I had the same thing in May - chap was wearing combat type trousers with the key in one of the side pockets - we had his cases tiped out on the floor and all the furniture out before we found them!Had a guest lose his car keys this week. Went through all the luggage, etc. Finally thought it might be in the room, so we went to check the room. It turned out it was... in his left pocket. He's been carrying it the whole time.i had a guest who insisted someone had stolen her designer purse from her room and she all but accused everyone in the place, the chambermaid, the guests, (me?) and actually attempted to get in other guests' rooms to search, trying to push past them as they came out.
she was obnoxious, rude and threatening. i told her she probably left it in the restaurant where she was til they closed the place ... no no no impossible she said. a designer purse, she said. worth hundreds of dollars, she said. with my pills in it, she said.
it turns out she did leave it in the restaurant across the road overnight. they found it under a table in the morning, everything inside as it should have been.
she did not apologize to anyone.
all my guests were upset and angry with her. my chambermaid felt vindicated but just barely. happily, i had defended my chambermaid and did not interrogate her as the guest demanded, nor did i allow the guest to interrogate her.
i met the woman at the door when she marched in holding her purse. she said she was going to come tell me she'd found it so i wouldn't feel guilty.
one of my female guests proclaimed, 'we're so glad you found your fake louis vuitton.' (naughty ... but she deserved it).
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the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.I found a pair of Rebocks under a cot. Kept them for a very long time - no calls and I was not calling them! Same for a really nice jacket left in a closet. It was a shame it was too small for me!
Have had calls about diamond earrings (one lost) and rings - I look and do not find so I figure it is in their luggage and if it was on the floor, it is in my vac bag and I do NOT go there!.
.Odd.[email protected] said:the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.
...and then there was the old ugly worn out black belt (not comfortable worn like a leather jacket either) that the minister left and had his daughter come by and get for him and post it back. It was one of those items I would never in my wildest dreams consider to post back to anyone, it was nothing unusual, or brand. That was about 10 emails/phone calls to sort it out and then waiting for her and finally a month later with "said belt" in my laundry room I finally called and said "It is out on the porch wicker by the front door, come and get it" She works 2 blocks from here, literally 2 blocks walk.
.An old worn T-shirt of the NY Yankees that the owner called said they were coming back for but did not; 4 mths later emailed and asked for it to be sent to him. He sent me a box of Girl Scout cookies as TY. And as I type I am reminded of an old frayed quilt that was left & I called within minutes of their departure. Too much in a hurry to swing back for but they would be back this way in a couple of weeks.... that has been several couple of months and it is still here.Joey Bloggs said:Odd.[email protected] said:the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.
...and then there was the old ugly worn out black belt (not comfortable worn like a leather jacket either) that the minister left and had his daughter come by and get for him and post it back. It was one of those items I would never in my wildest dreams consider to post back to anyone, it was nothing unusual, or brand. That was about 10 emails/phone calls to sort it out and then waiting for her and finally a month later with "said belt" in my laundry room I finally called and said "It is out on the porch wicker by the front door, come and get it" She works 2 blocks from here, literally 2 blocks walk.
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All NY Yankees paraphernalia left here would be burnedcopperhead said:An old worn T-shirt of the NY Yankees that the owner called said they were coming back for but did not; 4 mths later emailed and asked for it to be sent to him. He sent me a box of Girl Scout cookies as TY. And as I type I am reminded of an old frayed quilt that was left & I called within minutes of their departure. Too much in a hurry to swing back for but they would be back this way in a couple of weeks.... that has been several couple of months and it is still here.Joey Bloggs said:Odd.[email protected] said:the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.
...and then there was the old ugly worn out black belt (not comfortable worn like a leather jacket either) that the minister left and had his daughter come by and get for him and post it back. It was one of those items I would never in my wildest dreams consider to post back to anyone, it was nothing unusual, or brand. That was about 10 emails/phone calls to sort it out and then waiting for her and finally a month later with "said belt" in my laundry room I finally called and said "It is out on the porch wicker by the front door, come and get it" She works 2 blocks from here, literally 2 blocks walk.
the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.I found a pair of Rebocks under a cot. Kept them for a very long time - no calls and I was not calling them! Same for a really nice jacket left in a closet. It was a shame it was too small for me!
Have had calls about diamond earrings (one lost) and rings - I look and do not find so I figure it is in their luggage and if it was on the floor, it is in my vac bag and I do NOT go there!.
.Odd.[email protected] said:the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.
...and then there was the old ugly worn out black belt (not comfortable worn like a leather jacket either) that the minister left and had his daughter come by and get for him and post it back. It was one of those items I would never in my wildest dreams consider to post back to anyone, it was nothing unusual, or brand. That was about 10 emails/phone calls to sort it out and then waiting for her and finally a month later with "said belt" in my laundry room I finally called and said "It is out on the porch wicker by the front door, come and get it" She works 2 blocks from here, literally 2 blocks walk.
.An old worn T-shirt of the NY Yankees that the owner called said they were coming back for but did not; 4 mths later emailed and asked for it to be sent to him. He sent me a box of Girl Scout cookies as TY. And as I type I am reminded of an old frayed quilt that was left & I called within minutes of their departure. Too much in a hurry to swing back for but they would be back this way in a couple of weeks.... that has been several couple of months and it is still here.Joey Bloggs said:Odd.[email protected] said:the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.
...and then there was the old ugly worn out black belt (not comfortable worn like a leather jacket either) that the minister left and had his daughter come by and get for him and post it back. It was one of those items I would never in my wildest dreams consider to post back to anyone, it was nothing unusual, or brand. That was about 10 emails/phone calls to sort it out and then waiting for her and finally a month later with "said belt" in my laundry room I finally called and said "It is out on the porch wicker by the front door, come and get it" She works 2 blocks from here, literally 2 blocks walk.
.All NY Yankees paraphernalia left here would be burnedcopperhead said:An old worn T-shirt of the NY Yankees that the owner called said they were coming back for but did not; 4 mths later emailed and asked for it to be sent to him. He sent me a box of Girl Scout cookies as TY. And as I type I am reminded of an old frayed quilt that was left & I called within minutes of their departure. Too much in a hurry to swing back for but they would be back this way in a couple of weeks.... that has been several couple of months and it is still here.Joey Bloggs said:Odd.[email protected] said:the weirdest thing was I had a jacket left by the daughter of one of our guests - the daughter lived very close thats why they were staying. We found the jacket rang the parents who said she was going to pop round and get it - never did and that was about 2 years ago - was an expensive jacket.
...and then there was the old ugly worn out black belt (not comfortable worn like a leather jacket either) that the minister left and had his daughter come by and get for him and post it back. It was one of those items I would never in my wildest dreams consider to post back to anyone, it was nothing unusual, or brand. That was about 10 emails/phone calls to sort it out and then waiting for her and finally a month later with "said belt" in my laundry room I finally called and said "It is out on the porch wicker by the front door, come and get it" She works 2 blocks from here, literally 2 blocks walk.
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You could always send it to me...Bronx girl that I am...Country Girl said:All NY Yankees paraphernalia left here would be burned
A lot of that is useful but some of it doesn't apply to 99% of us. We don't have keycoded doors or security systems or even 'housekeeping'. Some places don't even have exterior locks on guest rooms. You can latch it when you're in the room but it's otherwise unlocked. And we definitely don't have a safe in the rooms or at the 'front desk'!I am a Loss Prevention (Security) manager at a major hotel. You should always be educated on your state's innkeeper statutes regarding liability for alleged stolen items. You should also have some sort of disclaimer posted in the room stating that the hotel's liability is limited. And you should always offer an in-room safe or a safe deposit box at the Front Desk for guests to hold valuables. There are innkeeper statutes in almost every country, and they protect the hotel in instances such as these, as most stolen item allegations are a matter of "he said/she said" so-to-speak.
First off, if a guest claims an item is stolen from the room, do not admit guilt, offer reimbursement, offer any comps, or mention insurance and statutes. Reason being is you don't want to set precendents on reimburesement, and you don't want to open a can of worms regarding legalities. However, always empathize with the guest, and let them know that the hotel will do everything in its power to investigate and recover the item. NEVER indicate to the guest in any way that you believe they are lying. Take an incident report, and make sure you get all the necessary details such as item description, item value, date/time item was last seen, and date/time item was determined to be missing. Run a report from the guest-room lock to determine who made entries into the room during the given time-frame. Set up interviews with any employees that entered the room, and obtain written statements from them. Remember, as a company or business owner, you want to make sure you are respectful to your employees and that they are protected. Unless an employee flat out admits guilt, or was seen by a witness stealing the item, or if they are caught on camera, you will probably not be able to determine if the item was taken.
Second, ask the guest if he/she is willing to complete their own written/signed statement. Offer to get the police involved. You may either offer a contact number to the police, or call them yourself and get the guest in touch with them. Because this is the guest's personal property, he/she must talk to the police directly to make a report. Once the police are contacted by the guest, ask for a police report number to add to your documentation of the incident.
If the guest is immediately insistent on a reimbursement, politely let them know that reimbursement will not be possible, and in rare occurences such as these, the hotel follows a specific policy and procedural investigation. Whether your investigation takes minutes, hours, or days, always follow-up with the guest to give them an update. Sometimes the guest may be appeased just by showing him/her that you take the situation seriously and are doing everything you can.
After you have completed your investigation, contact the guest to inform of the results. Let him/her know that you have investigated fully, and we regret to inform you that unfortunately we were unable to locate the missing item. If the guest is not satisfied, then you may take the opportunity to push the claim to your insurance reps, or even inform the guest of innkeeper statutes that limit the hotels' liability. In the case of my hotel, and most other major hotel chains, we have a third party risk managment company that represents our insurance company and investigates/determines which claims are valid or not. Inform the guest that at this point, we can forward the claim on to our insurance representatives for further evaluation. This is where it comes in handy for the guest to have completed their own statement and filed a police report. It allows insurance reps to get a clear view from both sides.
You may ask, how do I know whether to make this an insurance claim or not? Well, a general rule of thumb is that any claim of loss around $1000 or more should definitely go in as an insurance claim, as that is the deductible on most policies. But really, the purpose of submitting a claim is to have another authority back you up and deny the claim, putting an end to the matter. The bottom line is, if the item was not placed into the safe provided in the room, then insurance will not determine any liability on the hotel. In every case where there is no way to show any fault of the hotel, the insurance will contact the guest directly and deny the claim.
If the guest is still persistent after being denied by insurance, and keeps contacting the hotel, let them know that you are unable to discuss the incident any further, and refer them back to the insurance rep who was handling their case.
Remember, the smartest thing you can do is to document EVERYTHING. That means every time you spoke to the guest, every email sent, every investigative measure taken, every correspondence made with the insurance rep., etc. It is amazing the measures some guests' take to get their reimbursement, icluding throwing YOU, the one who has committed the time to assist them, under the bus. What I recommend is using what I call a "Trace File," which is a basic spreadsheet log which you can record every action on. If the time ever comes when you are questioned about anything, then you have something to protect and back you up.
Having said all this, there also will be times where you will need to make a business decision on whether to reimburse for an alleged stolen item or not. For example, I had an allegation that an $1100 bridal vale was stolen from a closet in the guest-room. After conducting a full investigation, we could not determine any fault of the hotel or its employees, and in speaking with both the newly-wed husband and wife, it became more and more clear that the husband may have accidentally discarded the item and was trying to cover his tracks (of course, I never ever mentioned this to either of them). As they were persistent on their claim, I forwarded it on to our insurance, and they flat out sent a denial letter to the guest. After that, they were still persistent, and it turns out the wife is a higher up in a major well known business (which I won't name), and she threatened to pull future business events that were already planned with the hotel. In this case, in order to save tens of thousands of dollars, we went ahead and reimbursed for the item.
You may also be faced with a similar decision on a smaller scale. For instance, a guest believes their cell phone charger was stolen. They have stayed at your hotel dozens of times, spending thousands of dollars. Do you reimburse them as valued guests? Do you stick to your policy and deny them reimbursement? Do you offer a free room night or a special amenity? In this case, I would just go ahead and offer something to the guest to make up for it, whether it is a reibursement, credit to their bill, or just go to the store and buy a replacement.
When making such decisions, you should always be thinking of what is in the hotel's best interest, while showing the guest the utmost genuine care. There is no easy way around any of this.
Sorry for such a long comment, but I wanted to be as helpful as I could, as I deal with these issues on a daily basis, and I know it is a dreadful thing to deal with..
Sorry to say...just one more thing they will not read. I was told a long time ago when I tried to put something like this in writina and they said it was not really worth the paper it is written on. If someone really wants to sue, they can and will.We have this written into our policies that guests must agree to before they can make a reservation:
Release
By acceptance of these policies, Guests agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the owners of XYZ Bed and Breakfast, L.L.C. and its representatives from all claims, disputes, litigation, judgments, costs, and attorney fees resulting from loss, damage or injury to Guests and occupants, and licensees of Guests. Owner recommends that Guests obtain and carry insurance to protect personal property.
Guests or their personal property, including vehicles, are not insured by the property owners against loss or damage due to fire, theft, vandalism, rain, water, criminal or negligent acts of others, or any other cause. Please read and understand our policies before making your reservation..
Sorry to say...just one more thing they will not read. I was told a long time ago when I tried to put something like this in writina and they said it was not really worth the paper it is written on. If someone really wants to sue, they can and will.We have this written into our policies that guests must agree to before they can make a reservation:
Release
By acceptance of these policies, Guests agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the owners of XYZ Bed and Breakfast, L.L.C. and its representatives from all claims, disputes, litigation, judgments, costs, and attorney fees resulting from loss, damage or injury to Guests and occupants, and licensees of Guests. Owner recommends that Guests obtain and carry insurance to protect personal property.
Guests or their personal property, including vehicles, are not insured by the property owners against loss or damage due to fire, theft, vandalism, rain, water, criminal or negligent acts of others, or any other cause. Please read and understand our policies before making your reservation..
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Better to have some teeth than be toothless.catlady said:Sorry to say...just one more thing they will not read. I was told a long time ago when I tried to put something like this in writina and they said it was not really worth the paper it is written on. If someone really wants to sue, they can and will.
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