If you’re staying at a hotel and are traveling with valuables, it’s generally a best practice to place those items in a safe, to prevent any sort of theft. However, even that isn’t a perfect solution. After all, there are staff at the hotel who can reset the safes in rooms, making inside jobs possible. Along those lines, here’s a story…
In this post:
A traveler’s New York hotel safe robbery story
Someone reached out to me with a very detailed account of what they claim happened at the Marriott Residence Inn Manhattan Midtown East in New York City. Let me emphasize that this is just an accusation, so obviously I can’t personally vouch for whether things happened exactly the way the traveler claims.
However, the traveler is being very transparent (like, wildly so), has filed a police report, and has contacted the Argentinian consulate, so he’s making very consistent claims. I think this is at least worth drawing some attention to, since the traveler says he’s getting nowhere with any Marriott channels.
For some background, this Argentinian man was traveling with his wife and two young children, and he claims to be a police officer and lawyer in Argentina. He was on a multi-week trip to the United States, starting in New York on December 28, 2023, and ending in Miami on January 17, 2024. He describes this as a special trip where they were using a significant portion of their savings.
The family was traveling with $19,000 in cash. While that might seem odd for us Americans, keep in mind that it’s common for many foreigners to pay with cash when traveling, especially those coming from countries with volatile currencies. He declared this amount with US Customs & Border Protection when entering the country, and even shared the receipt of that declaration with me.
So, here are the traveler’s version of events of what happened after the family checked into the hotel on December 28, 2023:
- On the morning of December 29, the man put $19,000 in cash, a watch, and passports, in the safe of room 827 at the hotel, and then the family went sightseeing for the day
- In the evening, the family returned to the room, but couldn’t open the safe; so he called the front desk and was told there weren’t any engineers available that night, which he found strange
- The following morning, an engineer opened the safe, but the cash was missing (while everything else was still there)
- The traveler requested that the hotel call the police, which they refused to do, so he called them himself; several cops showed up at the hotel, and then lifted fingerprints from the safe and the front door, questioned staff, and more
- The traveler shares a confirmation of a tour that they had booked well in advance for December 30, which they had to reschedule due to all of this, which the traveler describes as “further proof that this was an unexpected tragedy for us”
Here’s where it gets even more interesting. The traveler shares a picture he took of the money in the safe from the morning he placed it in there. Why would he do that? He claims to have taken it because he had a bad feeling.
The day of their arrival, they left all their bags with the front desk, since the room wasn’t yet ready. When they returned, the zip tie on one of the bags was open, and the zipper wasn’t closed correctly (though nothing was taken, since there were no valuables in the bag). The hotel had no explanation for that.
The next logical question is why the hotel would have suspected he had so much cash. The answer is because he tried to pay for the stay in cash at check-in (rather than using a credit card), but the hotel didn’t allow that. So at least some people at the hotel knew he had a significant amount of cash. The cost of the hotel stay over New Year’s Eve was over $3,000.
What do we make of this story?
As I said at the beginning of this post, I can’t personally vouch for the accuracy of any of this, which is to say that I didn’t see the traveler place the money in the safe, and I also didn’t see anyone from the hotel take the money.
That being said, this person provided an incredibly detailed account of what happened. The traveler declared the money when entering the United States, the traveler even took a picture of money in the safe, and we also have reason to believe that people at the hotel knew he had a lot of cash on him.
Now, let me of course also acknowledge that fraud happens in the world, and some might say that this traveler’s version of events are almost too perfect. He had proof of the cash, and he literally took a timestamped picture of the safe’s contents prior to leaving the room, and after that it was robbed.
This traveler also went to the Argentinian consulate about this and claims to be a police officer in the country, so making up something like this would seem like a very bad idea. He even said I could use his full name in this post (which I’m just not comfortable doing), so he’s not trying to hide behind anonymity. Perhaps it’s because he’s a cop that he’s actually taking the precautions that almost seem suspicious to the average person.
Lastly, if someone is going to commit fraud, it’s not usually going to be when their spouse and young children are there, as the traveler describes this as being incredibly traumatic for his young children, as they spent the entire day dealing with this police investigation.
I’m sharing this story in hopes that an actually thorough and transparent investigation is performed, because this person tells me that he’s just getting the silent treatment from the hotel, from Marriott corporate, etc.
The hotel presumably has cameras, so it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out whether there’s merit to this story, and whether people entered his room or not. Furthermore, presumably there would have been some level of coordination here between people — the front desk agents knew he had cash, while engineering (or someone else working in the rooms division) would have probably accessed the safe.
Bottom line
An Argentinian man taking a special family trip to New York claims to have had $19,000 in cash stolen from a hotel safe. The traveler had so much cash because the plan was to pay for everything during the trip with cash, and the hotel knew he had the money, since he tried to pay in cash at the beginning of the stay (rather than using a credit card).
At a minimum, hopefully Marriott takes this seriously and investigates. I’m inclined to believe this version of events, but of course you never know.
If nothing else, it’s a good reminder that a hotel safe isn’t quite as safe (no pun intended) as many people may assume. Yes, you’re protected from outside theft, but you’re not protected from an inside job, and most hotel robberies are the latter.
What do you make of this story?
Like you said he took a picture of the money in the safe because he had a bad feeling... Well if you have a bad feeling then why leave $19000 in a place even if it is a safe in a locked hotel room, I wouldn't leave a few 100 dollars in a safe if I am having bad feeling about it.
For practical purposes, Argentina is effectively a dollarized economy. With the inflation problem, people either buy what they need as soon as they're paid or they buy $100 as their savings instrument cause the peso rapidly loses its value.
Amassing a horde of USD cash is the only route for an Argentine to save to visit the US as the peso rapidly erodes against the dollar.
Try the hotel Opera in Madrid! They unashamedly removed the entire safe from my room, with all its contents.
It’s all so convenient. A cop and a lawyer, really? Let me choose professions where others may believe I’m trustworthy… Declaring the money upon arrival into the U.S., trying to pay cash at the hotel and taking photos of your money before you presumably put it into the safe and even once in the safe? All a little too contrived don’t you think? Somebody who wasn’t planning an elaborate fraud, wouldn’t do any of these...
It’s all so convenient. A cop and a lawyer, really? Let me choose professions where others may believe I’m trustworthy… Declaring the money upon arrival into the U.S., trying to pay cash at the hotel and taking photos of your money before you presumably put it into the safe and even once in the safe? All a little too contrived don’t you think? Somebody who wasn’t planning an elaborate fraud, wouldn’t do any of these things, so clearly this is a fraud attempt which is why the hotel is not taking it too seriously as they’ve seen it all before. I look forward to the follow-up piece that unbundles the whole thing and finds him in a New York City jail…
It was NOT a robbery. A little bit of not-pick here, but I see this mistake too often. A "robbery" involves either violence or threat of violence (gun drawn / knife brandished, etc.) and the robber demands your money / goods, etc. This was possibly a "larceny", not a "robbery." The difference might seem pedantic, but the distinction is important. A robbery is considered a MUCH more serious crime and it carries much harsher penalties,...
It was NOT a robbery. A little bit of not-pick here, but I see this mistake too often. A "robbery" involves either violence or threat of violence (gun drawn / knife brandished, etc.) and the robber demands your money / goods, etc. This was possibly a "larceny", not a "robbery." The difference might seem pedantic, but the distinction is important. A robbery is considered a MUCH more serious crime and it carries much harsher penalties, as it has the potential to turn violent / deadly. Larceny only involves the taking of property.
Or simply theft.
I never use hotel safes as I think it is simply signalling to housekeeping or a potential thief that you are in fact travelling with something valuable and alerted them to exactly where it is (and they are easy to break into to). So while I would never have more than a couple hundred in cash I always hide my passport and wallet wrapped in some clothes stuffed at the bottom of my suitcase/backpack in...
I never use hotel safes as I think it is simply signalling to housekeeping or a potential thief that you are in fact travelling with something valuable and alerted them to exactly where it is (and they are easy to break into to). So while I would never have more than a couple hundred in cash I always hide my passport and wallet wrapped in some clothes stuffed at the bottom of my suitcase/backpack in the room.
It is why I also never lock my checked bag (not that I put anything valuable in there anyway) as not only does it make it harder for customs or security to access if they need to but I think it alerts those ground handlers who maybe have thieving inclinations to try to break into it as it is a massive sign there is potentially something valuable in there.
Surely you lock check in bags to stop them opening and its not alerting baggage handlers to valuables considering almost everyone would lock their bags lol
Thank god for the way us Americans travel. I usually keep about a grand or two in cash, split between me, my wife, and stashed in my luggage. Then I use a local ATM to get cash to spend.
Interesting story and I feel sorry for him if this story is true (and if it is well done for sharing his story Ben) which I am inclined to believe based on a number of factors
- He declared the money
- Due to the devaluation of Argentinas currency makes sense he was travelling with cash
- He was travelling with his family
- Called the police and went to the embassy...
Interesting story and I feel sorry for him if this story is true (and if it is well done for sharing his story Ben) which I am inclined to believe based on a number of factors
- He declared the money
- Due to the devaluation of Argentinas currency makes sense he was travelling with cash
- He was travelling with his family
- Called the police and went to the embassy straight away
- Encouraged Ben to release his name (which makes me believe it is lees likely to be fraud)
- He tried to pay for cash at check in so the hotel knew he had at least a few thousand in cash
- I also take pictures of valuable things when leaving them places just in case
But the big one for me is the lack of effort or accountability from the hotel. He asked them to call the police and they didn't so he called them himself and the police came and opened an investigation. Surely once the police arrived the hotel would fully cooperate and check security cameras and turn footage over or check the key card system with times accessed the room and by who (if this is possible) and then also check all employees who are working and previous run ins with crime etc.
And three more: It was New Year Eve: fascinating way to spend with the family at a police office: 4 or 5 hours of waiting?
Go to consulate 2 or 3 Jan as off days there...
Tour for 4 missed...
There are USD accounts in ARG, but I think only for savings and investment, current must be in ARS, so the need for so much cash is reasonable...
Anybody who would store more than 20 bucks in one of those hotel safes really needs to go check out the YouTube “lock picking lawyer. They are comically insecure.
Definitely sounds like an inside job though. Especially because presumably the safe had no signs of forced entry.
If I was a thief tipped off that he had lots of money in his room would I just go directly to the safe crack it open, take the cash and leave. Nope, I would go through all his stuff to see if there is better loot to score. A thief will always look for more. There would be no reason for me to believe what I saw in the safe was all there is....
If I was a thief tipped off that he had lots of money in his room would I just go directly to the safe crack it open, take the cash and leave. Nope, I would go through all his stuff to see if there is better loot to score. A thief will always look for more. There would be no reason for me to believe what I saw in the safe was all there is. The family is the only one who knows all the cash is in the safe unless they announced to the front desk they had $19k and no you wouldn't need $19k to check in.
Lucjy, if I were you I would consider if (not saying he is up to no good) he is up to no good he may be reaching out to you as ammunition for his bad business. Because if he's a reader of your site he would be using points and credit cards instead of cash.
He should have used the safe deposit box in the hotel and if there was none at that hotel he should have stayed somewhere that had one. Everyone knows about the safety of the room safes. If he had a bad feeling why did he continue.....
He should NOT have used the safe deposit box in the hotel, since section 200 of the New York General Business law would've capped the hotel's liability at $1500 (assuming they even accept holding onto the cash for him), and there is no exemption from that rule even if it's due to fault or negligence on the hotel's part.
Between the hotel or his own room, he definitely should've chosen his own room, since a...
He should NOT have used the safe deposit box in the hotel, since section 200 of the New York General Business law would've capped the hotel's liability at $1500 (assuming they even accept holding onto the cash for him), and there is no exemption from that rule even if it's due to fault or negligence on the hotel's part.
Between the hotel or his own room, he definitely should've chosen his own room, since a different standard applies to items in his own room and there is no cap if the loss is due to the hotel's fault or negligence.
Exactly my thought. And if he is well traveled in the usa he would know the hotel will not take all that cash.
it's obviously no secret, beaucoup websites share the secrets of opening safes like those bolted to the wall in hotel rooms in 30 seconds or less. They're definitely not Fort Knox!
I've actually stayed at this hotel before (I was working at a law firm about 3 blocks South, and they booked it) and I can't say this is a property I could recommend. It was run down when I was there a few years ago, and getting ice seemed to be an impossible challenge. Plus, the traffic through the lobby was insane - people were just continually packed in there and hanging out.
Ben: Your readers should know that a hotel's liability for safe losses is limited. In New York it's $1,500 maximum, per General Business Law.
Seeing as the loss occurred in the room and not a safe in the common area or the office of the hotel, section 201 rather than 200 applies, and "No hotel or motel keeper except as provided in the foregoing section shall be liable for damage to or loss of wearing apparel or
other personal property in the lobby, hallways or in the room or rooms assigned to a guest for any sum exceeding...
Seeing as the loss occurred in the room and not a safe in the common area or the office of the hotel, section 201 rather than 200 applies, and "No hotel or motel keeper except as provided in the foregoing section shall be liable for damage to or loss of wearing apparel or
other personal property in the lobby, hallways or in the room or rooms assigned to a guest for any sum exceeding the sum of five hundred
dollars, unless it shall appear that such loss occurred through the
fault or negligence of such keeper".
So he could certainly make the case that the hotel is indeed liable for the full amount, since having theft occur in his own private room is arguable due to the fault or negligence of the keeper.
I have had three instances where I thought something valuable may have been taken from the room or safe and each of the three instances, I ended up finding the “missing” valuable after the trip. None of these instances were in NYC.
I have had one instance at the Plaza in NYC in 2023 where I left a hair iron (not overly valuable) on the bathroom counter and went back to get it within an...
I have had three instances where I thought something valuable may have been taken from the room or safe and each of the three instances, I ended up finding the “missing” valuable after the trip. None of these instances were in NYC.
I have had one instance at the Plaza in NYC in 2023 where I left a hair iron (not overly valuable) on the bathroom counter and went back to get it within an hour of checking out and absolutely no effort to help by front desk, housekeeping, or security. Everyone claimed it wasn’t in room and I gave housekeeping the out that maybe they threw it away or placed in a drawer, but held firmly that it wasn’t left in the room. Very strange!
People suggesting he carry the cash on his person. Are you all serious? In NYC? If he got mugged everyone would call him stupid again.
Travellers check isn't as available as everyone seems to believe. It's important not to project the situation in a wealthy developed nation onto every single place on Earth.
Could this all be an elaborate fraud scheme? Sure, if he's willing to risk his career, jail time and possibly banned from...
People suggesting he carry the cash on his person. Are you all serious? In NYC? If he got mugged everyone would call him stupid again.
Travellers check isn't as available as everyone seems to believe. It's important not to project the situation in a wealthy developed nation onto every single place on Earth.
Could this all be an elaborate fraud scheme? Sure, if he's willing to risk his career, jail time and possibly banned from the US forever over 19k USD, which, while isn't a small sum of money, is still probably far from what he makes in even a year. While leaving 19k in cash in the hotel isn't perfect, I can see how it would seem to be the best choice he had.
The only established fact is that this traveler entered the country with $19K in cash. Everything else is he said/she said. The safe pictures don't prove a thing. Amex issues traveler checks to prevent these things. Also, it is possible to get credit cards in Argentina. There is no plausible explanation to come to the US with this much cash just for travel expenses, not to mention leaving this amount of currency unattended in your hotel room.
the Exchange Rate in Argentina ... if you have US currency, $100 bills, the "Blue Dollar" rate is about 1,200 pesos per, seems most of the country are buying them, they keep going up in value. Official Rate is about 800 per, some Banks (and ATM's) pay 350. My guess is if he paid with a debit/credit card from Argentina he'd get all the US charges, paid at 350-800 per US Dollar. I've been to...
the Exchange Rate in Argentina ... if you have US currency, $100 bills, the "Blue Dollar" rate is about 1,200 pesos per, seems most of the country are buying them, they keep going up in value. Official Rate is about 800 per, some Banks (and ATM's) pay 350. My guess is if he paid with a debit/credit card from Argentina he'd get all the US charges, paid at 350-800 per US Dollar. I've been to Buenos Aires twice in the past few months, Blue Dollars have jumped from 500 to 1,200. My hotel was 87% off for the last visit. Taxi from downtown to EZE Airport, $8.
I’m skeptical. Not because those hotel safes are safe (they aren’t), but because the story is either incomplete or raises questions. I know people in many countries transact almost entirely in cash (I’ve lived in several of them, including in South America). But how they could have gone out for sightseeing (and presumably some food, beverages, transport of some kind, etc. ) while leaving ALL of of the cash at the hotel makes me wonder...
I’m skeptical. Not because those hotel safes are safe (they aren’t), but because the story is either incomplete or raises questions. I know people in many countries transact almost entirely in cash (I’ve lived in several of them, including in South America). But how they could have gone out for sightseeing (and presumably some food, beverages, transport of some kind, etc. ) while leaving ALL of of the cash at the hotel makes me wonder how they paid for all those other activities when they left the hotel room. And no, they couldn’t have had other cash unless they lied on the US Treasury form presented to CBP, since that form requires declaration of ALL currency and monetary instruments (regardless of country of issuance) if the value is more than US$10k. https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-195?language=en_US#:~:text=International%20travelers%20entering%20the%20United,file%20a%20FinCEN%20Form%20105.
I’d need more information before coming to a more definitive conclusion.
Af various hotels where there were or are safes in the guest rooms, the hotels sometimes have safes of their own in a back office where they may also be willing to keep important valuables for guests.
While I sometimes use the room safes, I have long considered them to not be that safe, as I know of too many stories of passports stolen from hotel room safes.
I know some people who take portable...
Af various hotels where there were or are safes in the guest rooms, the hotels sometimes have safes of their own in a back office where they may also be willing to keep important valuables for guests.
While I sometimes use the room safes, I have long considered them to not be that safe, as I know of too many stories of passports stolen from hotel room safes.
I know some people who take portable security cameras for use with 4G/5G modems in order to keep track of what is going on in their guest rooms during their absence from the rooms. Some set them up to watch the room and the safe.
First off, I do believe the guy and feel sorry for him and his family. At the same time, though, I don't understand why he would leave all his cash in the hotel safe. I would have put perhaps some money in his winter jacket, in a money belt, in his wife's purse, in his wallet, etc. I live in midtown east and it's a fairly safe area of Manhattan. There's always police presence given the United Nations and Grand Central are within walking distance.
The Mariott must do better. They absolutely must. Can we start some sort of online petition to assist this man and his family? I am willing to sign any document that would directly assist the investigation. If someone creates a change.org document I will sign it and I'll ask several of my work colleagues to participate.
I read this article three times because I wanted to make sure I understood it all correctly. I then...
The Mariott must do better. They absolutely must. Can we start some sort of online petition to assist this man and his family? I am willing to sign any document that would directly assist the investigation. If someone creates a change.org document I will sign it and I'll ask several of my work colleagues to participate.
I read this article three times because I wanted to make sure I understood it all correctly. I then looked at the photographs and asked my friend about if this could have happened. They didn't know what I was talking about so I re-read the article and it definitely made sense to me, so I have no idea why she said that. Why does Matthew from Liveandletsfly post selfies? I'm going to print and send a physical copy of the article to my friend because maybe it's her device that has a problem. I believe it is one of the older versions of an Apple iPad made some time around 2014. She said the battery life is unfortunately less than 50% of it's original capability. I understand Argentina is going through a very large economic crisis - I am surprised that a public servant such as a police officer is capable of going on a holiday like this, but all the same I congratulate them for organising such a trip. It's heartbreaking. I feel bad for his children because this is not the America that I think many people would like to visit, and yet here we are and this is what's happened.
You sound like you're in cahoots with this guy. Your conclusion is based on this article and photos of "some cash" conviently taken by the defendant without hearing the entire story from any other sides like the police and Marriott (though god forbid we believe anything from them but still). Your call for fund raising sounds exactly like what I would want to happened if I fabricated this story.
My conclusion was that the article makes sense, not that I believe it to be true.
I have no trouble believing the account. My strongest reaction, though, is Duh, everyone knows that safe isn't for serious valuables. In high rank hotels, one can store high value items in the safe in the hotel offices, or front desk safe. Perhaps at Residence Inn they don't offer this and the room safe was the only option. I'd like a device that clamps that thing shut for real and a video device that uploads...
I have no trouble believing the account. My strongest reaction, though, is Duh, everyone knows that safe isn't for serious valuables. In high rank hotels, one can store high value items in the safe in the hotel offices, or front desk safe. Perhaps at Residence Inn they don't offer this and the room safe was the only option. I'd like a device that clamps that thing shut for real and a video device that uploads to my phone if anyone goes near the safe. Anyway, I feel sorry for the guy because I believe he's truthful and I believe he'll never see the money.
Not the main point of the article but in Argentina would it be plausible for someone to be a cop and a lawyer? In the USA no one would be both a lawyer and a police officer.
Beyond that though, nothing about the story seems too far fetched and I have no idea what this individual would gain from reaching out to you with a made up story.
I've heard of some law enforcement officers like FBI agents becoming agents after going to law school/becoming lawyers. It's probably not common among beat cops, but "cop" is a pretty broad term.
I worked with FBI agents with law degrees, that were teaching criminal justice courses.
I was a police officer for a large midwestern city in the 90's. I knew at least a dozen officers at my agency who went to law school at night, and got their law degree. One went to the FBI, then came back to the police department. The rest finished their careers as police officers, then practiced law after retirement. So it is not uncommon at all.
Can't vouch for Argentina, but in general it's not uncommon for police departments to have their own legal staff.
Him being a cop makes me doubt the story somewhat. Cops love to break the law and lie about it.
Good luck getting any recourse from Marriott … they won’t even honor the Elite Benefits Guarantee so it’s hard to imagine them reimbursing 19 grand.
"the traveler says he’s getting nowhere with any Marriott channels."
Don't need to hear anything else, I already 100% believe him.
I once spent over an hour on the phone with one agent to resolve an issue. No surprise that when I called days later to follow-up, it was as though that conversation never happened.
That's their M.O.
After what happened to me and my friends at St Regis Bora Bora, I completely believe this story. You would not believe that thefts can happen at paradise hotels 5* etc. but they are most probably the best places for housekeeping to perform that kind of operation. We intentionally didn't put our wallets in safe as we know that all safe can be easily open (and you have no claim if you put it in...
After what happened to me and my friends at St Regis Bora Bora, I completely believe this story. You would not believe that thefts can happen at paradise hotels 5* etc. but they are most probably the best places for housekeeping to perform that kind of operation. We intentionally didn't put our wallets in safe as we know that all safe can be easily open (and you have no claim if you put it in safe and money got stolen). In short my friends got around $400 stolen from the wallet and ours was $170. In our case money was in the wallet and was kind of hidden in backpacks so someone went for a distance to find it. We only figured out that our money was missing when our friends (they were there 2 weeks after us) when they told us about their theft (as we only use USD when travelling). On positive note, management was very responsive and they refunded our money as they obviously had previous experiences about that (there is whole section on tripadvisor : Theft at St Regis Bora Bora). Good news is that we figured this out only when we came home so it didn't spoil our vacation. Anyway, not sure what to make out of this and how to protect your money when travelling. Bottom line, more you pay for the hotel does not mean your belongings are safer.
I stayed at the Hyatt in Cancun years ago. I had stuffed a couple of $100 bills in the toe of one of my running shoes that I placed back in my bag.
Got back and decided to go running on the beach and lo and behold the money was gone. Immediately complained and demanded to know who had opened my room door. After about 2 hours I got the money back,
To be honest, the only thing that sounds fishy is that they would have put all their money in one place. I get that in Argentina, the only viable option for savings is to keep USD cash, and for a long vacation over the holidays, I can see why they would need that much. That said, $19k is a LOT of cash, and certainly more than I would ever keep in one place -- unless...
To be honest, the only thing that sounds fishy is that they would have put all their money in one place. I get that in Argentina, the only viable option for savings is to keep USD cash, and for a long vacation over the holidays, I can see why they would need that much. That said, $19k is a LOT of cash, and certainly more than I would ever keep in one place -- unless that place were insurable (like a bank safe deposit box). I'd have gone straight to Western Union and sent money to myself in each city, only keeping what would be needed in NYC -- and that cash would have never left my person. If you knew the hotel would be $3k, why not send cash from husband to wife? Probably can't have transmit/receive at the same location, but surely in NYC there are plenty of branches.
Exactly. I also think it's odd how he placed the entire $19000 cash in the safe. Since he declared $19k at customs, that is all the cash the family had. Why would he leave all of it in the safe? Wouldn't he put some cash in his wallet? It's winter in NYC and there are hidden pockets in winter jackets. If he had money belt, he could have placed some cash there, placed some cash in his wife's jacket, etc.
maybe it wasn't al he had - the 19k was just what he didn't need that day
If he had more than 10k in cash when he entered the US, under US Treasury regulations, he would have been required to declare ALL of it. So no, he couldn’t declare 19k, and ignore any other cash he had. This alone makes me skeptical that he’s telling the whole story.
Did he really need $19k to pay for a residence inn... Even in nyc. Was he paying for the return flight of his family as well. Why didn't he take some of it with him. Didn't he need some to pay for food?
If I was uncomfortable with staff, I would have asked the front desk if they have a safe or safety deposit box. Normally I have my laptop or Ipad in the room safe and not much else.
There is something amiss with that photo of the cash. The 20s ought to be x4.5 higher than the 100s given the number of bills involved, but it's not....
Just because the top bill in the stack is a 20 or 100, does not mean that the rest of the bills in the stack are the same denomination.
When I have a stack of cash, I always put the smaller denominations on top (because they're the most likely to be used).
Since it is so easy yo open the hotel safes, we normally don’t put anything in safe. We either carry valuables with us or in locked suitcases. On rare occasions when we put stuff in safe, we take a picture as a proof that we had stuff and we put it in the safe.
After our bags were mishandled few times, we take picture of our bags before the drop off at the airport.
I...
Since it is so easy yo open the hotel safes, we normally don’t put anything in safe. We either carry valuables with us or in locked suitcases. On rare occasions when we put stuff in safe, we take a picture as a proof that we had stuff and we put it in the safe.
After our bags were mishandled few times, we take picture of our bags before the drop off at the airport.
I don’t find his actions interesting however that doesn’t mean he may not be trying to commit a fraud. But so far there is no evidence to support that.
"This is the lockpicking lawyer and I am going to open this hotel safe with a toe nail clipping and a used condom."
Yeah follow the lockpicking lawyer, and I saw his videos about opening hotel safe, they are so easy. I actually has his hotel safe tool, because I get too anxious that my wife will use a number and forget what it was.
Marriott properties utilize electronic key card systems for guest rooms. These systems typically do record logs of door activity, including:
- Date and Time: Each time a key card is used to unlock the door, the system logs the date and time of the event.
- Cardholder Information: The system can identify the specific key card used, which can be linked back to the registered guest or authorized staff member.
- Door Status:...
Marriott properties utilize electronic key card systems for guest rooms. These systems typically do record logs of door activity, including:
- Date and Time: Each time a key card is used to unlock the door, the system logs the date and time of the event.
- Cardholder Information: The system can identify the specific key card used, which can be linked back to the registered guest or authorized staff member.
- Door Status: The system also records whether the door was successfully unlocked or if there were any attempts (e.g., failed swipes).
Also public areas have security cameras. The guest did all things correctly, calling the police was crucial to step. Most probably a rogue employee. Marriott never loses, soon or later they will find who did it.
The grand-mystery should have taken about 7-10 mins to solve: hotels have cameras all over the place. If for whatever reason cameras don't show the room entrance or the floor's common areas (very unlikely) - then staff should be able to check what keycards and at what times were used to enter the room.
The fact that none of this was done right then and there tells me the hotel staff could very well...
The grand-mystery should have taken about 7-10 mins to solve: hotels have cameras all over the place. If for whatever reason cameras don't show the room entrance or the floor's common areas (very unlikely) - then staff should be able to check what keycards and at what times were used to enter the room.
The fact that none of this was done right then and there tells me the hotel staff could very well be implicated, hence, they're playing it dumb and sabotaging. Corporate Marriott is likely silent cause they're still figuring out what exactly happened and/or coming up with damage control plan.
Insider complicity is a possibility. They make an extra key at check-in and hand all but one key to the guests. That or a crooked employee steals or takes keys from another employees with multi-room key access and uses that to access a room and then play pirate. Presumably they could know of any hotel security cameras in place or whether or not they even are working at a time.
I find the story very plausible and believe it.
My parents have a good friend who lives in Buenos Aires (is Argentinian citizen) and works for a multi-national and his employment agreement has him get paid in USD to a bank in the US. He pays his teenage kids their allowances in USD cash. If one travels to BA and needs to change money, his secretary handles it. So somebody from Argentina having liquid...
I find the story very plausible and believe it.
My parents have a good friend who lives in Buenos Aires (is Argentinian citizen) and works for a multi-national and his employment agreement has him get paid in USD to a bank in the US. He pays his teenage kids their allowances in USD cash. If one travels to BA and needs to change money, his secretary handles it. So somebody from Argentina having liquid assets in USD, properly declared to the US CBP, is very common.
Hotel safes are a sham and I wouldn't trust a single one of them. I do lock-picking as a hobby and when I travel I play with the in-room safes. A lot of them you can pop off a plastic cover with a flathead screwdriver (or take out one or two screws) to access a back-up master key slot which for many of the common safes can be opened with a simple rake attack in about 10 seconds. You can YouTube how to do it.. is not very hard. Same as many hotels don't even bother to reset the default master keycode from the manufacturer. That's all on the internet too. So anybody with a smart phone with internet access and access to the room could probably commit the "heist" in all of 30 seconds without even having the tools or knowledge that hotels have to get in to them. I have once or twice claimed I couldn't get my safe opened and asked the hotel to do so, and they either showed with a manual key or had a passcode that made it open.
So, yes, plausible, believable, and I'm sure Marriott wants nothing to do with it as it highlights vulnerabilities.
This raises the general question of whether it's safer to hand valuables over to the front desk staff and get an itemized receipt (i.e., have them count the cash and put the number on the receipt, or describe what you gave them in some detail) vs use the in-room safe.
There's another report of staff-robbery at the hotel in September. Seems like the hotel management has a side hustle…
https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d5960548-r916385874-Hilton_Garden_Inn_New_York_Manhattan_Midtown_East-New_York_City_New_York.html
Different hotel, Sherlock.
Hotel locks are electronic so depending on the age of the hotel, I believe the hotel can see when someone entered the room.
Taking a pic of your stuff in the safe because you had a bad feeling is interesting. But I guess, what else would you do with 19k? Coulda wrapped it up in underwear in your luggage I suppose. That's what I do.
Thieving hotel staff know such hiding spots and look.
Personally, I wouldn’t trust any zippered suitcase — locked or otherwise — in being a very safe place to secure valuables from someone with physical access to the room and the bags during my absence from the rooms.
No judgment/opinion on this but I do wonder why, if this person is supposedly a police officer/lawyer, the money is bundled in stationery from DDB, an advertising agency.
The wife, another relative, friend or acquaintance may work for DDB in Buenos Aires or picked up some stationary of the sort from an event or meeting. Wouldn’t make too much of it.
I at first was wondering if it would say Dirección General de Aduanas, DGA. But it doesn’t read as DGA.
If somebody thinks you have valuables in your room and wants to steal them, they will no matter where you put them. I guess the safe is better than not using the safe as there is a chance that person doesn't have access to the safe, but if stealing from hotel rooms is your crime of choice, you probably have access to the safes and that is the first place you would look. I think...
If somebody thinks you have valuables in your room and wants to steal them, they will no matter where you put them. I guess the safe is better than not using the safe as there is a chance that person doesn't have access to the safe, but if stealing from hotel rooms is your crime of choice, you probably have access to the safes and that is the first place you would look. I think maybe hiding the valuable in a piece of clothing or deep inside a bag might be more useful because the person isn't going to want to spend much time looking and risk being caught.
Some safes use master keys and some use master codes. The master keys for hotel safes are available online and the codes are generally not anymore secure as hotels often don't change them from the default and/or don't change them often meaning that many employees and former employees know the code.
The most important thing is to not let people know you have valuables. Keep valuables out of sight. I think the safe is a last resort if you don't have anywhere better to hide something. Use do not disturb, not so much because you don't trust housekeeping, but because nobody should be entering your room but you. Finally, don't travel with anything you can't afford to lose.
Hard for me to imagine being from somewhere else and feeling as though travelling with stacks of cash was the way I wanted/needed to go.
Clearly you know nothing about Argentina.
I remember someone story heading to 34 ATMs in Saudi Arabia for not taking cash ;-))). And yes, comments about ARG context are fully applicable here
The thing that puts pause to his story for me is why would he still put so much of that cash in the safe if he had a bad feeling which prompted him to take a photo instead of say, taking 1/2 or some of that cash with him (in this backpack etc., wife’s purse, etc.). That doesn’t make sense especially when he’s a police officer. Or because he’s a police officer and lawyer, he...
The thing that puts pause to his story for me is why would he still put so much of that cash in the safe if he had a bad feeling which prompted him to take a photo instead of say, taking 1/2 or some of that cash with him (in this backpack etc., wife’s purse, etc.). That doesn’t make sense especially when he’s a police officer. Or because he’s a police officer and lawyer, he has understanding of how this works with detailed documentations to forge fraud…hopefully the truth will be revealed.
Plus I'm not sure if he has travel insurance and whether he needs a police report to file a claim? Since $19k is what he declared at customs, that is the amount of cash he had. Since the $10k is in $100 bills, it's only 1 stack. He could have placed some of the cash in a money belt or in a hidden pocked of his winter jacket.
His declaration to customs gives more weight to the story
This story reminds me to the story of the couple whose safe was broken into at Le Meridien Barcelona.
For details, google ‘le meridien barcelona safe broken into’.
It’s quite common for people to take photos. They often do of check in baggage. There may also have been issues using Argentinian cards in the US therefore he chose to take cash. Not sure how he can be a policeman and a lawyer and assume that’s just a way to ensure they take the claim seriously. Unlike airlines who have a limited liability and aren’t responsible for cabin baggage hotels can be open to all sorts of claims.
If *I* was from a poor country whose currency devaluated by 99.9% (YES!) in the last 10 (!) years and I was travelling with a huge amount of money like that, I, too, would take a picture of my stash in the safe deposit box.
To add more percentages, devaluation of Argentinian currency was 77% in the last year and 87% in the last two years alone.
Especially from Argentina it makes sense to be traveling with so much cash. Most Argentinians savings are in physical US dollars because of inflation in the country.
Lifting prints off the safe should solve this pretty quick - if there were no prints it could mean whoever emptied the safe wiped it down, but there is no reason he would have wiped it down himself upon leaving the hotel in the morning. So no prints...
Especially from Argentina it makes sense to be traveling with so much cash. Most Argentinians savings are in physical US dollars because of inflation in the country.
Lifting prints off the safe should solve this pretty quick - if there were no prints it could mean whoever emptied the safe wiped it down, but there is no reason he would have wiped it down himself upon leaving the hotel in the morning. So no prints or someone else's prints likely means someone else accessed it - whereas if it is only his prints on the safe...
But how would he know that his cash was missing if he didn't open the safe after returning? (and thus redepositing his prints on it).
I assume that there is a log of exactly who entered the room and when via the key card system. If I was in this traveler’s position I would be demanding the police get that info from the hotel.
Plausible, but seems too well "documented".
Why take a picture of the money in the safe *ahead* of time?
Because he had his... doubts :D
Why do I always take a picture of my bag(s) before I check something in? Just in case something goes wrong. I always hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
I'm inclined to believe him not perhaps I'm simply a naive fool.
Assuming there's no evidence of forced entry into the room, does the room's key-less lock log exactly whose card-key was used to enter the room and the time?
I'd be curious to learn more about this as I'm purely speculating, but I don't think the locks actually are connected to any central logging system like you'd find in an office building.
A few reasons make me think this:
1) If you extend your checkout you have to go get a new key or get yours reprogrammed. Why would that be the case if they had record of what key you have and...
I'd be curious to learn more about this as I'm purely speculating, but I don't think the locks actually are connected to any central logging system like you'd find in an office building.
A few reasons make me think this:
1) If you extend your checkout you have to go get a new key or get yours reprogrammed. Why would that be the case if they had record of what key you have and could just tell the lock to honor that key for a few more hours/days?
2) Installing true access control systems is incredibly expensive - upwards of $4,000-$5,000 per door.
My best guess is each door lock has a predetermined, time-synced algorithm. When the front desk 'programs' a key, they are putting a line of code onto the key's chip that correlates with the algorithm on the lock. Similar to how two-factor authentication codes work such as Duo or Google Authenticator (not the text ones but rather the algorithmic ones) - the code in the hotel room key matches the algorithm until a pre-determined time then the code on the key no longer can unlock the door.
Hotel safes are notoriously easy to open by many various staff members.
His case sounds plausible, but one can only wonder if the truth will ever be provable for this one.
I think you also have to ask, why is the guy contacting you, Lucky? To give credibility to his story? Maybe you're being used as a source of publicity for him. Maybe he needs this documented for legitimacy. If he "had a bad feeling about it" why would he leave $19k in a hotel room? There are just too many questions here for this story to be helpful. It raises more unwarranted doubts than is worth as a story for anyone else to learn from, honestly.
lol Darwin , so what’s the other option ? Carry 19k in cash around New York ?
Using Traveller cheques
ok grandpa.
I don't think they even exist any more
True but at least he'll always know where his cash is if it was on him.