This is a very strange story on several levels…
Continue reading: Man Has Rolex Stolen Off Wrist In Marriott Lobby
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Reading this, somehow I saw quotes around the word "stolen", even though Ben didn't publish it that way.
Is there a version of the video that doesn't have that ridiculously stupid sound playing?
"Tell me you are a dumb person without telling me you are a dumb person."
Who drops by at 01:00am in a hotel hoping for a more than "earlier" check-in with a 24k watch and decides to sleep in the lobby of a not so expensive hotel?
I would go for the presidential suite if they even had it, tbh
If a hotel guest that stole it, probably shouldn't take too long to track down.
"Does the hotel have liability for anything that’s stolen on property, even if it’s a non-customer?"
At 1AM and the hotel doesn't kick him out, he is recognized and definitely not trespassing, thus it can be argued that he is a customer. Your customer status doesn't begin at check in and expire at check out. (Maybe for Bonvoy??, LOL)
The sleeping man did have a watch stolen while sleeping in the lobby of a hotel; but the hotel chain isn't relevant. If housekeeping steals the luggage the hotel chain is relevant. I cannot say I haven't fallen asleep in odd places before but don't create opportunities for theft with items of value.
Insurance fraud? Seems to me that the sleeping victim and perp could have been in cahoots to stage the theft where they knew there’d be video capturing it. Perp never looks at the camera in way good enough to identify him, and the sleeping victim sleeps so soundly as to be suspicious. Not saying that’s definitely what’s going on, but seems like a possibility to me.
It's a bit unfair to blame the guy for showing up at the hotel at 1am looking for somewhere to sleep. Not all travel plans can accommodate a neat 3pm-9pm arrival window. If the hotel had availability the previous night, they should have offered him an early check-in, even for a fee. Of course the story didn't mention if this was offered and he declined, or if the property was fully booked.
Two years ago I arrived at the Sheraton Grand Salzburg at 7:30am for a reservation later that day after not having slept for 24 hours, they charged me €25 to get in a room immediately, and I happily paid it and was sound asleep by 8am. They even upgraded my room to a suite. Otherwise I would have been sleeping in the lobby for a few hours.
7am and 1am are quite different...It does sound like he made a poor life choice and could have attempted to check into another hotel...If he wears a $24K watch, it's very possible he has other valuables on him...
It was an inside job they were in on it together. The Rolex was a fugazi. It humors me at the airport seeing 99.99% of fake Louis Vuitton duffel bags being dragged through a conveyor belt. No one with a 14 thousand dollar bag would risk damaging their bag at an airport.
The victim should file a report with PD and hotel security should share the surveillance.
Like a diamond ring, most who wear $5K+ of jewelry/luxury goods get insurance to protect against theft or unintended damage...If one doesn't have that, that's a poor life choice...Rolex's aren't incredibly hard to resell either and to receive any sort of payout you need to file a police report, provide serial numbers and now that rolex is hot and only worth a fraction of its value...
If someone drinks and drives and gets himself killed in an accident, are we also victim blaming by questioning his actions?
Ben, I love you but please. The guy who stole the watch is not a jerk; he is a thug, criminal, or low-life at a bare minimum. Jerk is reserved for someone who pees and some ends up on the plane bathroom seat and expects the flight attendant to clean it up.
Former hotel liability lawyer here. Whether the victim was a registered guest at the time of the robbery isn't really relevant. He was still a a business invitee, someone the hotel was allowing to be on the premises, to wait for a room, wait for a friend, attend a meeting, or for any other lawful reason other than trespassing. So they had a duty of care to him.
If for example, he was a woman, and was sexually assaulted while sleeping there, then yes, the hotel could be liable, it comes down to whether the hotel took reasonable care to protect its guests or was there "negligent security." Key issues in the case would be did they have enough staff on duty, did they have security officers, should they have had security officers, how long was the perp lurking there, was he really staying there, was there adequate lighting, was it a high crime area, have there been incidents in the lobby before, etc.
The hotel would argue "We did what a reasonable hotel would do" and the plaintiff would point out all the deficiencies in what the hotel did.
Knockoff watch. Nobody who wears a Rolex would sleep in the lobby. I would have just gone to the nearest transit hotel. If I was flying and was the type who felt the need to wear a genuine rolex, my luggage probably has a lot of valuables in them. No way I would sleep in the lobby with all that on my possession. Even if I didn't I wouldn't sleep in any lobby period.
You wear a $24k watch and stay at a Residence Inn? Really? This scream scam all over the place. Probably a fake watch and both working together.
Actually the watch was unbuckled, THEN his wrist was lifted.
Also, I didn’t see any masks on. How inconsiderate.
Come for the the travel and stay for the "I'm not a lawyer but" speculation.
The hotel is a business and owes a duty of reasonable care to all invitees (whether he was staying at the hotel or transacting any business there is irrelevant).
Interesting how he can afford to wear a $24K Rolex watch but did not want to pay for an additional one night hotel stay.
Not a Lawyer speaking. I doubt reasonable care includes being responsible for a non guest being unaware of his surroundings because he was sleeping deeply.
If he was scheduled to arrive at 1am, he should have had a room reserved for that night (not the following night), and let the hotel know he would be checking in late.
Regardless, it still smells like a scam to me - if I were wearing a $24k watch, I wouldn't be going to sleep in public.
That's my read. How perfect is it that he's catatonic-asleep the whole time and then mysteriously seems to stir to life right at the end.
It would not surprise me one bit if the two were in it together. Split the insurance money.
I don't get it why do people here think that someone with $24k watch doesn't stay in a Residence Inn?
Frugal doesn't equal cheap or poor.
But I'm not going to say this isn't a scam. If Bernie Madoff can scam people, anyone can scam people.
If Biden can sell a trillion dollar coin to pay off debt, US can keep printing free stimulus money.
If you sold 2 pizzas for bitcoins 11 years ago. You can get yourself more than 24,000 of this $24k watch.
Sounds fishy to me. Maybe to the cops also.
24 k for a rolex , ok but why not buy a room rather than sleep in the lobby.
Just wondering ???
There are many types of people and many choices of lodging in this world. I have substantial watch holdings and often stay at Residence Inns, but in a paid room, not as a lobby sleeper. Having a separate sleeping area makes the room feel larger. Having a kitchen serves those with healthy eating concerns as well as those with religious diets.
In fact, my first choice in lodging is Homewood Suites followed by Residence Inns and followed by Element.
LV duffle bags start at a little over $1k lol idk where u got the 14 thousand number from but that aint a LV Keepall haha
People forget that the Rolex might have been a gift, a pass me down from a relative, or something of that nature. and even if he did pay for it, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy and still choosing to stay at a hotel like a Residence Inn.
Why is it that video footage from Mars is in 4K full HD but footage from any security camera makes it look like a foggy morning
Multiple absurd takes on here.
Perhaps the watch was a gift? Or a family heirloom passed from parent to son? Maybe the reason he can afford a $24,000 watch is because he is frugal and selectively spends on things are important to him?
He wasn’t staying at the hotel. He was sleeping in the lobby. I think the idea is that maybe he should have gotten a room with a door and a lock.
If I own a $24k rolex, why didn't I have my reservation for 2 nights so when I arrived at 1am, I'd have a room ready.
If I have the means to own a "real" $24k rolex, I don't sleep in hotel lobbies.
And thank you for your senseless contribution to racism. Your comment simply reveals what kind of emotional pain you're in, and I for one love seeing you suffer.
Thinking out of the box, perhaps it was a scam: he and the robber schemed to get a settlement from the hotel?
"Rolex watches, and colorful Swatches, I'm digging in pockets, mfs can't stop it!" - "Gimme da Loot", the Notorious B.I.G.
Sounds like a new easy rip-off plan. Book a room for your accomplice, phone him when you're established in the lobby, have him some down, lift the watch, do a contactless check out, leave separately. Sure, they're out the cost of the room, but they can split the net gain for very little effort.
As someone said, you’d think the guy could afford to spend more than one night at that hotel or another one, if that particular property was sold out, unless that watch had been a gift from someone, which is possible.
As someone said,you’d think the guy could afford to spend more than one night at that hotel or another one, if that particular property was sold out, unless that watch had been a gift from someone, which is possible.
You’d think the guy could afford to spend more than one night at that hotel or another one, if that particular property was sold out, unless that watch had been a gift from someone, which is possible.
He's obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed!
And if you own something of such value, make sure it's insured before you take a nap in a public place with it on for all to see.
I think it's fake. Notice how the video closes in on the perp, then follows him as he leaves the area. That can't be a security camera.
With the amount of Fake Rolex being worn these days, how did the thief know that this man was wearing a real rolex enough to risk jail time??? In a hotel lobby no less and as a guest.
If the man was sleeping in the Lobby of Chevel Blanc with LV luggage, then yeah chances are the wwatch is real, but in a Marriot Inn in DC......please.
Doesnt add up.
That is a set up 4 sure. He wasn't a guest at the time of the surpose incident. Hotel not liable 4 NOTHING!
You'd be surprised. I can't speak to DC, but in most States there are innkeeper liability laws that skew heavily in favor of hotels. More or less, unless he left the watch in a safe deposit box at the front desk, the hotel wouldn't be liable.
Unrelated, but you'd be surprised at how common people showing up just after midnight and expecting to check in 15 hours early for free is. Weird that the overnight staff didn't send him on his way, but perhaps they were sold out and the front desk agent was being rather sympathetic.
I'm going to play devil's advocate and say the two of them were in on it. He knew he was in view of the camera and the other person knew what to look for. With convincing video and police report, seems fairly simple to get insurance money. Now if this really was theft, the hotel is only liable for not locking down their lobby to only registered guest, which ironically enough, would not include him as he had not checked in yet. And I agree, if you can afford a $20k+ Rolex, you can afford a room at the Courtyard. Was he expecting to sleep all day and check in at 3p or hope for an earlier check in? Hate to say it, he was lucky they allowed him to stay rather than come back later. But then again, I have napped in the lobby before due to jet lag on long trips simply because I had a reservation, but my room was still not ready. But I certainly did not do this early morning while it was still dark outside!
This happens to me all the time...usually I just buy another one from the guy on the street outside this hotel.
The name is Persian, so he could be a Persian-american, coming in after a long flight ? If you are more curious, you can google his name and have some fun. enjoy..