Bkk Hotels' Safety Deposit Boxes ... Safe?

[FiboT03]

Anybody ever had a problem with cash or other contents stolen out of a safety deposit box at a BKK hotel?

TCs can be replaced, but cash?

Ideas?

Thanks

[ClaytonSeymour]

Anybody ever had a problem with cash or other contents stolen out of a safety deposit box at a BKK hotel?

TCs can be replaced, but cash?

Ideas?

Thanks

No, never had any problems whatsoever & I often have at least £1000 in cash in them, plus cards, plus TC's, cameras, documents etc.

[phetaroi]

Anybody ever had a problem with cash or other contents stolen out of a safety deposit box at a BKK hotel?

I would be more wary upcountry.

[FiboT03]

Anybody ever had a problem with cash or other contents stolen out of a safety deposit box at a BKK hotel?

TCs can be replaced, but cash?

Ideas?

Thanks

No, never had any problems whatsoever & I often have at least £1000 in cash in them, plus cards, plus TC's, cameras, documents etc.

Thanks. So far so good. Very encouraging.

Permit me to re-phrase ...

given the current worsening eco conditions and if you had to store ten times that cash amount, would you be just as confident?

[pumpuiman]

There have been many reports of theft from room safes in Thailand....I would definitely NOT put my trust in them.

There are many threads on this forum discussing the problem, and as I recall...not one person recovered their belongings.

I travel with a roll of duct tape, it works wonders when trying to hide things (underside of drawers, beds, furniture...whatever)

Put your cash in your bank....and carry your ATM card...problem solved.

Edited February 12, 2009 by pumpuiman

[thedistillers]

A safety deposit box is a prime target for theft. Putting a large sum of money in it is foolishness.

[britmaveric]

Small amount of dosh, smth you are not bothered if you lose it. However I wouldn't put any huge amount in there especially when avg thai salary is 4-6K a month. (too bloody tempting)

[Newguy70]

Never had a problem. Most of the newer hotels in the Sukhumvit area have the safe deposits linked to the front desk. In order to be reset at the front desk you must show ID, front desk clerk will then through the computer reset the safety deposit box, which keeps a log, and a backup. If you are not sure, just go down to the front desk at the hotel you are staying, tell them that you have forgotten you password, and watch the process. I guess anything is possible.

You could ask, what policy they have in place, insurance et...

However, I think Pump said it best "Bank=ATM or duct tape"

Edited February 12, 2009 by Newguy70

[ClaytonSeymour]

Thanks. So far so good. Very encouraging.

Permit me to re-phrase ...

given the current worsening eco conditions and if you had to store ten times that cash amount, would you be just as confident?

Which Hotel? How long are you staying? I'd probably open a bank account.

[UncleFrank]

Hotel room safes can be hacked.

Reports have surfaced where the hotel staff and security rob guests.

Police cannot be trusted and will collude with criminals against foreigners.

Even the safety boxes at the front desk have been tampered with in a place I used to stay.

TIT.

[UncleFrank]

Reports of theft here.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews...ong_Phuket.html

Warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is a small exert and travel warning for any of those planning a trip to Phuket over the imminent Christmas holiday period. Phuket is simply a trap for tourists - MORE THAN EVER!!!

We found some reasonably priced acomodation at a resort by the name of the Sea Sun Sand resort not far from Bangla road. Upon checking in late one night, there were plenty of friendly smiles at reception.

Having stayed at the hotel for a couple of days, we build up a level of trust and decided that the room safe with combination code would be a safer option than having to carry passports and cash to the beach day in day out.. this was a big mistake..

Each day I would check to see how much money I had left to spend before the holiday came to an end. A few days before departure I confirmed that I still had around $1000USD in funds available. I then locked the safe and as I had previously done in the past few days, left my room key with reception.

After dinner and drinks one night I returned to my room to find that $200USD had gone missing from the safe, unusually not the entire amount, and that nothing else had gone missing from the room. I reported the incident immediately to the night manager and he suggested that perhaps a lady of the night had stole my money, which of course was not the case as there was no lady of the night staying in my room!..

I then called my friend in the adjacent room and he also confirmed that $200USD had gone missing from his safe.

The very next morning we visited hotel security and found that the 24 hour surveillance video had been deleted in certain parts. As we were exiting the security office 5 other Australian tourists questioned us as to whether or not money had gone missing from our safe, as had with theirs!

It a short amount of time, the whole lobby was filled with international guests reporting the same findings.

We demanded to speak with the general manager and were conveniently informed that the GM would not return to the hotel until after we had left Thailand. Staff also refused to cooperate in providing us with the GM's mobile phone contact details.

At this point our group of victims visited the tourist police only to be informed that this is not the first time this had happened at this particular hotel and that the police were finding it very difficult to lay any charges against the hotel.

The group then returned to the lobby of the hotel to await the arrival of the police detectives which took the most part of four hours. We asked if we could make a call through to the police at reception and were told that we would have to pay extra to make a cheap local call, certainly no customer service whatsoever.

Finally the detectives arrived and we sat through a session of the daily surveillance video footage taken outside of my room. While the detectives did not question the number of deleted passages of footage, one particular piece of footage had not been deleted and mistakenly overlooked by the syndicate of criminal hotel employees.

The footage involved a house maid arriving at the entrance of my room with no cleaning utensils, entering my room, spending about 10 to 15 minutes in my room (clearly helping herself to my safe) then walking out suspiciously with the contents of my safe wrapped in a towel and not returning to my room. At this point, the detectives informed us that they would take the room maid down to the police station for further questioning.

The detectives simply escorted her to the front entrance of the hotel and at this point the detectives left the scene while we witnessed the house maid remain within the hotel compound.

The group of tourists were simply outraged by this. We stocked up on local beers and set up shop in the lobby of the hotel informing every other hotel guest of the incident and warning them against the risk of leaving money in the room safe.

The hotel F&B manager, security staff and even hotel tour operator accused us of being liars, threatened to smash bottles over our faces and then called the riot police.

Riot police (that looked more like thugs in police uniforms) arrived and also threatened us, pressuring the group to check out of the hotel A.S.A.P.

Clearly the hotel is well connected with local police and this system of fleecing tourists seems to have been established quite some time ago.

We clearly have no rights, the hotel is not accepting any responsibility and is clearly involved in a criminal racket of stealing money from tourists. The tourist police are simply corrupt and of no use.

This really has left me with a bad taste of Thailand and I do not intend on EVER returning."

Edited February 13, 2009 by UncleFrank

[ClaytonSeymour]

Reports of theft here.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews...ong_Phuket.html

Warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is a small exert and travel warning for any of those planning a trip to Phuket over the imminent Christmas holiday period. Phuket is simply a trap for tourists - MORE THAN EVER!!!

We found some reasonably priced acomodation at a resort by the name of the Sea Sun Sand resort not far from Bangla road. Upon checking in late one night, there were plenty of friendly smiles at reception.

Having stayed at the hotel for a couple of days, we build up a level of trust and decided that the room safe with combination code would be a safer option than having to carry passports and cash to the beach day in day out.. this was a big mistake..

Each day I would check to see how much money I had left to spend before the holiday came to an end. A few days before departure I confirmed that I still had around $1000USD in funds available. I then locked the safe and as I had previously done in the past few days, left my room key with reception.

After dinner and drinks one night I returned to my room to find that $200USD had gone missing from the safe, unusually not the entire amount, and that nothing else had gone missing from the room. I reported the incident immediately to the night manager and he suggested that perhaps a lady of the night had stole my money, which of course was not the case as there was no lady of the night staying in my room!..

I then called my friend in the adjacent room and he also confirmed that $200USD had gone missing from his safe.

The very next morning we visited hotel security and found that the 24 hour surveillance video had been deleted in certain parts. As we were exiting the security office 5 other Australian tourists questioned us as to whether or not money had gone missing from our safe, as had with theirs!

It a short amount of time, the whole lobby was filled with international guests reporting the same findings.

We demanded to speak with the general manager and were conveniently informed that the GM would not return to the hotel until after we had left Thailand. Staff also refused to cooperate in providing us with the GM's mobile phone contact details.

At this point our group of victims visited the tourist police only to be informed that this is not the first time this had happened at this particular hotel and that the police were finding it very difficult to lay any charges against the hotel.

The group then returned to the lobby of the hotel to await the arrival of the police detectives which took the most part of four hours. We asked if we could make a call through to the police at reception and were told that we would have to pay extra to make a cheap local call, certainly no customer service whatsoever.

Finally the detectives arrived and we sat through a session of the daily surveillance video footage taken outside of my room. While the detectives did not question the number of deleted passages of footage, one particular piece of footage had not been deleted and mistakenly overlooked by the syndicate of criminal hotel employees.

The footage involved a house maid arriving at the entrance of my room with no cleaning utensils, entering my room, spending about 10 to 15 minutes in my room (clearly helping herself to my safe) then walking out suspiciously with the contents of my safe wrapped in a towel and not returning to my room. At this point, the detectives informed us that they would take the room maid down to the police station for further questioning.

The detectives simply escorted her to the front entrance of the hotel and at this point the detectives left the scene while we witnessed the house maid remain within the hotel compound.

The group of tourists were simply outraged by this. We stocked up on local beers and set up shop in the lobby of the hotel informing every other hotel guest of the incident and warning them against the risk of leaving money in the room safe.

The hotel F&B manager, security staff and even hotel tour operator accused us of being liars, threatened to smash bottles over our faces and then called the riot police.

Riot police (that looked more like thugs in police uniforms) arrived and also threatened us, pressuring the group to check out of the hotel A.S.A.P.

Clearly the hotel is well connected with local police and this system of fleecing tourists seems to have been established quite some time ago.

We clearly have no rights, the hotel is not accepting any responsibility and is clearly involved in a criminal racket of stealing money from tourists. The tourist police are simply corrupt and of no use.

This really has left me with a bad taste of Thailand and I do not intend on EVER returning."

Whilst incidents like this do happen; they are rare.

Edited February 13, 2009 by ClaytonSeymour

[UncleFrank]

Yea, rarely reported.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Yea, rarely reported.

Why wouldn't people report this? I've stayed in hundreds of hotels around the world & have neither experienced this myself, nor even heard of anyone else experiencing theft from their hotel safe. Yes they do happen, but when you do the maths, statistically it's extremely unlikely that you'll suffer such a fate. Of course, if you choose to stay in down market establishments; the risk probably increases.

Edited February 13, 2009 by ClaytonSeymour

[bruceboy]

I would not put any large amount of cash in any hotel safe. Heard to many stories.

[Andol]

Reports of theft here.

Warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is a small exert and travel warning for any of those planning a trip to Phuket over the imminent Christmas holiday period. Phuket is simply a trap for tourists - MORE THAN EVER!!!

We found some reasonably priced acomodation at a resort by the name of the Sea Sun Sand resort not far from Bangla road. Upon checking in late one night, there were plenty of friendly smiles at reception.

Having stayed at the hotel for a couple of days, we build up a level of trust and decided that the room safe with combination code would be a safer option than having to carry passports and cash to the beach day in day out.. this was a big mistake..

Each day I would check to see how much money I had left to spend before the holiday came to an end. A few days before departure I confirmed that I still had around $1000USD in funds available. I then locked the safe and as I had previously done in the past few days, left my room key with reception.

After dinner and drinks one night I returned to my room to find that $200USD had gone missing from the safe, unusually not the entire amount, and that nothing else had gone missing from the room. I reported the incident immediately to the night manager and he suggested that perhaps a lady of the night had stole my money, which of course was not the case as there was no lady of the night staying in my room!..

I then called my friend in the adjacent room and he also confirmed that $200USD had gone missing from his safe.

The very next morning we visited hotel security and found that the 24 hour surveillance video had been deleted in certain parts. As we were exiting the security office 5 other Australian tourists questioned us as to whether or not money had gone missing from our safe, as had with theirs!

It a short amount of time, the whole lobby was filled with international guests reporting the same findings.

We demanded to speak with the general manager and were conveniently informed that the GM would not return to the hotel until after we had left Thailand. Staff also refused to cooperate in providing us with the GM's mobile phone contact details.

At this point our group of victims visited the tourist police only to be informed that this is not the first time this had happened at this particular hotel and that the police were finding it very difficult to lay any charges against the hotel.

The group then returned to the lobby of the hotel to await the arrival of the police detectives which took the most part of four hours. We asked if we could make a call through to the police at reception and were told that we would have to pay extra to make a cheap local call, certainly no customer service whatsoever.

Finally the detectives arrived and we sat through a session of the daily surveillance video footage taken outside of my room. While the detectives did not question the number of deleted passages of footage, one particular piece of footage had not been deleted and mistakenly overlooked by the syndicate of criminal hotel employees.

The footage involved a house maid arriving at the entrance of my room with no cleaning utensils, entering my room, spending about 10 to 15 minutes in my room (clearly helping herself to my safe) then walking out suspiciously with the contents of my safe wrapped in a towel and not returning to my room. At this point, the detectives informed us that they would take the room maid down to the police station for further questioning.

The detectives simply escorted her to the front entrance of the hotel and at this point the detectives left the scene while we witnessed the house maid remain within the hotel compound.

The group of tourists were simply outraged by this. We stocked up on local beers and set up shop in the lobby of the hotel informing every other hotel guest of the incident and warning them against the risk of leaving money in the room safe.

The hotel F&B manager, security staff and even hotel tour operator accused us of being liars, threatened to smash bottles over our faces and then called the riot police.

Riot police (that looked more like thugs in police uniforms) arrived and also threatened us, pressuring the group to check out of the hotel A.S.A.P.

Clearly the hotel is well connected with local police and this system of fleecing tourists seems to have been established quite some time ago.

We clearly have no rights, the hotel is not accepting any responsibility and is clearly involved in a criminal racket of stealing money from tourists. The tourist police are simply corrupt and of no use.

This really has left me with a bad taste of Thailand and I do not intend on EVER returning."

Same thing happened to me and my girlfriend in Cayo Coco Cuba Hotel El Senador 4.5 star.

200 ($280 CAD) pesos went missing from my "safe" they stole a few of my t-shirts and my girlfrieds bras and underwear.

When I went to complain, the staff at the reception talked to me like it was my fault. There I met a young couple from Montreal who had their wedding bands missing from the safe.

I traveled to Cuba before, and never had a problem like this. But after this time, I never trust any hotels their safety boxes nor their employees.

As a fellow before me mentioned, bank, atm, or duct tape.

[barrybike]

i never had any problems leaving money in a safe behind the front desk.where you have you own key to lock the box and then they lock it in a safe ..then you sign every time you take money out...some hotels have a seperate room for this ..well secured.. ....keep to hotels you are familiar with and you should be ok....travellers cheques are very safe but i never use them,heve to go out with passport and back to hotel with it again is bit of hassle.....i have often left the amount you are talking about too but be discreet when you are taking money out keep it in an envelope and bring it below the counter out of the staffs eyes when you are handling it...ive seen guys putting all their money on the counter for all staff to see ,stupid.....