Tag: Hotel Security
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And This is Why You Should Always Make Sure the Hotel Door Closes Behind You
Good news, the perp has been caught!
Last week, after checking in and checking out our hotel room (video, photos, you know the usual thing a hotel guest does right?) we noticed that our room door was a little cumbersome in that it didn't immediately close all the way. We actually had to give it a little extra push to make it shut.
The bad thing is, we didn't notice this for like two hours. The good thing is we were still in the room. Unfortunately, a Dubai royal staying at The Plaza wasn't so lucky.
Apparently, [name redacted], 25, who booked the entire 12th floor for her friends and family forgot to close the doors to her suite (room 1230 and 1232) entirely, making it possible for thieves to come in and swipe more than $230,000 in jewelry and designer handbags. The NY Post reports:
: The locking mechanism on the door never engaged. So the intruder or intruders simply strolled inside and swiped a treasure trove of goodies, including three Chanel and Prada handbags containing a $100,000 Rolex watch and other luxury timepieces by Philip Stein and TechnoMarine, the sources said. Also snagged were assorted Cartier jewelry, an iPad and a pricey Nokia International smartphone.
Hotel Security / Hotel Tips / Hotel Safes / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
When The Safe Has A Low Battery, Where Do You Stash Your Valuables?
During a recent hotel stay, we were relieved to find a safe large enough to accommodate our laptop, camera, and all the accompanying wires. Later on, as we were running late to go meet friends for brunch, we were less relieved when we realized that the safe was low on battery, and had no way of locking.
In a more relaxed circumstance, we simply would have called down to the concierge for a new battery to be installed, waited a few minutes, double-checked the lock, and been on our merry way.
But in a pinch, we had to get a little crafty. Here's our guide on inconspicuous hotel room hiding places, where your goods are least likely to be found by a fiddling hotel maid or otherwise sticky-fingered staff member.
Hotel Crime / Hotel Security / Celebrity Scoop / San Francisco Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
What is Alex Trebek is a Badass for Chasing Down a Hotel Burglar?
We've written a bunch about staying safe in hotel rooms lately but even well-known nerds celebrities need to learn how to protect themselves when staying in hotels.
"Jeopardy's" legendary host Alex Trebek revealed yesterday that his hotel room in San Francisco had been broken into and that he ruptured his Achilles tendon as he chased the robber down.
Trebek revealed the traumatic incident (in Jeopardy-speak) right before he hosted the National Geographic Geography Bee at Google Headquarters in Mountain View.
What is, it happened at 2:30 a.m., chasing a burglar down the hallway of my San Francisco hotel when my Achilles tendon ruptured and I then fell on carpet, bruising the other leg in process. Surgery on Friday," Trebek said, according to Patch.com.
San Francisco police have confirmed the incident and the subsequent arrest of Lucinda Moyers, 56, who was booked on charges of burglary and receiving stolen property, namely the victims' purses and wallets. TMZ is also reporting that the suspect lifted a bracelet that Trebek's mother gave him.
Hotel Security / Tommy Lee / Hotel Computers / Hotel Hacks / Hotel Technology / Twitter / Hotel News / → All Tags
How to Prevent Tommy Lee from Hacking Your Twitter
Yesterday we noticed a funny item in Page Six. Apparently, New York Rangers hockey player Brad Richards had his Twitter account hacked by aging rocker Tommy Lee. Ok, so that's not really funny and you're probably wondering, "Why should I even care about these people?"
Well, what's really interesting here is HOW Tommy Lee hacked the Rangers' Twitter--through a hotel room computer.
Precisely, the in-suite computer at the Tribeca Grand. From Page Six:
Tampa native Richards stayed at the Tribeca Grand hotel and logged onto a computer in his room to tweet. When Lee stayed in the same room a few days later and booted up the computer, he saw Richards' account was still open and sent messages out under his handle. "Im a dork!" the rocker tweeted along with other messages before letting Richards in on the joke. "Signing out for ya!! I'm a nice hacker!!! hey dude btw . . . it's Tommy Lee!!! hahah!!"
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Someone Was Being John Malkovich in His Hotel Suite at the Mandarin Oriental Prague
Is Craig Schwartz somewhere in Prague? How else to explain the random burglary of John Malkovich's hotel suite at the swish Mandarin Oriental Prague?
The Daily Mail reports:
He was staying at the upmarket Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Czech city after performing in the murder melodrama Infernal Comedy, based on a real Austrian serial killer, at the Prague Spring music festival on Thursday.
'We can confirm than an investigation is under way in the case of the disappearance of Mr Malkovich's personal belongings,' said a spokeswoman for the hotel.
Apparently, two of his mobile phones were stolen but nothing else. That certainly sucks and honestly, we'd expect more security from a Mandarin hotel but we probably should be grateful the thieves didn't swipe Malkovich's laptop with his nude photos on it. The world is not ready for that.
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Lock Up Your Belongings in Miami, There's a Hotel Thief on the Loose
It looks like there's a serial hotel robber on the loose in Miami and he's brazen enough to break into the guest rooms while the guests are in there. NBC reports that the thief recently struck The Chesterfield Hotel on 8th and Collins Avenue last Saturday:
The thief struck during the early morning hours, while the guest were asleep, breaking in through a window in a room and going through the victims' belongings. He made off with $5,000, an iPhone and credit cards.
This thief is believed to be the same person who's been robbing guests at other smaller hotels in Miami like the Catalina Hotel, The Shelly Hotel, The Dorchester, National and Avalon. Police also believe he's been doing it since 2006.
Hotel Security / Destination Hotels and Resorts / Hotel Hacks / Austin Hotels / → All Tags
Destination Hotels Gets Hacked; Over 700 Credit Card Numbers Stolen
The longhorn hanging in the Driskill did not scare off hackers.
UPDATE 6.27.10: Destination Hotels issued a statement about this unfortunate situation. See bottom of story for what to do if you think you were a victim of credit card theft.
This is definitely not the sort of information you want to hear as you head into thwe weekend, especially if you've booked a room at Destination Hotels and Resorts.
The hotel collection was a victim of an intense database hack that lasted over three months, stole over 700 credit card numbers from guests and charged hundreds of thousands of dollars with the stolen info. ABC News reports:
The police said the security hole has been fixed but that the unknown criminals had access to the data for months.
"The losses right now are probably in the hundreds of thousands. I think each loss is averaging about two or three thousand dollars," said Austin Police Department Sgt. Matt Greer.
The stolen numbers were then being used overseas, mostly in Europe, Greer told ABC News.
"It's a result of somebody hacking into the system, not somebody at the hotel," he said.
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Marriott's 'Peep Hole Curtain' Sure to Put Erin Andrews' Fears to Rest
We love what we find in our HotelChatter Flickr Pool like this snapshot of a Peep Hole Security Curtain submitted by member BNilsen.
Apparently, the Marriott West Conshohocken (a suburb of Philly) has this on each of its guestroom doors, allowing pretty young sportscasters like Erin Andrews to undress in peace. Marriott's peephole curtains may not be as cute as these, but still, they do the job.
Got a hotel snapshot you wanna share with us? Drop it in our Flickr Pool!
World Cup Hotels / South Africa Hotels / Hotel Security / Jock Jam Hotels / → All Tags
Where the U.S. is Shacking Up for the World Cup in South Africa
While Jaunted takes you on a tour of the 2010 World Cup Stadiums in South Africa, we're interested in where the football players are spending their nights. And for the U.S. team, it's the Irene Country Lodge, just north of Johannesburg in the village of Irene.
The lodge has only 74 rooms (25 of which are new) and the decor is "English Country Manor." Rates start around $170 USD a night and rooms are equipped with wireless internet (for a fee), minibars, 24-hour room service and DSTV satellite television, although we did spy some chunky box TVs in armoires in one of the room photos.
But perhaps the players won't need to use the TV, not when they've got a lake to look out onto and a herd of cows to observe. (Hmmm...but we hope they brought their iPods and laptops just in case.)
Hotel Security / Hotel Crime / Hotel Theft / → All Tags
Five Ways Your Safety at Hotels Can Be Compromised
There are certain, reasonable expectations we have when paying for a hotel room, such as a good night's sleep, clean sheets, decent water pressure and the assurance that no one is going to break into our hotel room and make off with our iPods, laptops, wallets or jewelry. But we've seen Ocean's 11 and 12 and we know how crafty thieves can be when they want something from your hotel room.
Recently, we've noticed a rash of hotel security breakdowns from thieves robbing sugar barons in Los Angeles to hackers stealing guests' personal information to someone making off with one of our iPods in Vegas. This is all unsettling because hotel rooms are supposed to be your sanctuary and also because, um, you're paying for that room.
Now, we're not saying that you will be a victim of crime whenever you stay at a hotel but it can happen whether you're in a roadside hotel or a five-start hotel in Beverly Hills. Here are Five Ways Your Safety at Hotels Can Be Compromised and five things you can do to protect yourself. Got your own hotel safety tips? Put 'em in comments below.
OpenThread / Hotel Room Keys / Hotel Security / Rosewood Resorts / → All Tags
Have You Ever Stayed at a Hotel Without a Room Key?
Where: Antigua and Barbuda
Reading this Wall Street Journal review of the newly renovated Jumby Bay Resort, it was easy to get swept up in all the luxury. Then we came to the part where write Laura Landro says, “I was a little surprised to learn there was no room key.” Ditto, Laura!
Like this writer, we tend to be security freaks when traveling, especially alone. So the idea of not being able to barricade ourselves in our rooms—or our valuables when we’re out—is a little unnerving. Have you ever stayed at a hotel without a room key? Did it freak you out?
Hotel Theft / Hotel Hell / Hotwire / Twitter / Las Vegas Hotels / Hotel Security / → All Tags
Our iPod Was Stolen From Our Room at the MGM Grand
We spent a few days last week hopping between Vegas hotels that we’d booked through Hotwire. We landed the MGM Grand for our second night in Sin City, which we were very excited about. And although we got zilch in the way of upgrades and vouchers at check-in, we rather liked our room — it was a little old-looking, but it had a pretty super view of mountains and McCarran airport. We could have watched the planes coming in all day.
Unluckily for us, as it turned out, we didn’t. We went out instead. And, because we were a bit nervous of being mobbed by drunk people, just as we were going out the door, we whipped our iPod out of our purse. We’d already locked our (paltry) valuables away in our suitcase, and we didn’t have time to get the key out, so we just stuck it in the front flap of the case and ran off to watch people humping chairs at Anthony Cools’ hypnotist show at Paris.
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