I will be soon traveling to the great state of Tenn, and am considering bringing my laptop. Usually when I travel I will store my laptop in my (or rental) car. It is not a great option for my next trip as I will be going in one car and returning in another for about 6 days in a row, and carrying the laptop is not practical either. So it’s leave it at home or at the hotel.
I have always been afraid to leave the laptop in a hotel room, esp with the maid cleaning it. I always assumed that if it disappears I really have no recourse, but is this a valid concern? Anyone out there travel with their laptop and leave it for the maid? Any horror stories out there? If it matters it is a old laptop (6 or 7 yrs) but it does what I need it to.
I travel with my laptop all the time. I don’t think it’s likely the maid will steal it: the culprit would be pretty obvious if you complained, and they’d probably lose their job. Maid work doesn’t pay well, but most people who do it can’t run the risk of unemployment (be sure to always tip your maid, BTW).
However, I do put it into a dresser drawer just to be safe. It reduces temptation.
I have traveled quite a bit both business and pleasure. There are plenty of opportunities for hotel staff to steal. Anyone who had that tendency will quickly be identified and fired. Many hotel maids also can do quite well in tips so risking poor customer perception will hit them directly in the wallet. Even with a high value item like a laptop won’t make up for losing your job even over a couple weeks.
My only further question would be how nice of a hotel. If we are talking the Bellagio you could probably leave all manner of expensive trinkets about without fear… some no-tell mo-tel in the middle of nowhere, I would be a little more paranoid.
It’s too large for you to leave in a safe-deposit box at the desk, so that’s not a “reasonable” option. If it makes you feel safer, let the Front Office Manager know that it’s in your room so that, worst case scenario, you have proof that it was in there, but their liability would cover it.
I always travel with a lap-top and I’ve never had a problem. In fact, I’d always leave it in a hotel room rather than in a car; the hotel has no liability for items stolen from your car but it does for items stolen from your room if they didn’t use “reasonable care”.
I travel for work a few times a year, and every time I do, I bring a laptop. Sometimes it’s a very expensive one, and sometimes it’s a cheap POS, but the bottom line is that if you take care and secure the laptop, that you’ve got little to worry about. Frankly, I worry more about the hotel staff snooping than I do about them acutally stealing the device.
Then again, as drachillix said, it makes a difference where you stay. I’ve been lucky enough to stay in nothing but Hilton, Renaissance and Marriott hotels, plus a couple of boutique places, which are more secure and private than my own house in some cases.
Another frequent business traveler, here. If I’m leaving the laptop in the room during the daytime, I pack it up in it’s bag and put the bag next to the suitcase.
It’s not the maid I’m worried about. It’s people that might pass the open doorway and see it. It wouldn’t take much, at all, for someone to walk in and take it. I know that, when I’ve walked in on a maid, she’s never challenged me when I said “Don’t mind me, I’m just grabbing my bag.”
I usually just stick mine in a drawer or something, but you have a few options if you’re unsure of the security situation.
You can take out a policy on it on your homeowners or renters insurance. I have one that covers loss, theft, damage, etc. It was cheap cheap ($30/year on my renters) and well worth it, IMHO.
You may have different housekeeping staff everyday. The best way to ensure a tip is received by the proper staff is to leave your tip each day next to a note or in an envelop that says “Housekeeping”. At a Super 8, probably a couple of bucks a day is sufficient. I tip more at fancy schmancy hotels with twice daily maid service.
That’s an excellent suggestion. College kids use these in the library where I work all the time and will leave the laptop for an hour or more. The cord can’t be cut without heavy cutters (of the sort most people don’t just “happen to have”), most laptops have the “keyhole” to insert the thing pre-installed and they are usually a combination that you set yourself. I have one but haven’t even thought to use it when I travel.
I’d recommend anyone who travels with a laptop invest in a PC Guardian.
It is a simple cable attached to a lock that fits into the side of your notebook. You slip the key into your laptop, then loop the attached cable around any affixed object in the room (e.g. the bed post or desk). A thief cannot take it without unbolting the object.
I use it when I travel and even at my desk at work. It was recommended by our security after some thief brazenly strolled into our offices at lunchtime and made off with 5 unattended laptops.
It goes without saying that you should also turn off or password protect your notebook whenever you leave it unattended in case you have personal information stored on it which can be used for identity theft.
I’m going to go aganist most people in the thread and say: take it with you.
It’s not worth it, really. Best if you have it with you. If you have to put up with a bit of inconvenience, so be it…it only takes one moment and one person to steal it.
The hotel’s policy probably is to take your valuables with you or lock them up in a safety deposit box at the front desk.
I agree. Take it with you, maybe get a laptop case with a strap you can sling over your shoulder, like a messenger bag. The risk just isn’t worth it, and the inconvenience of carrying it with you will be better than the constant concern of not having it in your room when you return.
If the OPer is anything like me, the chances of him accidentally leaving it in the restroom or at a restaurant if he just “takes it with him” are infinitely higher than some maid stealing it out of his room.