Phuket Hotel CEO Says 'No More Payouts'

[webfact]

Phuket hotel CEO says 'No more payouts'

Phuket Gazette

Phuket's Andaman Beach Suites CEO Sommai Phasee. Photos: Atchaa Khamlo

LUCKY LAST: Jim Nagi, who was reimbursed for valuables he argued were stolen from his hotel room.

PHUKET: -- The Andaman Beach Suites Hotel in Patong on Phuket's west coast, has confirmed that it will no longer pay any guest who claim their room was robbed without sufficient evidence, after a recent surge in cases, and a tightening of hotel security.

The hotel has paid victims in six of the past eight instances, all since July. In each of those cases, hotel staff or outside persons were suspected of robbing the room safes.

"In eight cases our guests’ valuables were stolen from their safes. That’s not normal, and it was a situation that I took very seriously," said Sommai Phasee, chairman and CEO of the hotel.

"However I do not believe that the thieves are members of my staff. I checked with all of them and I am nearly 100% certain that none of them are thieves. We even had fingerprints of 10 of my staff members suspected to be involved in the cases checked and the results showed that they were innocent.

"We started to pay out the entire amount of money [estimated value of stolen items], when an Australian couple, who are regular guests of ours, had valuables stolen," he said.

Mr Sommai explained that the hotel security at that time was not "perfect", because the room safe could be opened by a key, hotel code and guest code.

The safes used in the rooms at the hotel were brought from Mr Sommai’s old hotel, the Club Andaman Beach Resort, which closed more than a year ago.

"We did not reset the codes and that was reckless on our part," he explained.

The hotel also paid an American man whose safe had been opened with the "secret" code according to the hotel’s safe-record.

"We paid him because I did not want our hotel to lose its reputation," he said.

After the third and fourth cases were reported to the hotel, comments on the popular travel portal TripAdvisor started to make accusations that "you will be robbed" if you stayed at the hotel.

Mr Sommai believes that crooks seeing the comments have tried to take advantage of the hotel’s past lenient policy on repaying some of their guests, which was not the industry standard, as pointed out by Director of Rooms Thuwanan "Charn" Peanawan.

"The hotel in Bangkok where I previously worked had guests’ valuables stolen 10 times, and they never paid anyone," he said.

Citing the most recent incident at the Andaman Beach Suites, Mr Sommai said, "Jim Nagi even told us that he saw the complaints on TripAdvisor. I thought he was making up his story because he had brought visitors to his room without hotel permission and was always having issues that required hotel staff to come into his room.

"Also, he could not open his safe and my staff had to open the safe with the key for him.

"According to the safe opening record, Mr Nagi opened the safe quite often, sometimes 11 times in one day," Mr Charn said.

Mr Sommai has now created new safe codes and reinstalled CCTV cameras so those coming in and out of the rooms can be monitored.

"Now, I will not pay anyone who claims they have had their things stolen and do not have enough evidence," Mr Sommai said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article12157.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-01-31

[pepi2005]

Phuket's tourism managers must be well protected:

the islands' reputation has turned into the one of a hotspot for crime and mafia practices within just 2 or 3 years,

what an achievement! And that will take many, many years to repair.

[thaiIand]

well its sad if its true that people were scamming the hotel when its probably the only hotel in thailand with a ceo that runs it like a western hotel.

[steven100]

just goes to show ... it's not even safe to put your valuables in the safe !!

I guess the only option is to make sure the hotel you book into has the coded safes so you can change the code to what you like.

[belg]

the guy on the picture with bald head, does not look very credible...opened his safe 11 times? storing drugs in there ???

[scorecard]

just goes to show ... it's not even safe to put your valuables in the safe !!

I guess the only option is to make sure the hotel you book into has the coded safes so you can change the code to what you like.

No hotel, anywhere in the world is totally safe. Electronic key cards can be manufactured easily if immoral people want to get themselves organized, and at not too much expense.

All hotels have numerous doors which are potential for security breaches and in Thailand (and other countries) staff regularly place something to stop doors fully closing and automatically locking.

Hotel maids leave rooms open and unattended whilst they get a new supply of fresh towels etc., from the storeroom on another floor or at the other end of a long corridor, and of course, like all human beings, stop for 5 minutes to chat to their colleagues.

I always carry my passport and other documents with me, or put them in the main security boxes at the lobby of the hotel. I also carry a photocopy of all my documents located in a different place.

Edited January 31, 2012 by scorecard

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

When I read the headline of the post, I thought the hotel management was saying they were going to stop making payoffs to the local police or other types....

Now THAT would have been big news... But alas, they're only going to stop paying off to guests when their belongings are stolen from the hotel safes... or at least alleged to be...

Frankly, after reading the explanation of the hotel CEO, it would make me NOT want to stay there....period.

[AmericanMike]

just goes to show ... it's not even safe to put your valuables in the safe !!

I guess the only option is to make sure the hotel you book into has the coded safes so you can change the code to what you like.

I am always surprised when people think safes are so safe. Even the coded safes are not safe. All safes have a method for staff to easily open--usually a key (the key area is hidden behind a panel on most coded safes). It's safer to hide valuables than put them into a safe as the staff knows exactly where to go if you put valuable in a safe. If the management believes the staff are honest, it possibly is someone else, but usually it is the staff indeed. It's funny that they even mentioned that they fingerprinted everyone as proof as only a very stupid staff person would leave a fingerprint behind. The fact that they even mentioned that as proof makes me wonder if they get this.

The main mistake hotels make is to have the extra keys behind the counter and available to staff. Only the owner of the hotel should have access to the keys or secret codes. If someone can not open their safe, they should have to wait until the hotel owner can return with the key. Hotel guests can be made aware of this so they'll know they'll have to wait should they forget their codes.

That would be the start for all hotels, but it's not usually done in Thailand (or most other countries). After that's all done, the hotel might consider that there are copies of the keys out there or that particular type of safe might have a flaw--some safes do have fatal flaws making them easier to pick--especially the cheap ones hotels usually buy. Yet, I wouldn't be surprised if someone who might have worked for the hotel in the past sold copies off all room keys and keys to all the safes in that hotel.

The survalence cameras will likely turn up some interesting things. Key cards for doors also can be slightly informative as most will keep detailed records of when people went into and out of rooms. While I'm at it, I should also mention another common area of concern are the hotel windows as I have found that usually windows in hotels are left unlocked and most guests don't think to check as they mistakenly assume no one will be able to get in through the window. I've even found many rooms with broken locks on windows so I couldn't lock them even if I wanted to. Making sure windows are indeed locked and NOT using the safes will help guests better protect their valuables.

[connda]

Andaman Beach Suites Hotel? Cross that one off my list.

[AmericanMike]

the guy on the picture with bald head, does not look very credible...opened his safe 11 times? storing drugs in there ???

Doesn't "look credible?" I hope you meant "does not sound credible"

[steelepulse]

>>While I'm at it, I should also mention another common area of concern are the hotel windows as I have found that usually windows in hotels are left unlocked and most guests don't think to check as they mistakenly assume no one will be able to get in through the window

>>It's safer to hide valuables than put them into a safe as the staff knows exactly where to go if you put valuable in a safe.

I read this autobiography, "Confessions of a master jewel thief" and he loved locked drawers in desks and safes so he knew right where the valuables were. He also entered from windows in tall building after going to the roof and climbing down.

[kpmsprtd]

I'm a frequent user of hotel safes, both the in-room kind that you code yourself, and the safe at the reception desk. So far, so good in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

[thaiIand]

best place to hide your stuff in thailand? under the bed. Have you ever seen an asian hotel (4 star and under, maybe even 5 star?) clean under the bed? NEVER EVER EVER.

Was in a big classy hotel in kualalumpur a couple months ago and under the bed looked the same as the 2star hotel i had previously stayed at. And that hotel serves 850 baht spaghetti.

Nothing safer than under the bed on the 55th's floor.

[jshorts]

just goes to show ... it's not even safe to put your valuables in the safe !!

I guess the only option is to make sure the hotel you book into has the coded safes so you can change the code to what you like.

Please do not forget that there is always a way for the hotel to open any safe. (Skeleton key or passcode) This is used in cases where guests check out and leave a safe locked.

[Chopperboy]

best place to hide your stuff in thailand? under the bed. Have you ever seen an asian hotel (4 star and under, maybe even 5 star?) clean under the bed? NEVER EVER EVER.

Nothing safer than under the bed on the 55th's floor.

Behind the fridge is my choice.

Sounds like a gang are working this hotel from the inside. The days of workers respecting/ being wary of a big Hi-So owner are well over, witness the rotor axe attack on Phuket hotel CEO just a few weeks ago. Unless the staff are scared of the boss they WILL steal.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Doesn't "look credible?" I hope you meant "does not sound credible"

No he means by looking at the photo the person has the appearance of a dishonest person. 1. shaved head 2. overweight 3. shifty-eyed 4. probably middle-eastern

etc etc

Most likely the last factor being the strongest.

[brianb1944]

the guy on the picture with bald head, does not look very credible...opened his safe 11 times? storing drugs in there ???

Thats a Quantum leap, "opening safe + storing drugs, and the suspect looked suspicious" puh-lease

[anterian]

Most cheap hotels in Asia simply have a hasp fitted to both sides of the door, the guest supplies his own padlock. If I wanted to hide something I would either use the toilet cistern or the ceiling inspection hatch. Inside the aircon is another good place.

[crusader79]

Doesn't "look credible?" I hope you meant "does not sound credible"

No he means by looking at the photo the person has the appearance of a dishonest person. 1. shaved head 2. overweight 3. shifty-eyed 4. probably middle-eastern

etc etc

Most likely the last factor being the strongest.

He does look rather the classic Phuket visitor.

[witsawakorn]

Doesn't "look credible?" I hope you meant "does not sound credible"

No he means by looking at the photo the person has the appearance of a dishonest person. 1. shaved head 2. overweight 3. shifty-eyed 4. probably middle-eastern

etc etc

Most likely the last factor being the strongest.

WoW Shallow Hall lives on!!!. I also think that he seems a bit dodgy but not because of any of reasons you've given ( where are you from to suggest that he might be dishonest because he is Middle Eastern? His surname sounds more like Eastern European.) I think he is a dodgy character because 1) he came on holiday with such a huge amount of cash which seems crazy to me unless he was up to something 2) He said that he was robbed twice but didn't report it the first time because it was was only A$700 and he wasn't sure that he had lost it which I guess means that he hadn't counted the money before putting it in the safe a bit strange I think. Despite what you think appearance wise he looks pretty boring I think.

[hawker9000]

I've never had anything taken from a safe, but there is a personal lock you can buy from an outfit in Europe (Germany or Switzerland I think - I forget which - shouldn't be too hard to find on the web). It acts as an add-on lock of sorts to the safe itself, so even having a house code or key wouldn't any longer allow the safe to be opened. Nothing's fool-proof though, so for a professional thief (with professional tools), seeing the extra-secure lock would probably just act as an additional lure and sign that valuables are surely therein. ('Would surely stop the casual "insider" hotel employee though.)

'Don't think I could ever bring myself to just hide my valuables under a bed, under a mattress, or behind a frig (no matter how dirty). Imagine submitting a claim to the hotel manager having to say that's where your stuff was, in preference to the in-room safe or front-desk lockbox provided...). There are some other more clever techniques (which I won't repeat here, but which are not too hard to research).

Phuket figures as much in this story as the other details, and that place's reputation has pretty much fallen off a cliff anyway. If you worry about being a crime victim at all, Phuket is probably not the vacation spot for you.

[Roachiebkk]

Stayed in one the best renowned 5 star hotels in HCMC once and placed a parcel containing many thousands of dollars inside intended for a project. I've used these safes a million times but when I came home and checked, my generic combination would not open the safe...... somebody had been in and tampered with the safe, things moved around. I needed to get the concierge to open it and all was in order. Someone knew there was a large amount of money there and they somehow locked the system possibly from trying too many combinations. Strange affair that has since made me wary of such contraptions.

[steven100]

The guy in the picture told the manager he seen the compaints on TripAdvisor website ' you will get robbed '

So why would he check into a hotel that advised such ......

It doesn't make sense to me ..... something fishy !!