I find the safes that have a coded number that you program yourself far safer than one where a key is used. With the key controlled safes there is almost always a duplicate key with the management and there have been reports of staff using these keys to steal occupants valuables..
I haven't used a key controlled safe for years now, I didn't know that hotels still used them.

Judith

hi ...Ive copied some posts I made a while ago....

This is the first

hi all....subject Ive thought about in the past...maybe some one with more knowlege can clarify things..
I always use a safety deposit box...and was told one time that part of the fee is insurance...have also read but cant remember where ...that if your box gets broken into you are entitled to ??? amount of compensation within ??? amount of hours...or before you leave the hotel....I have been given a receipt in the past which told me what amounts ect I was insured for...but cant properly remember now what it said...so I have happilly paid my £10 to £15 for peice of mind

When you pay a fee for your deposit box you have paid insurance....but what is the possision if you are given it for free and it is tampered with or been stolen from...

Being me Im going to tell you a story....I paid for use of a box....no key...make up your own code...buttons to press.....got given a peice of paper explaining how to use it...couldnt get it to work...so reception sent man up to sort it....he just pulled out a plastic knob inserted something in the hole behind it...it overode all the codes ect...door opened and it was working again...

every so often over my hols I had a quick check...kept thinking cant believe Ive spent that much...at end of hols there was atleast 200 euros I couldnt account for...but thought Id probably forgotten stuff ....though Im usually good at totting up ect

Then chatting with someone a good while after about hols I mentioned Id gone through a lot more cash than I thought I would have done
Havent time now but will tell you what I was told tommorrow

this is the second one ....

hi all...sorry but had to get off to work last night... but as promised Ive returned to tell you what I was told...

For my own and obvious reasons I cant tell you names places ect....but its from a very honest source...and it really did happen...and so am posting this to warn others....I have used these boxes every time I go away and never had a problem...and will always use one in the future but will in the future be taking more notice ...will be taking my own little cash box to put cash in before I put it in safety deposit box...and keep a peice of paper in it to note down what Ive taken out and how much is left each day ..

This is what I was told.....They had a free box in their room....they had taken foriegn currency out ..enough for about 4 days....they put a set amount in their wallet for first day...putting the rest in the safety deposit box and went out for the day ...not returning till tea time.......

on the morning of the second day they had a liitle bit of cash left from the previous day but still took the same set amount of cash from their safety deposit box ....and same as the day before went out not returning till tea time ..

on the morning of the 3rd day they went to take that days set amount ...in addition they had decided to go pay that day for an excursion.... so he counted that out to take with them as well....after counting it out it was obvious something wasnt right ...there was less money than there should have been....and they knew what they'd put in and what they had spent

They knew that by taking the cash for the excursion they wouldnt have enough for the next (4th ) day...and had planned to get currency the next morning to replace the excursion money and for another 3 days...

The next morning his wife woke with a bit of a headache ...so she took a few paracetamol and had an extra hour in bed...while he nipped out to get the currency...when he came back wife was fine and ready to go out..

He put enough cash for the day again in his wallet...and put the rest with the remaining cash in the safety deposit box....he re counted it all again as it had bothered him the night before...and went out for the day again on an excursion ....when they went back that night he decided he would count the money again...the box had been locked properly again with the key everytime he'd been in it...he was shocked to find the money had gone down...not wanting to cause an upset over something he couldnt prove....he left it

But the next day he decided instead to use some of the the cash left to pay for another excersion they wanted to go on.... and keep the rest on him...which he did... he decided to just get cash then as he needed it..

That would have been the end of the story if the wife hadnt left her rings by the bathroom sink...she'd left earings and bits in the room before...and nothing had been touched...theyd not got far from the hotel when she realised...and after the money going missing she was really worried ...and so they went straight back..

When they got back to their room they found a man in there with the safe deposit box open he had the big brown envelope in his hands that the money had been originally kept in along with their passports and tickets.....

The man who told me this story is a person who doesnt like trouble...but can sort it out if he needs to ...he kept the man there while the wife phoned the reception...she asked them to call the police....when the manager and owner came to the room they hadnt called them...there was an argument...my man said he was really worried ...he was on his own with the wife and there was 3 of them....but he stood his ground...he had put the envelope with theifs prints on in the wifes hand bag by then ...and began to walk away...when he reached the room door he told them he was going to get the police to sort it ...there was by then other guests around...and he felt a bit safer

Once the owner realised he would go to the police he looked worried ...began apologising ...said he would replace whatever money had gone missing....asked him not to involve the police ...said was all a mistake the man had gone to the wrong room...he was opening the box for some one who had lost their key....my man didnt believe a word of it but in the circumstances he accepted apologies ect ....the owner gave him what he said had gone missing ...and for the rest of their stay didnt charge him for drinks....but my man couldnt wait to get out of the hotel and was glad they'd only booked a week and not 2

The man had watched them leave the hotel together each day...it was very basic SC ...and most people went out after breakfast and didnt return till untill later to get a shower and changed to go out for for their evening meals and to the bars , clubs ect ...it looked like he was making a visit each day and taking small amounts...that the more you had the less you would notice

I really hope I am wrong...I hope it really was my mistake....and the same thing hadn't been happening to me....This was the first time I was ever unsure about how much Id spent...and no matter how mant times I wrote every thing down I was still was short...maybe Id given the lads a bit more cash than I thought I had ....but not 200 euros worth....

Sorry to be so long winded...any one else spent more than they could account for

I still trust using a box ...but will be more aware and take steps to avoid it happening to me if I can now....even in the nicest barrel of apples you may still find a worm

Thanks Tweets, very interesting.

I thought that the electronic safes were tamper-proof because once you had entered your code - only you knew it so how can a person gain access by over-riding your code and steal from the safe but when you look it is still closed as you left it and the only way you can open it is to put your pin number in - surely your number wouldn't work?
I was told that it is impossible for that to happen but maybe you know different?
Also why would a thief risk getting caught just to steal a small amount of money when there are Passports, phones, jewellery etc in the safe?

The electronic safes can be overidden. I had problems with one in Singapore. I always use the same numbers when I program one and on this instance the first time I tried to open it nothing happened so I knew I had used the correct numbers. Reception sent a workman to the room and he proceeded to open it, though it took him quite some time, I can't remember what he did but it took a lot longer than the one that Tweetie Pie mentioned but maybe that's because it was jammed. I still feel safer with the electronic ones than key ones, though the safety deposit boxes that I have used that are usually in a room near reception in many hotels, where you can only gain access with two keys, one held by yourself the other by hotel management are possibly the safest. They are a nuisance though if you forget something and have to keep running down to reception all of the time. There is probably a duplicate of your key somewhere even then.
Whether you have paid for a safe or not if it is provided in the room then you are covered for loss (up to whatever limit the hotel sets). Hotels will rarely reimburse for items stolen that are just left in the room when safes are provided.

Judith

hi...the best safes Ive used were on sanguli caravan site and its sister the la siesta site....they had a reception at the main gate on both sites....where they also had the currency exchange ect all in the same place.....there was a wall right opposite the place you changed your money ect...on the wall were the safe deposit boxes....right in full veiw of the staff....and outside was a permanant armed guard on the site gates.

These boxes used keys....and it was good to be able to take your cheques and passport only feet to change into euros...then take passport and spare euros back to put safe in box again....also you could take what ever cash you needed out from the box each time you left the camp.

somersetsuzie....I could be wrong but think the last code is stored till a new one is put in....think its a manual over ride like a key or tool of some sort....as man didnt mess with the number buttons...just took out a plastic bunge and used something through the hole.....maybe someone who knows more can clarify things....tweetie

ps ....the man who got caught in the box was known to the management and must have had access to a master key or duplicates of the box keys....since I posted this story I have heard of others who thought money had gone missing or spent more than could be accounted for....the theives who do this arent interested in passports jewelry ect...that can be identified as stolen if found on them or traced back to them.....dont want to loose their job and know getting caught could get them sacked and they would probably find it hard to get other work...they have probably been doing it for a long time....and as holiday makers think the boxes are safe to use and spend more freely on holiday....they have not noticed the small amounts of cash going missing each day....or just thought they had spent a bit more .... the theives havent even been suspected......10 euros out of a wad of 300 wont be noticed by the holiday maker....but how many could be done each day in a hotel....that individuals wouldnt bother reporting even if they suspected theft...its petty theft that could add up to a nice little safe regular earner ....could be seen as a perk of the job....small amounts taken from people richer than them ....

So rarthur than worry I will use small cash box for money that can be put in the safe ....there was a big disscussion on HT about special stickers you put on safe door that cant be peeled and put back...so you can tell if safe has been tampered with.....tweetie

Keypad safes also have key access for emergencies eg should you forget the code, you leave the hotel with things in there and they need to be sent on, or the battery runs flat.

The keyhole isn't that well hidden and is easy to access.

Safes - you decide!

Any insurance claim will ask if there was a safe available? If you say yes but don't trust them then I doubt the insurers will be very sympathetic. You have a duty of care and your personal feelings do not enter into the matter. There was a safe available - you opted not to take advantage then it is your responsibility.

Any safe you use will have a means of access in case the key/code is lost, or the client just decides to bring the key home with them. Not unusual.

fwh

Not true, In most insurances it says theft from a locked room. It doesn't matter if theres a safe or not! This is why I always make sure it states 'from a locked room' when I get insurance!