Theft in hotel breakfast room

Another terrific argument for using a money belt. And not using a purse or anything else not attached to your body for the really important stuff.

It's easy to get sucked into thinking that you're in a safe place. I was astounded when I moved from Chicago to Madison to see my realtor place her purse on the chair on the opposite side of the table. I was used to keeping it on my lap or wrapping the shoulder strap three times around my legs before I put in on the floor. My personal trainer commented that gym locker rooms are the worst. Even with a lock on her locker she never puts valuable in her locker. I feel uneasy having an open locker when I'm drying my hair because I can't see. Not that I'm recommending a money belt in the locker room. LOL! Someone mentioned that they don't wear money belts in NYC or Washington DC or Chicago, but you probably don't carry as much cash and your ID's are easier to replace here than abroad. So, it's not that the risk is less, it's just that it's easier to deal with at home than abroad. Pam

It's a bad idea to leave your purse alone at home, never mind overseas. At least she was able to remedy the situation. Definitely make sure you use a money belt.

I agree with Pat - unless someone I trust can watch it, I would never leave my purse on a chair, be it here in Seattle or in a foreign country. Theft isn't isolated to the streets of Europe.

It never ceases to amaze me that people will leave valuables out in the open and unattended - both when traveling and at home. Count this as another lesson/warning to travelers...

In what country, and town, did this occur? Was it in a large hotel or a small family run place.

I live in a small city on the west coast of Canada,, and even here, I would never leave my purse on the back of my chair and walk away from it.. none of my friends would either... I guess sometimes people are just too trusting.

I asked because I stay in small establishments in Germany, frequented primarily by Germans. There are usually only a few people in the room, and it is small enough that I can easily watch my netbook from the buffet. Additionally, the others in the room are Germans. I trust them more than Americans. There is nothing particularly of value to others on the netbook, but it contains a lot of information crucial to my trip.

I live in Hawaii most of the year and I can not tell you how many times I have cautioned visitors about leaving valuables unattended at their table when going to the buffet line. I know we have a problem here but I guess I have been conditioned by all my European trips to keep my valuable with me. It is apparently a world wide problem.

The hotel in question was a semi-small hotel, (locally owned but they had two hotels) in Granada, Spain. I agree with the majority of replies to my query...if it would be a super-hassle to lose it, keep it on you. I take two cards with me, and when I go to the ATM only one of them is out of the money-belt at a time. Some thieves are very good at appearing to be solid citizens.

Let this be a reminder to all of us. First of all, wear a money belt when traveling internationally! Second, never leave your purse or anything else you care about unattended. I visited a friend in Cape Girardeau, MO and we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. I got up to refill my plate before she did and left my purse at the table, thinking she'd wait until I returned before she went. But she got up before I came back, leaving both of our purses unattended. They were still there when I returned to the table, but I had a brief freak-out "What if" moment. Don't rely on anyone else to keep an eye on your stuff.

I agree that it really doesn't matter if you're in the U.S. or Europe, a small town or larger city, at a pension/privatzimmer or a larger hotel, you're taking a chance when you leave anything of value at a dining table in a public area of any lodging. It's sort of common sense, but this thread is a good reminder.

Even here in the states, when I go to a buffet restaurant, I never leave my purse at the table, even if someone of my party is sitting there. She should have never done that, ANYWHERE!!!

We were recently victims of theft (clothes which were valued at about $300) in England. If you can even imagine this, the theft occurred in a four star B&B.

We were checking out a hostel in Bavaria, up on top of a mountain. When we got back to our friends car, the window had been broken and the GPS was gone. Had a friend park her car on a busy street in Würms to run into a grocery store real quick. Guess what, broken window and GPS gone. So yeah, I feel safe in Germany, especially in a large city like Frankfurt, but teens, no matter what their age, in small towns and villages, are going to get up to mischief. This includes stealing of course. Talking with a woman in a bakery along the Rhein, in Braubach, I asked her why there were no seats or benches at the train station. She said the teens had trashed them all, were always setting fires, slitting tires, etc. The Deutsche Bahn got tired of replacing them.

Nigel, where is your sense of humour? I loved Karens post. In fact most of her posts are interesting and fun. If no one can post anything funny and light-hearted, then I for one, will stop coming to this forum.

The moral of Jo's story is that German teens do not like to sit down, but they do like to know where they are in the world.

Jo's reply should also serve to remind us that it's not all fairy tales and castles in the real world (or butterflies and rainbows if you prefer), even in Germany. Nigel: Meant to be facetious, of course, but your request has been honored.

EDIT:
A recent reply, while they may have been tongue in cheek (or not) neither comply with the rules so recently posted, nor are they conducive to the goals of this list. I fail to see how they help the travelling public. I speak of Karen's post of the 5th. It should be removed by the posters. (thanks Michael)

"How Roger Goodell...and to make this travel-related, he's from NY state, where you can wear shorts in the summer."......but NO celebratory dancing... I'm with Jo - when the Helpline becomes too stuffy, I'm outta here (much to the relief of many of you, I'm sure LOL). Now, the 'shoutfests' that occur (and did occur recently) are a little shrill for my personal taste, and usually have no relation to the original topic. Although I always have MY opinions, I stay out of those, umm, 'spirited' back-and-forths...;-) Back to the topic... "When traveling, I used to feel that while in my hotel I could "let down my guard"." And we know that is EXACTLY what the 'criminal element' is counting on...They don't typically physically knock you to the ground and strip you of your possessions; instead, they wait for their opportunity to strike (purse left on the chair, distracted by a street performer or train schedule board, squished onto a metro car and not paying attention to surroundings, discombobulated when first streaming off of the airplane and trying to purchase metro tickets, etc.). The advice from Grace, although some still try to wriggle out of it like a 5-year-old having his picture taken, isn't sexy but it's right on the money (heh-heh; sorry) - wear a moneybelt, and don't take more than you can physically drag around with you, even to the buffet line at breakfast. OK - I added that part...

London....many years ago. I was on business staying at one of the larger, non-descript hotels. Breakfast was included. The hotel was packed due to the International Travel Show going on a few blocks away. I am a newspaper lover so while in London I enjoy 2-3 a day since there is such a large ion. I go down for breakfast, set my papers down on the chair next to me, and go up to the buffet. In less than two minutes, the hostess sat a family at my table. My newspapers were still there. I take them, and my plate, and ask for a new table. They apologize and I sit at a new table. I decide to go up for something else and well, the same thing happened. One more time...guess what...yep. I finally go up to the restaurant manager who was on the floor. She said she had been watching the entire time yet didn't do anything to stop it. She did however say the following: "This hotel stinks. I used to work at the XXXX hotel. It has much better service. You should stay there next time." I wonder how long she lasted as other people were complaining as well. Luckily, I never left valuables at the table when I got up, just newspapers. And surprisingly, they were always intact. But the lesson learned, never leave anything, anywhere, unattended.

I loved Karen's post! Humor is very important in life and her response was very clever and witty! I think Karen's post, and others like it, are wonderful and valuable additions to the Helpline.

Hogs and Quiches (oxoxo) ;-) Keep yer stuff with you. Always.

PLEASE keep the funny remarks on here. It will get much too stuffy on here without them. Budget Travel had an article recently about purses being stolen from breakfast buffets here in the US (I tried finding the article, but couldn't). The thieves troll the breakfast room, and take purses when people are getting food and then leave the hotel, usually to a car waiting outside. Now I've brought it back on topic. So there.