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Forum Thread

Do you lock your luggage when staying in hotels?

39,439 5,562 July 20, 2016 at 04:18 PM
Well DW and kids just left after a couple weeks vacay... I am staying behind to do some work. It just occurred to me.... DW locked her suitcase every time we left the room (one of those TSA locks) and I'm thinking.... what the hell is the maid service going to steal? Underwear? I leave electronics out all the time - laptops setup, phones charging, etc etc, and never have an issue. I have had change taken but that could have been a misunderstanding about tips.
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apcviewer
07-20-2016 at 04:47 PM.
07-20-2016 at 04:47 PM.
Yes, all the time. The housekeeping staff may not take stuff, but I do not like advertising what I have. Then, there are those who post videos online of the housekeeping staff snooping around the room...

Also, if you have your room cleaned out on a daily basis, almost always, the door to your room is either left wide open, or held ajar with the security lock. On a few occasions when I walked into my room while it was being cleaned, the housekeeping staff did not stop me from entering. They did have a look of concern, but I believe they are not allowed to stop a guest from walking into a room.
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Joined Aug 2005
Baldilocks
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emelvee
07-20-2016 at 07:12 PM.
07-20-2016 at 07:12 PM.
I don't lock luggage, but I might hide valuables in a safe or among clothes. I don't think I've ever had anything stolen.

I'm not counting those ladies' panties, but those weren't mine to begin with anyway.
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Joined Jan 2004
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Iaaaiws
07-20-2016 at 09:00 PM.
07-20-2016 at 09:00 PM.
I never lock my luggage but thinking about it I mostly have been avoiding any housekeeping at all lately in hotels. Most of my recent stays have just been single nights when I am traveling and when I do stay somewhere for any length of time I have been going with the extended stay places where I have a full kitchen and they don't do daily housekeeping. Even if I am staying in a regular hotel I generally just put the "Do not disturb" sign on the door when I leave the room so they stay out.
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Original Poster
Dr. J
07-20-2016 at 09:20 PM.
07-20-2016 at 09:20 PM.
Quote from apcviewer :
Yes, all the time. The housekeeping staff may not take stuff, but I do not like advertising what I have. Then, there are those who post videos online of the housekeeping staff snooping around the room...

Also, if you have your room cleaned out on a daily basis, almost always, the door to your room is either left wide open, or held ajar with the security lock. On a few occasions when I walked into my room while it was being cleaned, the housekeeping staff did not stop me from entering. They did have a look of concern, but I believe they are not allowed to stop a guest from walking into a room.
Well I do close the top to luggage but I don't bother locking it. If you're that concerned about what you have in there, you either need to stay at a better hotel or rethink what you leave in luggage.
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oilfuture
07-20-2016 at 09:37 PM.
07-20-2016 at 09:37 PM.
hmmm. i never thought of it that way. i do use the safe for some valuables but i have never locked my suitcase or bags.
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Iaaaiws
07-20-2016 at 09:56 PM.
07-20-2016 at 09:56 PM.
Stayed in a real beauty low-budget motel this past weekend.

The rooms themselves were actually quite nice. Although quite dated everything was clean and functional. Pretty much just a simple rustic decor with different touches like little knick-knacks and even some books on the desk.








The doors still open with a key but at least there was a high-tech security lock system in place once you were inside.




No silly GFCI outlets over the sink in this place. In order to survive in this place you need to utilize some basic common sense. No nanny-state watching out for the stupid here.



Staying there was like a trip back in time but for around $60 including taxes it got the job done. There were several of the typical chain-type places but at over twice the cost for just a night's stay it wouldn't have been worth it.

*edit* My only real complaint was that the only grounded outlet was behind the desk. I wanted to be able to plug my laptop in and put it on the table next to the bed but the only outlet there was a two-prong like the one in the bathroom picture. Annoyed
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Last edited by Iaaaiws July 20, 2016 at 10:00 PM.
Joined Jun 2006
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Zoe Moon
07-20-2016 at 10:02 PM.
07-20-2016 at 10:02 PM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
Stayed in a real beauty low-budget motel this past weekend.

The rooms themselves were actually quite nice. Although quite dated everything was clean and functional. Pretty much just a simple rustic decor with different touches like little knick-knacks and even some books on the desk.








The doors still open with a key but at least there was a high-tech security lock system in place once you were inside.




No silly GFCI outlets over the sink in this place. In order to survive in this place you need to utilize some basic common sense. No nanny-state watching out for the stupid here.



Staying there was like a trip back in time but for around $60 including taxes it got the job done. There were several of the typical chain-type places but at over twice the cost for just a night's stay it wouldn't have been worth it.

*edit* My only real complaint was that the only grounded outlet was behind the desk. I wanted to be able to plug my laptop in and put it on the table next to the bed but the only outlet there was a two-prong like the one in the bathroom picture. Annoyed
Were you in Texas? That looks a lot like a room I've stayed in before in a smallish Texas town.
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Joined Jan 2004
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Iaaaiws
07-20-2016 at 10:29 PM.
07-20-2016 at 10:29 PM.
Quote from Zoe Moon :
Were you in Texas? That looks a lot like a room I've stayed in before in a smallish Texas town.
I may make it to Texas sometime but I'm pretty sure it won't be in July. laugh out loud

This was only a few hours from home here in the UP. Just an overnight trip to check this out:





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Joined Jun 2006
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Zoe Moon
07-20-2016 at 10:42 PM.
07-20-2016 at 10:42 PM.
Very pretty! When you get ready some day to go to Texas, I can give you some tips on what to do and see and where to Eat.

Edit and more importantly, WHEN to go so you don't melt! laugh out loud
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apcviewer
07-21-2016 at 06:42 AM.
07-21-2016 at 06:42 AM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
I never lock my luggage but thinking about it I mostly have been avoiding any housekeeping at all lately in hotels. Most of my recent stays have just been single nights when I am traveling and when I do stay somewhere for any length of time I have been going with the extended stay places where I have a full kitchen and they don't do daily housekeeping. Even if I am staying in a regular hotel I generally just put the "Do not disturb" sign on the door when I leave the room so they stay out.
I was in an extended stay style hotel where they clean rooms out on a weekly basis with some co-workers. Several of them leave the "Do Not Disturb" signs on their doors anyway. Despite this, a few of them suspect someone is entering their rooms since they believe stuff has been moved around. One day when we got off work early, one co-worker decided to prove he, and a few others, were not crazy. Sitting in his room with the do not disturb sign on the door, someone knocked on the door and announced who he was. Not five seconds go by and the door is opened. Co-worker has the guy explain himself and points out the do not disturb sign. Guy says he is from maintenance and is servicing a work order for a sink... a work order that wasn't even placed by my co-worker. Further complaining to the front desk didn't resolve anything. Not saying all hotels are like this... just sharing that some hotels can't really be trusted to honor privacy.

Quote from Dr. J :
Well I do close the top to luggage but I don't bother locking it. If you're that concerned about what you have in there, you either need to stay at a better hotel or rethink what you leave in luggage.
I usually stay in IHG and Marriott chain hotels, and for the most part, I am not too worried about getting things stolen from the staff. However, when housekeeping leaves my room door unsecured during cleaning, I just can't ignore the lingering possibility of someone walking in like it is their room and grabbing something. Yes, a locked luggage could be grabbed, but it would be more cumbersome versus a sitting laptop. As for what I lock in my luggage, it is just a personal laptop and less than $100 in cash. I suppose minor possessions for some, but if I were to lose my personal laptop, I would be quite upset.
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Majide
07-21-2016 at 07:59 AM.
07-21-2016 at 07:59 AM.
I don't lock my luggage in the room. I'll store valuables in the safe: passport, ID, money, jewelry, my tablet. Depending on where we are staying, I may leave some things like phones and cameras sitting out.
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idkist
07-21-2016 at 08:24 AM.
07-21-2016 at 08:24 AM.
I'll use a room safe for things or hide them. For the most part though I'll just leave out or hide the majority of things.
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Crushinator5000
07-21-2016 at 11:35 AM.
07-21-2016 at 11:35 AM.
Quote from apcviewer :
Guy says he is from maintenance and is servicing a work order for a sink... a work order that wasn't even placed by my co-worker.
A prior guest or housekeeping could have put in the work order, though. If I ran a hotel, I wouldn't mess around with anything involving electricity or running water. Fix it ASAP.
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Landers
07-21-2016 at 03:26 PM.
07-21-2016 at 03:26 PM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
I never lock my luggage but thinking about it I mostly have been avoiding any housekeeping at all lately in hotels. Most of my recent stays have just been single nights when I am traveling and when I do stay somewhere for any length of time I have been going with the extended stay places where I have a full kitchen and they don't do daily housekeeping. Even if I am staying in a regular hotel I generally just put the "Do not disturb" sign on the door when I leave the room so they stay out.
Yeah. I don't usually let housekeeping in more than once or twice a week at most. If I'm traveling for work for say Sun-Fri, I'll probably let them change sheets/clean up on Wednesday. Other than that, DND sign stays up.
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