Hotel security

Status
Not open for further replies.

writeorwrong

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 30, 2006
Messages
97
Reaction score
7
For you frequent travelers or employees of average to better than average (3 star) hotels. What kind of crimes most frequently take place? Is theft a huge problem? Any hotels still using keyed entry to rooms?

A character in my WIP is a career con woman, if that helps. She's going to ripoff a hotel guest. In what way, is the question.
 

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
5,363
Reaction score
1,761
Location
Getting blitzed at Gillhoughly's Reef, Haleakaloha
Call up a local swank hotel, let them know you're researching a mystery book, and ask if you could speak briefly with their head of security. If possible make an appointment for a short interview and bring a tape recorder.

All they can do is say no.

Otherwise--google is your Friend. You'll likely find first person accounts of people who have had their vacations spoiled by this or that sort of con.

Good luck! :)
 

rtilryarms

Crossbows and Handgonnes
Super Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
3,932
Reaction score
646
Age
67
Location
Fort Lauderdale
The most frequent rip-off scams in S. FL is the one where a woman gets picked up, she goes back to the room for some himminey hoominey and she waits until the "victim" needs to use the potty. If she is a real pro she will get away with the himminey and not the hoominey.

Anyway she simply takes all the jewelry and cash lying around and scoots.

If she'll take a credit card, it will be used excessively for the first 30 minutes and then discarded. The perp will leave a trail in one direction and then hightail it in another for the final escape.

Sometimes she (sometimes he) slips drugs to the victim but it is mostly avoided because then they can be considered taking advantage of a person in a helpless state which could add many years to the charge.

Actually I do remember several guys pulling this so it is universal.
 

Cat Scratch

The Peacock Next Door
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
672
Reaction score
140
Location
A Little To The Left
writeorwrong said:
For you frequent travelers or employees of average to better than average (3 star) hotels. What kind of crimes most frequently take place? Is theft a huge problem? Any hotels still using keyed entry to rooms?
A lot of older/historic hotels still use keys. If thats instrumental to your plot, have it take place in an older hotel. I know theft is a huge problem around here, but mainly from rental cars. People park their cars at "historic lookouts," walk away to take a picture, and the theives do an old-fashioned smash-and-grab. Not exactly a con, though.
 

Bmwhtly

Yes, I'm back.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Messages
6,965
Reaction score
3,051
Location
The unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of
Finally my addiction to CSI pays off. :)
There are a few ways of conning in a hotel.

#1 The Trick Roll (Also known as The Goodnight Kiss)
The Conwoman wits in the hotel bar for a lonely but well-off man to come in, she takes a seat next to him and flirts or whatever is needed to get an invite upstairs. Once there she needs to sedate him so she can rob him blind. There are a few ways she can do it. easiest is to drug their drink. the slightly more interesting way is to drip some sedative onto themselves (like the nipple) then encourage the guy to kiss that area.

#2 The Old Fashioned way
She waits in reception, she sees an affluent man enter, pick up his key from reception. From here, there are a few alternatives: If he goes into the bar, she can spill a drink on him and while mopping it up lift his key, while he's trying to find it, she's in his room robbing him. I he heads to the elevator, she needs to find a different way to get the key.

There are others, but I hope this helps a little.
 

sharra

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 18, 2006
Messages
101
Reaction score
13
Location
London
Another problem is untrained staff announcing your room number to you in a very loud, clear voice, when the key is marked or the room number is written inside the folder (to avoid the same issue). A con would be keeping an eye out on arriving guests - type of luggage, type of clothing, quality of jewellry - and if she's hanging out in the lobby when this happens..
She could also be dressed as a chamber maid - most people treat them like part of the furniture & don't give them a second look. Provided she could swip a key or keycard, she has access to most of the hotel.
 

veinglory

volitare nequeo
Self-Ban
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
28,750
Reaction score
2,933
Location
right here
Website
www.veinglory.com
Often even key card based systems are rife with theft. The cards are small and people leave with them--despite the ease of doing so the code is not always changed. Now you have someone with a key to your room. At best they get in when you are away and steal things. Sometimes worse things happen--
 

L M Ashton

crazy spec fic writer
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
5,027
Reaction score
518
Location
I'm not even sure I know anymore...
Website
lmashton.com
I used to work in hotels, graveyard shift where all the weird stuff happens. It's also true that full moons bring out even weirder stuff. We've had everything from people showing up, claiming to be the husband or wife of x, and please give a key to the room. Our policy was to give keys only to actual registered guests, but less honest staff wouldn't care, I'm sure. Also, when it was busy, staff didn't always ask for ID from the person requesting the key - this being after the initial check-in, of course.

Yep, theft is common. It doesn't help that some of the guests are really really stupid, leaving key cards lying around or announcing their own room numbers in front of strangers. Prostitutes are also common - guests call an escort agency and the prostitute shows up. We usually got a half dozen a shift on a busy weekend - a half dozen of the easily recognizable as such, that is. :) (We usually made bets amongst ourselves as to how long the prostitue would last. Really fugly ones would leave within three minutes. Yeah, not politically correct, but hey, we were working the graveyard, ya know?) Easy for prostitutes to rob them blind. Our security was very vigilant about not having prostitutes in our bar or lounge, though respectably dressed women weren't targeted for kicking out.

We've had attempted/successful murders, suicides, rapes at our hotel (complete with police line-up in the lobby on my shift - I was the duty manager), and even an illegal abortionist working out of the hotel for a month before he was discovered. We've had undercover cops do stake outs from hotel rooms. In the year and a half I worked in the one hotel, I must have filled out four or five dozen police reports.
 

kayak

Another scam is the bogus "house repair man" who shows up to fix the "leaky plumbing, bad telephone, faulty electricity" or some other excuse to enter your room. Especially prevalent where would be perps keep their eyes open for single female guests. "Sorry, housekeeping sent us. Supposed to get this done before a guest checked in. Will only take a few minutes." The rest of the story tells itself.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.