Hotel Rooms and Cleaners

[Mancs]

This is an odd one but I'd like to know your views. I'm in a 3000 bt a night hotel in Pattaya, which I have stayed in before. My favourite man mentioned he collected the 7/11 stamps so I had got a few out of my bag to give to him and left them on the table. After the cleaners had done the room they had disappeared. The next day I left a couple more on the table. They disappeared too after the cleaners had been. Obviously the amount is trivial but I'm irritated as I was saving them for the man. Decades ago I cleaned hotel rooms in a small gay hotel in the uk. If I had taken the (green shield?) stamps from a customer's room I'm sure the manager would have sacked me. Despite the amount being tiny it puts the question in my mind as to whether I can trust the room safe to remain untouched by the hotel staff when I'm out. That's the reason why hotel room cleaners can tidy but not remove anything which isn't obviously rubbish. My inclination is to do nothing but my usual tip to room cleaners, who often get nothing, as I know from when I did the job, just evaporated. Your thoughts?

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[arsenal]

A very interesting question. My experience is that cleaners in hotels seem to follow a very similar modus operandi. Valuables are only likely to be stolen if they are hidden away so a mobile phone left on the table (plugged in is always a good idea) is very unlikely to be taken. If, however it's buried in a bag then there's a good chance it will be. The cleaners in the hotel where I stay will take things (almost worthless items) if it's is not clear how many there are. If my coffee sachets are left in the box then one will be taken (ridiculous I know) but if they're laid out like soldiers then none will disappear. I left a carton of 7 packets of cigarettes on the dresser and sure enough, one packet went but if I had been bothered to take them out and arrange them neatly then it's unlikely any would have gone. But, I agree with you...it ;eaves a rather nasty taste in the mouth. Your little stamps are an obvious take because it's so easy for the cleaner to say she thought they were rubbish should you complain.


As a side point to this. My hotel has taken away the mini bar and now if you want a drink you call room service and they deliver it to your room. I asked about this and I was told that the Chinese drink the cans and then don't want to pay for them. This is not my experience of the Chinese. My belief is that it' was the cleaners who were taking them from the rooms and then the Chinese tourists were presented with the bill.

[Mancs]

An experience in a hotel in Saigon fits in with yours. With no safe in the room I had left some cash in an envelope in my bag-not a large amount. There were several different currencies. One larger denomination note from each currency was stolen-about $65 USD in value altogether. The manager checked the cctv, saw one of their doorman had gone in the room and refunded me half of it.

[latintopxxx]

I have a very simple low cost solution. I simply keep my valuables locked either in the room safe or in my carry on luggage. When I say valuables I mean stuff like passport, cards, small amounts of cash. I travel light, no real valuables such as $800 watches or cameras or gold rings.

[Couple]

The issue with Chinese not wanting to pay for drinks from the mini bar is a known issue in the industry. So be careful with blaming that on staff.
I have never had anything been missing, valuables are in the safe or a locked suite case. Smaller items never seen missing.

My only bad experience has been with my personal staff. One had his nephew help him and replace him a few times and that's hen stuff went missing (Only realising it too late). The last time it happened, we had proof of it and we comforted our staff member. He went furious calling his nephew to ask if he stole something, and yes he did admit. He had to return it immediately, but was too ashamed and afraid, but still had to come of his uncle. We got the thing back, but it needed repairs and replacement of the SIM card, which had to be paid in full (half a month salary for them), no excuses and I made them pay. All previous missing stuff (and yes a watch is one of the items) is gone and we let that pass.

[a447]

I don't trust hotel staff, nor do I trust the in-room safe. I reported in another thread about the time a staff member of a hotel in Siem Reap stole my mobile phone from the safe. I was under the impression that only the hotel manager had the master key, but apparently in this case the staff of young guys were able to gain access to it. Also, reception was often unattended during the day and anyone could just walk in off the street and grab a room key.

Some hotel staff are not give proper training and do not know how to deal with foreigners. I'm sure there are times when, for example, they do not know what is rubbish and what isn't. The staff probably assumed foreigners who are rich wouldn't bother collecting something so trivial as 7/11 stamps and so treated them as rubbish.

I left some dirty laundry in a laundry bag on the floor of my hotel in Hanoi, only to find it had gone missing. The staff found it in a bin outside the hotel. The cleaners thought it was rubbish. And that was in a nice hotel, not some cheap mobile

A few years ago I bought a Samsonite suitcase. It was advertised as the world's lightest and hardly weighed anything at all. Just what I needed. When I collected it from the carousel after my first trip with it I found it had been taped up by the airline. Something had struck the zip and it had just all come undone. A worker at the airport fixed it for me then took out a pen, stuck it through the zip and
was able to open it. No security whatsoever. So I've always been aware that staff could get into it and so have always had the safe.

I had to go out and buy a new suitcase without a zip for my upcoming trip. There's no way you can get into it - you would have to steal the suitcase itself. Maybe that offers some protection.

So although I don't trust the staff I can't recall ever having anything stolen in a hotel, apart from my mobile.

[Couple]

A few years ago I bought a Samsonite suitcase. It was advertised as the world's lightest and hardly weighed anything at all. Just what I needed. When I collected it from the carousel after my first trip with it I found it had been taped up by the airline. Something had struck the zip and it had just all come undone. A worker at the airport fixed it for me then took out a pen, stuck it through the zip and
was able to open it. No security whatsoever. So I've always been aware that staff could get into it and so have always had the safe.

I had to go out and buy a new suitcase without a zip for my upcoming trip. There's no way you can get into it - you would have to steal the suitcase itself. Maybe that offers some protection.
.

Well the suitcase problem is very know to me, had the same issue once when it was 2,5 years old. I complained to samsonite about this and they acknowledged their first series had this problem indeed. I got a full refund on mine to buy a new one to my choice.

You write there is no way to get in ur new suite case, be aware of this...all locks on suite cases have a system they can be opened by security/custom people to screen and check bags if needed. So every single suite case can be opened if wanted. ;-)

[a447]

Yeah, I know those tsa locks can be opened with a special key. Hopefully, hotel staff don't have access to these keys. Mind you, in this day and age, who knows?? Lol

[arsenal]

Well if they really wanted to they could probably take a look at your suitcase then use your mobile/laptop/i-pad to go online and watch a video on youtube to find out how to open it.

[fountainhall]

I cannot count the number of hotel rooms I have stayed in over the decades. I guess I must be lucky because I do not recall anything being nicked anywhere in the world. If it's a good hotel with 3-stars or above, I trust the hotel safe, although never have much in it - certainly little cash. If there is no safe or I think it may be dodgy, I lock valuables in my bag. Since I travel a lot, I don't stint on the type of luggage I use for travel. Until the lighter luggage appeared, I used a hard shell Samsonite with both a combination and key locks. Now I have Tumi mid-size and carry on bags - expensive but 30% off in a sale! I'd never leave things like cash, cameras, phones etc. visible inside the case. They're stuffed into shoes, socks, dirty laundry etc. Yes it could be forced open but I have never once noticed anything on any bag that has indicated tampering.

The emptying of minibars is sometimes a pain. The 4-star hotel I have used in Hong Kong for several years has now gone that way. I was told this was because many Chinese tourists deny they had taken any items. Given that the staff have never taken even a piece of paper from my desk in that hotel, I doubt very much that they were nicking from the fridges. What I don't understand is why hotels don't install the type of refrigerators common in some Japanese hotels. If guests think they might want to use the minibar, they get an extra key to open it. As soon as an item is even partially withdrawn, it is automatically added to the bill. And it cannot be replaced.