Hotel thieves?

February 1, 2007 2:30 AM

I just tried to find my backpack in my hotel room. It's gone. I'm pretty sure it was stolen. Does this make any sense?

The only reason it seems weird to me is that my GF and I both had laptops out in the open and laying around, and there were various other things like that also could have been taken, and were closer to the door, etc.

We've been here for 2 weeks and I feel like we have a relationship with the chambermaids. I mean, not really, but we do see them everyday, and say hello, and the like... it just seems risky to me that they would do this.

The backpack had some notes on a manuscript, pretty much irreplaceable, but I'll get through it, and some cash. I don't really want to think about that. And yes, I shouldn't have had the cash lying around in there.

i feel like I'm not explaining this very well. I just think it's weird that someone would take something of lesser value. Has something like this ever happened to any of you?

posted by miles1972 to Human Relations (14 answers total)

Well, one might argue that a laptop going missing would be something that would be reported to management immediately, whilst a stolen backpack (and laptops left) might result in someone thinking "Maybe I just left it somewhere? I shouldn't report this - they certainly would have stolen my laptop if they were going to steal anything!"

Or, maybe you *did* just leave it somewhere? Is that at all possible?
posted by antifuse at 3:06 AM on February 1, 2007

Many hotels require staff to leave the hallway doors open while cleaning the room. Its entirely possible that while staff were cleaning the bathroom, for example, someone entered and grabbed the backpack. Maybe they wanted to take the notebook computers & other items, but were caught / distracted by the cleaning staff who interrupted them.

So it is entirely possible. Sorry to hear about this.
posted by Mutant at 3:35 AM on February 1, 2007

My theory: they took the cash and not the laptop because a laptop is only worth something if a) you know how to use it and/or want a new computer or b) you know how much it's worth and know somewhere where you can sell it. Cash is also much harder to trace (i.e. you'd recognise your laptop if you saw it again, but do you know the serial numbers on the cash?).

They probably took the whole bag rather than just the cash for the reasons mentioned above - you might think you misplaced the bag, but if just the cash had gone missing it would more obviously be theft.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:44 AM on February 1, 2007

Why are you wasting time on here? Go and tell someone at the hotel...
posted by 0bvious at 4:09 AM on February 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure what you're asking for. If you're looking for suggested next steps, and you're pretty sure you didn't leave the backpack somewhere, then you need to be talking to the hotel management immediately.

However, as this has never happened to me, I don't know what they'll do for you besides offer empathy.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 4:12 AM on February 1, 2007

Are you staying in another country? Could they have been after your passport?
posted by desjardins at 6:11 AM on February 1, 2007

As a child, I had 20 dollars in quarters stolen from our hotel room, and there was a fair amount of pricy consumer electronics around.
posted by adamwolf at 6:23 AM on February 1, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks everyone.

Yes, what everyone says is true, there is the extremely slight possiblity that I may have taken the backpack somewhere, but I have no memory of that.

Before I go to hotel management, I am checking all other options of where I left it.

And before I phone those places (middle of the night) I wanted to check in for theories on AskMeFi.

(Further complicating things a little is that the GF is still back in Ottawa where the hotel is, and I had to leave on the red eye back to Vancouver. Which is why I realized the backpack was gone - when I was packing.)
posted by miles1972 at 6:58 AM on February 1, 2007

my car was broken into once and the only thing they stole was my change drawer. i had a bag full of clothes, some books, a CD unit, etc.

the only thing missing was under a dollar in change and the little cup that held it. anything is possible.
posted by c:\awesome at 7:46 AM on February 1, 2007

If someone stole the bag, he/she certainly doesn't want to hold on to it (incriminating evidence). Chances are that they check it out for valuables and then threw it away in the nearest bin. It might be worth checking out the garbage bins in public areas in and around the hotel.
posted by bluefrog at 8:17 AM on February 1, 2007

If something is missing you notify the hotel staff whether or not you think it was stolen in case someone found it and turned it in.
posted by GleepGlop at 9:57 AM on February 1, 2007

Thieves are selective and will steal things they can conceal (unless they're REALLY ballsy). Running along with a notebook down their top might be harder than just carrying a bag as if it's theirs.

My friend had his car parked in downtown L.A. with tens of thousands of dollars of server equipment, UPSs and network switches in the back, and someone smashed the window and stole.. his CD wallet. So now we have a thief who's into Lucky Boys Confusion and Goldfinger running around.
posted by wackybrit at 10:29 AM on February 1, 2007

I had a bag stolen from the back of my car during a reading at Powell's. They kept the cheap laptop and dumped all of my school notes and index cards, allowing me to finish the semester. Thanks homeless guy who found them!
posted by craniac at 10:41 AM on February 1, 2007

I'm surprised they didn't just take the cash, which would make sense to me. I would look around for the backpack and retrace your steps. Also, report is as "missing" to the hotel folks of course.
posted by xammerboy at 1:37 PM on February 1, 2007