From Gadling.com
by Scott Carmichael Feb 1st 2009 @ 4:30PM

Every "how to" article about keeping your stuff safe in a hotel will recommend keeping valuables in a safe. And initially that may seem like the best place to store stuff.

There is however a disturbing trend involving theft from the hotel safe.
Despite the thing being locked, it appears that many safes may not be as safe as you'd think. All hotels have a backdoor into the safe which is added in case the guest forgets the code, or loses the key.

Some safes may use a master key, others may have a special code to open the door. Either way, when a safe has a way for unauthorized people to get in it, you are going to run the risk of theft.

Of course, it is always going to be hard to prove who exactly stole stuff from the safe during your stay, and hotel management may not always be willing to cooperate, especially in certain countries where management may be the culprits behind the theft. Worst of all, without any evidence, your travel insurance usually won't cover these losses.

Your best option is to consider keeping valuable stuff elsewhere in the room, but you'll need a very well planned hiding place to thwart would-be thieves.

When researching this article, I came across the Milockie hotel safe lock. This device consists of a special lock and strap, and allows you to secure the safe with your own lock, preventing anyone else from gaining access.

Unfortunately, the lock costs 50 Euros, and has to be shipped from Europe, but if you regularly travel with expensive items that need to be locked away in the hotel safe, it may be a worthwhile investment.

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