3 hours ago, colinneil said:

Every time a hotel room is robbed, it is always a very large amount of cash that is stolen.

We never see reports of thefts of only a couple of thousand, always hundreds of thousands, same with so- called baggage thefts.

Why would anyone have 300,000 THB in cash when they are leaving Thailand in a few days?

The hotel room safe is the most unsafe place to keep any valuables. People should just stop using it. Safer to have important stuff like passports and cash with you - on you - all the time.

Unbelievable. Not the theft, but that hotel gave them 5000 compensation

Oh! This is scary. I hope any kind souls are able to expose the name of this hotel for the good of everyone here in case we have friends visiting Bangkok.

<deleted>... why so much cash in the box. Never heard of credit cards ? Or do they normally pay with Camels and they just wouldn't fit in the safe ?

The normal rule is that the safe should cost at least 10% of the cost of the valuables you are trying to protect 

 

I will hazard a wild guess that the carpet chewers were not aware of this rule, since they should have been stashing the motherload in one of these...

 

http://www.srisopon.com/details/chubbsafes/kingcobra.html

 

Just sayin na' 

Welcome to Thailand

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We carry duct tape when we travel. Cash, passport, credit cards etc get taped to the underside of furniture, or behind pictures. It's worked so far...

what an interesting video someone posted earlier on the cheapo safes, i for one will certainly never be using a hotel room safe again !! its time to take a leaf out of KataLil's book and invest in some duct tape......duct tape is the solution to everything :)

3 hours ago, ThaidDown said:

If all 4 digits are known then there will only be 24 combinations . 4x3x2x1 (I think)

A couple more than that...
There are 10,000 combinations for 4 ddgits:
4 digits = 9,999 + 0000 = 10,000

8 minutes ago, KataLil said:

We carry duct tape when we travel. Cash, passport, credit cards etc get taped to the underside of furniture, or behind pictures. It's worked so far...

Where are you staying at the moment ?

4 minutes ago, MeHere said:

A couple more than that...
There are 10,000 combinations for 4 ddgits:
4 digits = 9,999 + 0000 = 10,000

just go watch the video posted earlier the combination is a sharp rap on the top of the safe as you turn the handle.

16 minutes ago, KataLil said:

We carry duct tape when we travel. Cash, passport, credit cards etc get taped to the underside of furniture, or behind pictures. It's worked so far...

I'll have to start checking under desks and behind pictures... I wonder if I'll find any forgotten items !

8 minutes ago, Megasin1 said:

what an interesting video someone posted earlier on the cheapo safes, i for one will certainly never be using a hotel room safe again !! its time to take a leaf out of KataLil's book and invest in some duct tape......duct tape is the solution to everything :)

 

Except when you need WD-40...  

 

Duct tape is for when it moves, and it shouldn't.  WD-40 for when it doesn't move, and it should.

 

5 hours ago, colinneil said:

Every time a hotel room is robbed, it is always a very large amount of cash that is stolen.

We never see reports of thefts of only a couple of thousand, always hundreds of thousands, same with so- called baggage thefts.

And how often is the safe ripped out.

 

Decent hotel should have insurance.

So much money left at the end of a holiday...

4 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

Where else should you leave your valuables then? 

Maybe a pair of these could have been more effective in plain sight?

 I recently  stayed in a good hotel’in bangkok and they  had a safe room behind reception , just like a smaller version of a bank. I will  always choose  hotels for this option if travelling with cash and valuables. 

There are other options than hotel safes.  I would not put stuff in there that really needs securing - like large amounts of cash or jewelry.  I have opened bank accounts in a number of countries I have visited which I use for cash (being a cash-oriented person).  If it is a top end hotel they might have a vault -- that is more secure than the hotel room vaults.  You could rent a safe-deposit box at a major bank if you are in the CBD near a major branch or HQ that has them available.  Putting stuff in a hotel safe is only marginally better than putting them on the counter and saying -- take me.  If you persist in using the room safe - and it is bolted down... bring your own locking strap to add a second layer of security (i.e. it prevents the hotel staff from accessing the vault - which they can do - and do do when you check out if you have left it locked).

29 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Decent hotel should have insurance.

 

In fairness, we ask for it when we book those 400 baht rooms online.  Or book the cheapest room in a given class, anyway.  

 

"Som nom na" anything bad that happens to them (who ever then are) makes my day. 

 

Yep......i hâte them with passion

5 hours ago, colinneil said:

Every time a hotel room is robbed, it is always a very large amount of cash that is stolen.

We never see reports of thefts of only a couple of thousand, always hundreds of thousands, same with so- called baggage thefts.

 

5 hours ago, impulse said:

 

In theory, but how do you prove you put 300,000 baht cash, a 30,000 baht IPhone and a 500,000 baht Rolex in the safe?

 

My thoughts exactly.  Makes you wonder if people may have "fudged" the number a bit.  Say in this case the victim was ripped-off of 3,000 bt.  Well he can't prove it was 3,000 cash anyways, so let's just make it 30,000.  Better yet, 300,000.  Just throw a number out there.     

but they gave them the 5,000 baht with a smile, now the hotel only has 295 K Baht but who cares.

There are some real high rollers posting here!

I'm more of a cheap Charlie and a lucky one so far!

 

I've stayed in hotels throughout Thailand and never been robbed.

I use the room safe for passport and cash, but have sometimes gone

out for the day and returned after the cleaners have been to find that

I had left my laptop charging or my watch on the bedside table.

 

To be honest I don't care too much for watches and jewelry, and when I come

over to Thailand I send most of my spending money to my wife's bank, so there

isn't really much worth taking and it certainly wouldn't merit an article here!

 

If i were to make the news, the story would read " English man loses 150 baht watch plus 200 baht plus coins in hotel theft horror!!

 

5 hours ago, impulse said:

 

In theory, but how do you prove you put 300,000 baht cash, a 30,000 baht IPhone and a 500,000 baht Rolex in the safe?

 

Video with your phone with time and date embedded?

I'm the only one who has access  to my  room  wherever I stay. Never carry valuables on the street with me. Kept in my wardrobe closet that also has my personal lock on  that as well.

1 minute ago, Max66 said:

I'm the only one who has access  to my  room  wherever I stay. Never carry valuables on the street with me. Kept in my wardrobe closet that also has my personal lock on  that as well.

 

Haha... I love these 'it would never happen to me' statements..... 

 

Of course, other people have access to the rooms you stay in... there are so many different sizes and types of locks, keycard entry etc.. that you can't possibly cover the options. 

 

I can image the conversation... "before I check In, can I check your locks" and then moving to a different hotel and trying hotel to hotel until you find a suitable door which your secondary lock fits. 

 

I've never been to a hotel with a lock on the wardrobe/closet door !!!... 

 

 

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

I'm sure that whoever gone in to remove the boxes knew about the CCTV

and it's almost for certain that this is an inside job.... 

never ever an insider - would have friends and keys and codes and the like and take the loot the smart & clean way. I'd rather suggest some Arab friends who knew about the 2 (!) heists in different rooms

2 hours ago, wvavin said:

Oh! This is scary. I hope any kind souls are able to expose the name of this hotel for the good of everyone here in case we have friends visiting Bangkok.

 

I think you will find that all hotels have the same limitations.

1 hour ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

 You could rent a safe-deposit box at a major bank if you are in the CBD near a major branch or HQ that has them available.

 

I tried to do that in Bangkok and every bank I tried had a long waiting list.