Their valuables disappeared from the hotel safe — and so did the hotel safe

July 2, 2012

How safe is the safe in your hotel room? If you’re Steve DeLucia, not as safe as you think.

DeLucia recently checked into the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Copenhagen before a cruise vacation. He stored all of his valuables in the safe.

“When we were to leave in the morning, we slid the sliding doors that covered the safe and found that the entire safe had been pulled from the wall and taken,” he says.

That sounds like the plot of Fast Five, minus the drama.

He continues,

I immediately called security and up to the room they came. They, too, were in shock.

We were told this had never happened in the hotel before. I asked them to call the police, which they did, and a report was made.

I asked to see the video tapes for the floor so we could see who entered the room. To our shock they did not have cameras on any of the floors or the elevators.

When they did a door key history check all that was found was housekeeper — and us.

So what was in the safe? About $45,000 worth of watches, wallets and DeLucia’s passport, he says.

When he asked the hotel to cover his loss, here’s how it responded:

I am afraid that I have to inform you that the Hotel cannot assume any responsibility for the missing belongings, as the police report does not suggest any trace of the hotels involvement.

I trust you have reported the loss to your insurance company in order to have your loss covered.

I am so deeply sorry that this had to happen to you. Despite, I do hope that you will chose to stay at the Royal Hotel again or at any other Radisson Blu hotel.

DeLucia is disappointed by that response. His insurance will only cover a small part of the loss, and he thinks the hotel should take care of the rest.

I’m no expert on Danish lodging laws, but most countries limit the liability of an innkeeper, even when items are placed in a safe. That’s one reason I recommend travelers leave their jewelry and other valuables at home. (Update: Reader Vlad Ioan-Luca, an attorney based in Bucharest, says the law may offer DeLucia some options, if he wants to pursue the matter. For example, section 7.9 of Dutch civil law provides some remedies. I’m trying to determine if Danish laws have similar provisions.)

In cases like this, I’ve seen the hotel make a goodwill offer, either adjusting the room rate or offering a voucher for a future stay. A simple “sorry” just didn’t seem like an appropriate response to me.

I sent an email to the same manager, asking about this issue. He didn’t respond.

Now what? I could take this matter to corporate Radisson, asking it to look into the incident and ensure it responded to DeLucia appropriately. I’m not sure if I should.

If Radisson offers anything to this customer, it probably would be in the interests of good customer service.

At the same time, if a hotel is going to put a “safe” in a room, shouldn’t it stand behind it? I mean, what’s the point of having a safe if someone can waltz right into your hotel room and take the darned thing?

Should I try to mediate this case, and if so, what should DeLucia reasonably expect?

BobChi

I agree with all who say he should have had more insurance, should have left the items in the hotel safe, should have done several things differently. I also agree that the hotel should take more responsibility. It’s obvious the safe itself was stolen, and that should not happen. They really should comp him the room as a goodwill gesture, and that’s something Chris could mediate further. A big problem in doing anything else is that the OP probably has no actual proof he ever placed any of those valuable items in the room safe in the first place. When you leave items in the hotel’s safe, you get a receipt that says what you left. Here it could be anything.
Stephen0118

OP=original poster (i.e. the person the article is talking about).
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HMW3OTJSBDWWRKIEKEKWWM7BEA bc

I have one of those reinforced bags, I bought it on amazon, and it is awesome. It has steel cabling in the shoulder strap and wire mesh inside the body to prevent slashing and stealing the contents. The zippers have a clip on them which secure the pulls from being opened without using two hands. The strap also has a toggle clip that can be undone and wrapped around the arm of a chair or anywhere that prevents a quick snatch and grab thief as well.

I will not travel without it now.
Rosered7033

The thieves waited too long to use the cards! What a great story – glad your sister got her things back and has a great story in the end.
Michelle C

That was my first thought, and I would believe that had happened if the safe wasn’t ripped out of the wall. That was bound to make a lot of noise. Maybe an inn keeper’s boyfriend? I dunno… but that leaves a question? What is the cap of liability. 50K, 100K, 1 million? no cap?
SooZeeeQ

Thank you!
Michelle C

Maybe someone with an extra housekeeping key. I don’t know how it works… Does each Housekeeper have a key that is coded for them only?
gritchie1

Nancy… I’d agree that if Mr. DeLucia has retained an attorney Chris shouldn’t get involved, but the Bucharest attorney mentioned in the body of the story was just a reader giving his thoughts. Mr. DeLucia… I think you’ll find that you’re out of luck if you expect remuneration for items that the hotel did NOT see you put in the safe, but definitely talk to an attorney. Chris… Mr. DeLucia should be comped for the room and maybe a few kroner for his trouble, but anything beyond that is on him.
Michael__K

“he should have been smart enough to utilize the HOTEL safe and not the strong box in his room”

You and @RITom:disqus and @BobChi:disqus are all saying this, but I have trouble seeing the logic behind this advice.

Assuming this hotel even maintains a safe at the front desk, how much compensation would you expect if the watches were lost from a front desk safe?

How much smarter would it be to go through the production of removing or displaying the expensive watches at the front desk — at least in front of the hotel agents, if not other prying eyes?
Kevin Moller

Seriously, who travels with $45,000 of valuables? Period, end of story. Sounds like someone who has more money than brains. Hotel safes are about as secure as a shoebox with an elastic band around it. Why would you even ask if you should mediate the case?!?
cowboyinbrla

Travel in Europe isn’t always as convoluted as it is here. Travel between countries in Europe can be (although it’s not always) as simple as traveling between states in the U.S.
athenaf

What an absolutely awful story! I’m the person Chris helped last year when my bag was stolen off the Hotel Andra luggage cart, so I really feel for this man. He should have insured his jewelry properly with his homeowners insurance. However, if the hotel offers a safe, it’s making a representation that the guest can reasonably rely on the safe to store valuables. He used that safe just as he was supposed to. It seems to have been stolen because the hotel had lax security, a dishonest employee, or a maid who did not latch the door.
SoBeSparky

Most experienced travelers know you never try to look rich in a foreign country for many reasons, unless you have accompanying security personnel. First, you become an easy mark. Perhaps these watches were being worn upon check-in? Maybe they were seen with them? Second, violent crime accompanies Rolex watch theft. Peoples hands have been chopped off. It goes on and on.

Yes, if you travel with such baubles, then you should be well insured. Why would you trust a room safe when the hotel usually has its own safety deposit boxes in a vault which are far more secure?

The common sense questions go on and on. A hotel safe usually carries its disclaimers on the safe or nearby. Most of the time it says the hotel is responsible for zilch. Nada.

Who itemized the items going into the safe? What if I said I put $100,000 Euros in a safe and then claimed it was stolen? That is one good reason the customer’s insurance company bears the brunt of the loss. And if the customer’s policy does not cover jewelry (such as a watch in gold case encrusted with diamonds) because they were not on an itemized rider (common requirement), then why should the hotel?

Sorry, none of this makes sense. Hotels are not banks. Put your $45K of items in a bank next time, not in a flimsy closet safe.
http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.finger.37 Jennifer Finger

I don’t understand why he had so much in valuable items with him, and I think that that was poor planning, but I also think that’s besides the point. The point is that it should have been adequately protected from theft in the safe, nobody should have been able to take the safe, and the hotel should not just shrug and say “Sorry.” No matter what was in the safe or how valuable it was, that was NOT an appropriate response from the business who should have protected it.
Michael__K

“Why would you trust a room safe when the hotel usually has its own safety deposit boxes in a vault which are far more secure?”

I agree with the rest of your post, but I have to question this piece of second-guessing, as I have elsewhere.

How do you store the watches in the hotel’s safety deposit boxes (if this hotel even has these) without being seen with the watches?

Who itemizes and appraises watches placed in the hotel’s safety deposit boxes? What additional compensation can someone expect if such valuables are lost from the hotel’s vault?
Extramail

I’m having a hard time with this story as well especially given that I have left my rings in a hotel safe before and I thoroughly expected them to be there when I came back. But, those same rings are insured on a separate rider policy if only because they are worth more than the $1000 standard jewelry limit. I can’t for the life of me understand why someone wouldn’t insure that much in valuables all the time but especially if you are taking them with you on a trip. And, why would someone go to the trouble of taking only one entire safe unless they knew that particular safe was worth the effort? Were any other safes broken into around the same time frame? Does the hotel have a history of such thefts? Just fishy all the way around.
l2y2

I understand that and have traveled by car between countries in Europe. It is like crossing state borders here. But, cruise ships are notorious for requiring every single passenger to have their passport to get on a ship. His cruise was starting in Copenhagen. He doesn’t mention anywhere having had a problem boarding the cruise.
SoBeSparky

Just like in a bank, you put your valuables into an envelope privately and then into the box inside the vault. Why use the vault, which is common in many hotels? A vault is inherently more secure. While no one inventories the contents, neither is a vault easily ripped off a wall. A vault is not left unattended like a hotel room, as it usually is in an closed-off area adjacent to the front desk.

I do not know if the Radisson Blu has a vault, but if I were carrying $45K of jewelry/watches, I would certainly find out beforehand.

I am not just “second-guessing” these guests, but trying to figure out the logic of their actions or whom they consulted before they took $45K of easily transferable assets to a foreign country. Some of these writers to Chris have worn out all possible avenues of reconciliation with the business entity for a reason. Perhaps, they themselves failed initially to exercise good judgment, not the business.

Whether right or wrong, every complainer should get an initial dose of respect in the form of a prompt response from the business.
Cybrsk8r

Jeff Foxworthy: “It’s the portable safe!”
Michael__K

If the OP handed an envelope with $45k worth of valuables to a hotel employee to place in the hotel’s vault — and couldn’t get the contents back later (no brute force vault attack necessary) — I suspect commenters would be ridiculing him even moreso for THAT choice.

BTW, there are rare but occasional news stories where even banks experience safe deposit box thefts. If you read a typical safe deposit box rental agreement, those losses generally aren’t covered either. At least with a box rental from a bank, the customer typically keeps one of the deadbolt keys and generally has completely private access to the box in a secure area.
Joe_D_Messina

Well, if they had disappeared out of the hotel safe, he’d have a receipt and proof positive the items were there, which he utterly lacks now. Not sure of laws over there, but certainly here they’d be held to a higher standard of care by accepting the valuables, as well, thus they’d be stuck for the entire amount of the loss.
Joe_D_Messina

Chris, wondering if the OP shared anything with you regarding his property insurance claim? (Surely, he had this stuff insured, right?) If it were me I’d be making sure that claim moves smoothly along and let my insurance company go after the hotel (well, the hotel’s insurance company). And if there was no insurance, it’d be a huge red flag regarding his whole story, imo.
SoBeSparky

“Just like in a bank, you put your valuables into an envelope privately and then into the box inside the vault. ”

Sentence is clear; the owner puts the valuables into the envelope and into the vault box. Process I have always used. Assets never touched by hotel employee. Assets not available to maids, maintenance, bellhops, room service or other employees.

Of course, there is nothing foolproof. All we try to do is minimize our risks and maximize our opportunities. This traveler, probably unwittingly, took a series of risks and then felt the hotel should be responsible.
http://elliott.org Christopher Elliott

OK, folks – I’ve contacted Radisson corporate. Let’s see if we can at least get some kind of official response on this one. Thank you all for voting.
Michael__K

What hotel has a process where assets never touch an employee’s hands? I’ve never seen that.

Are you suggesting each guest gets their own locked compartment? If not, what prevents you from taking another guest’s “envelope?”
http://www.best-hdtv-bargains.com/ Sonya

If it is important enough, you have responsibility to keep it safe. I guarantee you that there is a statement somewhere that says use the safe at your own risk! What if you put your laptop in there and it had GB of company secrets? Do you expect the hotel to cover any loss of private information? Your company wouldn’t go after the hotel, they would lay you off.
http://www.best-hdtv-bargains.com/ Sonya

Exactly!
http://www.best-hdtv-bargains.com/ Sonya

It would be a great scam gig if hotels did cover such loss.
http://www.best-hdtv-bargains.com/ Sonya

It’s also a privacy issue. Some guests don’t want hotels to record who they been bringing into their rooms.
AUSSIEtraveller

Who says they are worth $45,000 ?

Did the items actually exist ?
TonyA_says

The Rolex in Chinatown is only $25 :-)
No one on the cruise would know the difference
TonyA_says

Wow, anyone who can afford that much in a watch does not need an advocate. They need a lesson in humility. That will feed a lot of people in Africa.
Michael__K

In my (limited) experiences with front desk safes, I don’t recall contents ever being inventoried in much (if any) detail.

I imagine insisting on a thorough inventory, complete with watch model types or serial numbers, might attract unwanted attention. Even if the hotel cooperates and you don’t lose your valuables from the safe, you could become a target as soon as you leave with them.

I agree that the easiest solution is not to carry valuables which you can’t afford to lose (I won’t even say leave them at home because you could lose them in your hometown too).
emanon256

Ha! That’s actually where I got mine! Under a floor board in the back of some shop on Canal street. $20 (it was a while ago) and from a foot or so away no one can tell the difference. I only wear it as a joke. I don’t want to attract the wrong type of attention.
TonyA_says

LOL. Funny thing is that those watches actually work.
emanon256

I got mine in the 90s and it still runs and keeps time. I wound it today after reading this story and it’s been running all day.
savtaro

We were in Panama a few months ago and wanted a safe in our Westin room just for passports. Finally a member of the hotel staff (small, female) walked in carrying our new safe! I reasoned that if she could carry it in, anyone could carry it out so we took our passports with us and ignored the unsafe safe. Caveat emptor! If it doesn’t look safe, it’s not a safe. But, as other readers have said, who leaves such huge amounts of money in a hotel safe????? And how does one go about proving the value? Answer is: one doesn’t and the hotel is surely not going to turn over that amount of money without proof of culpability, and that the valuables were there in the first place. Don’t intervene Chris.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Gore/100000957978287 Alan Gore

Radisson Blu is a very high-end boutique chain. I paid $500 for one night at the Zurich Kloten location last year. This sort of loss should definitely be covered.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Gore/100000957978287 Alan Gore

It used to be standard procedure to itemize valuables into the hotel vault, but so many hotels these days offer the room safe as a mandatory alternative. You could make the case that this customer should have used the vault if it were an option – but was it?
Joe_D_Messina

They give you a receipt when you leave a coat at a coat check. Darn sure nobody is going to accept a Timex and leave the door open for the guy to claim they swapped that for his Rolex.

And it wouldn’t take much of an inventory to beat what exists right now, which is zero inventory. I have doubts if the guy lost anything of value, let alone $45K worth.
Joe_D_Messina

What they really need at the moment is property insurance! I find it a bit odd that his property insurance claim isn’t mentioned in the letter. Why is he spinning his wheels with the hotel when he could just let his insurance company worry about that? Makes me wonder if the “missing valuables” weren’t insured. Hmm…
Joe_D_Messina

At $500 a night it would take them 90 nights to earn back the $45,000. Nobody, no matter how high end, is going to pay a claim like that based on somebody’s word.
Michael__K

Whether it’s a coat or a laptop, all I recall getting in most cases is a copy of a ticket stub with pseudo-random letters and numbers on it.

I have to rely 100% on the mistake-free diligence and honesty of everyone with access to the storage area. If they give me back the wrong item, it would be tough for me to prove.
jim6555

Some hotels charge a fee for the use of a room safe. If the hotel does so, I believe that they have at least some liability for valuables left in the safe. If a fee is charged, the hotel is implying that valuables left in the safe will be protected. Nobody would rent a car without an engine. Therefore why would anyone rent a hotel safe if it didn’t protect valuables. It will be interesting to find out if a safe rental fee was charged by the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel?
sershev

If passport was in the safe were they able to go on the cruise? Did they obtain replacement travel documents?
http://www.facebook.com/asiansm Dang Ph

She got everything back (Passport and jewelries too but not at 50K…) except some hundred Euros… The irony is if she hadn’t left the PINs with the credit cards, the thief would stay home and she couldn’t retrieve the Passport and jewelries, and, the thiefs not arrested. When we tell the story to the local Marseillais, they don’t believe their Police was so efficient. My sister is just lucky.
My point is some men expect women put their jewelries in the safe at home or at the bank, but the logic of my mother, aunts and sisters is jewelries are bought to wear not to put in the safe. Just having good home insurance (you pay a little extra for the jewelries) and you can wear it and have a peace of mind.
Rosered7033

Sometimes better than the real thing, if you ask my brother. :-/
Lyn Clarke

OK- Unless the guy is a jeweler, I can not understand the massive amount of items in his safe. If he is- then why would he not put it in the hotel safe with a signed receipt?
So- less think of an ordinary person- my safe is gone and with it are my passports, flight tickets, and some cash. Would I be calling the police? YES! Would I expect compensation? YES! If the safe is not safe- ie tied to the substructure of the building- then do not call it a safe. Call it a box. Let me know there is a real safe in the hotel corporate area which I can sign my stuff in and out of.
I would want the cost and expense of my new passports, the cost of reprinting my airlines stuff, and my cash + whatever I lost of the day I had to do all this paper work. OK_ so maybe $300? cash not vocher for a future stay in a hotel I will not return to.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Gore/100000957978287 Alan Gore

The problem is that this wasn’t just a “mysterious disappearance,” as the insurance adjusters term it. A safe was bodily ripped out of the wall. This makes a lot of noise and, at a property like this, would take special equipment. Clearly there was an inside security problem. I wouldn’t accept that casual brushoff.
Joe_D_Messina

You’d have proof you gave them something, whereas it’s just this guy’s word he had anything in the room safe. And the list of people with access to the hotel safe would have to be shorter than the amount of people who could sneak into a room. (Odds are it’s video monitored most places.)

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