Hotel / Guest house thefts

[Butch 3,456]

Had an email today from a friend staying in Pattaya next month, asking me if I've ever had anything taken from my hotel room while in Pattaya or even the RP.

 

I told him no, simply because these days hotels have CCTV along most corridors and Guest houses which are already established have done so on a basis of being honest and reliable.

 

He is asking me whether the in room safes are reliable (they're not - but are good to use as a "distraction", by putting a hundred quid in cash or so in there so anyone breaking in will go for that first and hopefully leave the real stash alone) - and what methods he should use to secure his valuables.

 

Without turning the hotel room into the Pattaya equivalent of Fort Knox, I suggested putting his valuables into his lockable case secured with a locking strap around the outside, plus other security measures such as ensuring the patio or balcony doors are securely locked and if needs be, place an obstruction into the sliding channel on the floor (such as a small doorstop or wedge a coin in there).

 

Hiding stuff is an option but not a great one, as any cleaners finding it will assume it was left by the previous occupant. Many years ago I'd take an old, out of date credit card with me and leave it in the room safe with £140 in cash plus some baht, so anyone opening it will take that rather than search out my large cash sum, passport and CC's that were in my padlocked rucksack inside my locked case, working on the theory that a thief doesn't have a lot of time. I never take cameras or laptops etc on holiday with me for that very reason, getting them pinched would ruin it.

 

One thing I always do is make a note, print out or write, the emergency numbers for my health insurance, and keep safe. Debit and Credit card "lost or stolen" numbers plus my account details, as usefully the lost and stolen numbers are written on the rear of your card, which is not a great help if they're stolen, plus you try asking a stranger if you can look at his debit card to get a number off it !.

 

The only hotel I ever felt "iffy" was the Eastiny on Soi 10, not because of the staff but because of the residents, large groups of young men, large groups of Indian men and just some shifty looking people in general! I soon stopped using that hotel.

 

I know it still happens, but more often the victims might have been careless in their behaviour allowing an opportunistic thief to grab and run.

[hyku1147 1,955]

I use a door knob cover.

[Siam Sam 964]

Had an email today from a friend staying in Pattaya next month, asking me if I've ever had anything taken from my hotel room while in Pattaya or even the RP.

 

I told him no, simply because these days hotels have CCTV along most corridors and Guest houses which are already established have done so on a basis of being honest and reliable.

 

He is asking me whether the in room safes are reliable (they're not - but are good to use as a "distraction", by putting a hundred quid in cash or so in there so anyone breaking in will go for that first and hopefully leave the real stash alone) - and what methods he should use to secure his valuables.

 

Without turning the hotel room into the Pattaya equivalent of Fort Knox, I suggested putting his valuables into his lockable case secured with a locking strap around the outside, plus other security measures such as ensuring the patio or balcony doors are securely locked and if needs be, place an obstruction into the sliding channel on the floor (such as a small doorstop or wedge a coin in there).

 

Hiding stuff is an option but not a great one, as any cleaners finding it will assume it was left by the previous occupant. Many years ago I'd take an old, out of date credit card with me and leave it in the room safe with £140 in cash plus some baht, so anyone opening it will take that rather than search out my large cash sum, passport and CC's that were in my padlocked rucksack inside my locked case, working on the theory that a thief doesn't have a lot of time. I never take cameras or laptops etc on holiday with me for that very reason, getting them pinched would ruin it.

 

One thing I always do is make a note, print out or write, the emergency numbers for my health insurance, and keep safe. Debit and Credit card "lost or stolen" numbers plus my account details, as usefully the lost and stolen numbers are written on the rear of your card, which is not a great help if they're stolen, plus you try asking a stranger if you can look at his debit card to get a number off it !.

 

The only hotel I ever felt "iffy" was the Eastiny on Soi 10, not because of the staff but because of the residents, large groups of young men, large groups of Indian men and just some shifty looking people in general! I soon stopped using that hotel.

 

I know it still happens, but more often the victims might have been careless in their behaviour allowing an opportunistic thief to grab and run.

 

The second night of my first trip I passed out on a Patpong bar girl with all of my valuables on display including my passport. She didn't take a thing, only the money that I'd agreed to pay her. I've come a long way since then and have still never been robbed, probably because I now take precautions like yourself. Generally speaking I'd say the better the hotel you stay in the less likely you are to get robbed. I always lock my valuables in the room safe and do my best to hide my laptop if I take it. If I do take a laptop I take an old one that I could live with losing. If I do have to leave large amounts of cash in the room before I get to the bank because I've arrived in the night time when the banks are shut, I stash it and I am the master of finding stash places. I have worn large pieces of Thai gold jewellery in the past but I have stopped doing it because most people that live in Thailand whom I speak to are amazed I haven't been robbed of any yet. When I go out I only carry a maximum of 5k baht and my Thai bank card with me, with the bank card stashed in a secret place. I also take a record of all emergency numbers, passwords, account numbers etc when I'm in Thailand.

[js007 795]

"I also take a record of all emergency numbers, passwords, account numbers etc when I'm in Thailand."

 

I sometimes store this kind of stuff online somewhere, although not passwords, unless they are on the Apple Keychain. At one point, I had a small USB flash drive I carried with me. You can encode those with a password.

[yogi100 1,925]

Before I opened a Thai bank account and back when we could use an ATM card free of charge without getting ripped off by certain UK banks you just had to worry your ATM card.

 

Now that things have changed and when I need to keep largish amounts of money in my room I slip it under a one of the panels of the suspended ceiling in my room away from light and fan fittings that might possibly have to be removed by maintenance staff. I keep the same room on permanently and have done so for around twelve years.

 

There are about 40 of these panels in my room and I need to climb up on the furniture and a stool to gain access to the panel I use as my hidey hole. There's very little chance of a small statured Thai ever discovering its whereabouts or finding which of the 40 odd panels it is hidden behind.

 

I also keep it in a tin box to deter any light fingered mouse or cockroach who may have taken up residence in the ceiling from getting their teeth into it.

 

I feel more confident using this precaution than I do using a hotel safety deposit box or one of those safes that are said to vulnerable to any enterprising thief skilled in the use of locksmith's tools or a King Edward's potato.

[Siam Sam 964]

Before I opened a Thai bank account and back when we could use an ATM card free of charge without getting ripped off by certain UK banks you just had to worry your ATM card.

 

Now that things have changed and when I need to keep largish amounts of money in my room I slip it under a one of the panels of the suspended ceiling in my room away from light and fan fittings that might possibly have to be removed by maintenance staff. I keep the same room on permanently and have done so for around twelve years.

 

There are about 40 of these panels in my room and I need to climb up on the furniture and a stool to gain access to the panel I use as my hidey hole. There's very little chance of a small statured Thai ever discovering its whereabouts or finding which of the 40 odd panels it is hidden behind.

 

I also keep it in a tin box to deter any light fingered mouse or cockroach who may have taken up residence in the ceiling from getting their teeth into it.

 

I feel more confident using this precaution than I do using a hotel safety deposit box or one of those safes that are said to vulnerable to any enterprising thief skilled in the use of locksmith's tools or a King Edward's potato.

 

Years ago I stayed in a cheap hotel in Jomtien and did the same thing with some money and my passport, both of which sustained damage from something chewing at them which must have been rats. Fortunately these days I stay in places a little more upmarket.

[neilri2001 42]

I still tend to use a hotel safe with an emergency fund hidden in a locked suitcase. I tend to stay in five star hotels in Bangkok and 3/4 star hotels in Pattaya. I've never stayed in a guest house or apartment partly because of perceived fears about security / theft. Whether or not these fears are backed up by any hard evidence is another matter.

 

I always leave a daily tip for the maid. Partly because i feel they deserve it, partly to cover additional towels and the like and partly out of a belief that if they are going to steal they are less likely to steal from someone who tips them!

 

The only city where i've ever had anything stolen from a hotel safe was a decade or so ago from a four star hotel in Vilnius Lithuania. I don't know if the city has changed much since then but i never felt entirely safe there. A fairly grim city at the time with the only highlight being a stunning twenty something local girl arranged by the bell hop

Edited February 6, 2018 by neilri2001