to unlock it), than the second.
In casinos in particular, gamblers bring large sums and don't want to deal with the (inconvenience of) safes at the front desk--hence the need for secure room safes.
Even if a room safe is secure, what it's mounted to may not be: a drawer in a night stand (next to the bed), a clever theif:rolleyes: could remove the whole drawer.

OK, I'll concede the point about gamblers. Not being a part of that scene, I hadn't really thought about that angle. I'm talking more about the safes in Super 8's or Days Inns and the like at random interstate exits. What % of their clientele (which includes me, BTW) really wants a safe on any given night?

I only once was charged a fee for the in room safe. Even though I didn't use it--and wasn't even aware that it was in my room--the hotel refused to remove the charge when I argued that it wasn't disclosed during the booking or on my written confirmation. Of course, I've never returned to that hotel.

???

I've never been (separately) charged for having a safe in my room.

That's cool, but nevertheless it's still a thing that's done in many places. The safe charge is usually under $2 a night...not enough for most people to complain about, but if you multiply that by the number of occupied rooms on a given night, times 365 nights in a year...and you can see that it can be a significant revenue source for a hotel. If the upfront cost to install a safe is, say $300...then it's basically like printing money after the first year.

I've generally gotten it waived, and sometimes the desk clerk claims it isn't charged anyhow, despite the what the sticker on the safe says.

It used to be much more common to charge for such than it is today. Just like charging for the newspaper which you could tick a box on the check-in form to avoid or other miscellaneous fees. Now they charge for wifi instead; they know what people need. :-:

Well, no. If you put everything in a safe and the thief knows where the safe is and how to access it in 1 min it would arguably be better to not put your valuables in it.