Are hotel room safes safe?

[evandbob]

There's been a few times when we needed our hotel safe opened.  After we called for assistance, the hotel always sent 2 staff who each had a different key to open the safe.

[GeezerCouple]

7 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

We always use the in cabin safe.On our last cruise we were told that we had the option of changing the combination which is what we did .

If you did *not* set a combination, how did you know what it would be?

GC

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, GeezerCouple said:

If you did *not* set a combination, how did you know what it would be?

GC

I never said we did not set a combination .

[GeezerCouple]

Just now, lenquixote66 said:

I never said we did not set a combination .

 

??

Well, how did you select a combination...?

That's what we are all referring to... selecting a combination to use.

What are you referring to?
What did you do differently the last time, vs. all the previous times you used a hotel safe?

How else could a hotel in-room safe be used?  There obviously can't be a combination posted on the wall next to the safe...  😱

GC

[Mary229]

My brother in law once locked the safe without noting his combination.  I can assure you the equipment they needed to use to open that safe created enough noise to wake the dead.  No one in that hotel got an early night’s sleep.  I am sure most hotels keep a master key, this one did not.  Without that master it wouldn’t be worth a thief’s time to get the safe open.  Thieves tend to grab what is easy. 
 

travel thieves are thieves of opportunity.  

Edited May 4, 2023 by Mary229

[lenquixote66]

2 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

??

Well, how did you select a combination...?

That's what we are all referring to... selecting a combination to use.

What are you referring to?
What did you do differently the last time, vs. all the previous times you used a hotel safe?

How else could a hotel in-room safe be used?  There obviously can't be a combination posted on the wall next to the safe...  😱

GC

I never used a hotel safe. When I was on my first cruise there were no in room safes.On my second cruise it was a lock and key .On my third cruise the safe was open .I selected a combination to use.I put things inside and did not open the safe till the day I was disembarking.

[GeezerCouple]

2 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I never used a hotel safe. When I was on my first cruise there were no in room safes.On my second cruise it was a lock and key .On my third cruise the safe was open .I selected a combination to use.I put things inside and did not open the safe till the day I was disembarking.

[emphasis added]

 

Right!  YOU selected the code.  That is, YOU changed it from whatever it was before.

 

GC

 

[lenquixote66]

Just now, GeezerCouple said:

[emphasis added]

 

Right!  YOU selected the code.  That is, YOU changed it from whatever it was before.

 

GC

 

Theoretically but not definitely.There is always the possibility that the previous user of the box used the same code.

It is like people using internet passwords.How many times do you select a word only to read that the word or even a screen name is not available because someone else used it .

[GeezerCouple]

Just now, lenquixote66 said:

Theoretically but not definitely.There is always the possibility that the previous user of the box used the same code.

It is like people using internet passwords.How many times do you select a word only to read that the word or even a screen name is not available because someone else used it .

Sure, it is definitely *possible* that you chose the same 4 digit (was it 4 in your case?) code the previous occupant chose.  But they are gone.  What's the chance they told the steward what it was "just in case the next occupant happens to select the same 4 digit code"?

Really?

 

The point is that YOU selected that code.  It doesn't matter if someone else used it 1 year ago, or on the previous cruise.  YOU selected it; YOU changed the code for your current use.

Full stop.

 

GC

[lenquixote66]

6 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

Sure, it is definitely *possible* that you chose the same 4 digit (was it 4 in your case?) code the previous occupant chose.  But they are gone.  What's the chance they told the steward what it was "just in case the next occupant happens to select the same 4 digit code"?

Really?

 

The point is that YOU selected that code.  It doesn't matter if someone else used it 1 year ago, or on the previous cruise.  YOU selected it; YOU changed the code for your current use.

Full stop.

 

GC

Correct

[jsn55]

9 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Along these same lines, I saw the article at the link yesterday about the reality of "juice jacking" that was going around earlier this year.  This is stealing information or putting malware on your phone from plugging into public charging stations.  The article is somewhat technical, but it's worth a few minutes of your time.

 

Those scary warnings of juice jacking in airports and hotels? They’re mostly nonsense | Ars Technica

 

The TL;DR take away from the article is:  Don't worry about it because it ain't gonna happen.

 

 

I remember reading about this and thinking, "Really?  People are going to believe this fantasy?".  I forgot about it immediately, so I'm glad to read that it's not a problem.  

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Theoretically but not definitely.There is always the possibility that the previous user of the box used the same code.

It is like people using internet passwords.How many times do you select a word only to read that the word or even a screen name is not available because someone else used it .

This thread is getting waaaaaaaaay out there!  Grilling an OP about how he did what he did, implying that a password for a safe could be the same one the last guy chose ... nobody uses just one word for a password ... or at least I hope they don't.  Calm down, guys, we're here to assist each other, no?

[navybankerteacher]

The bottom line is: your valuables are safer in the safe than lying about in your room. Also, unless you need to have it with you, your passport is probably better kept in the safe than carried with you or put down anywhere.

 

Nothing is perfect. - some things/places are less imperfect than others.

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Theoretically but not definitely.There is always the possibility that the previous user of the box used the same code.

It is like people using internet passwords.How many times do you select a word only to read that the word or even a screen name is not available because someone else used it .

 

You mean I should stop using "1234" as my code?  😄

[ExpatBride]

13 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Have a cheap copy made and wear them when you travel.  Wear the good stuff at home.

 

That's a solution looking for a problem. I wear my jewels because I enjoy their history and imagining all the places they've been before me. Replicas would suck the joy out of that, and I doubt I'd be able to get something of comparable style made cheaply.

[K32682]

13 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Yes, they were in the US.   Please provide examples of what you consider developing countries.  Developing does not equal corrupt.

 

To declare all hotel safes secure based only on your experience in U.S. hotels is a leap of faith that not everyone may be willing to make. 

[eileeshb]

Most Europeans wouldn't think twice about considering a hotel room safe as secure. A lot of older hotels here don't even have a room safe. When I traveled for work in my previous career a lot of the hotel room safes weren't big enough for a laptop so I had to lock it in my suitcase instead. Heck I'm going to have that issue with my camera kit on my next cruise, there's no way all of it would fit in the safe. At the pre-cruise hotel at least some of it will be locked into a suitcase. 

 

[Charles4515]

15 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Interesting

You probably are setting the same code every time you use it. I do because if I kept changing it I would forget the code.

[Charles4515]

15 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Yes, they were in the US.   Please provide examples of what you consider developing countries.  Developing does not equal corrupt.

There were some hotel safes in Rome that used a key for access. I was not enthusiastic about using those. 

[Charles4515]

13 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I remember reading about this and thinking, "Really?  People are going to believe this fantasy?".  I forgot about it immediately, so I'm glad to read that it's not a problem.  

Juice jacking is possible but it is going to be a directed attack. We probably are not the people who would be targeted. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

 

To declare all hotel safes secure based only on your experience in U.S. hotels is a leap of faith that not everyone may be willing to make. 

I agree. Hotel safes come new with an override code. 0000 or 9999. The hotel is supposed to change the overide code but that does not always happen. Thieves and dishonest employees know that. If I am putting something valuable in the safe like cash I always test with those code. Never had a hotel safe though where 0000 or 9999 overrode my passcode. 

[Charles4515]

14 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

On my third cruise the safe was open .I selected a combination to use.I put things inside and did not open the safe till the day I was disembarking.

Well yes they have to be left open to select a combination. If the previous disembarked cabin occupant left it closed the cabin steward has to call security to open it. That is part of their job to make sure the safe door is open for embarking passengers.

 

 

[lenquixote66]

13 hours ago, jsn55 said:

This thread is getting waaaaaaaaay out there!  Grilling an OP about how he did what he did, implying that a password for a safe could be the same one the last guy chose ... nobody uses just one word for a password ... or at least I hope they don't.  Calm down, guys, we're here to assist each other, no?

Absolutely 

[lenquixote66]

13 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

You mean I should stop using "1234" as my code?  😄

Yes,because that is the code I use.

[DCThunder]

Just now, lenquixote66 said:

Yes,because that is the code I use.

Wow, what a coincidence!.  I thought that was MY secret code that no one else would think of.  I use "password" a lot too, especially for my bank and brokerage accounts!  😉