I was a groomsman for a high school chum this past weekend. The reception was at a moderately upscale hotel at which my family, along with a lot of other out-of-town guests, were also staying.
As the night was winding down, my wife and I had the groom’s sister take a picture of us with our new-ish digital camera. We then set it on a table with my tuxedo jacket and headed to the dance floor. All the other guests sharing this table were either dancing or had left for the evening. It was located in the front of the room opposite from where most of the action now was, near the head table and in a corner closest to the kitchen.
About twenty minutes later, I returned to find the camera missing. I checked everywhere for it, but no luck. Other guests began to pick up various cameras scattered across the room saying, “Is this it?” The DJ had every one check to make sure they had their own camera. Still nothing.
I filed a police report after talking to the front desk, but did not really expect them to care about a $250 camera. It does not appear to have been misplaced. It’s been four days now since the wedding and no other guests seem to have picked it up by mistake. The hotel manager assured me they would look carefully when they stripped the ballroom.
I can only assume that someone stole my camera, and I am really bummed about losing all my pictures from the entire weekend (which included some of my newborn son and a handful of friends I haven’t seen since high school). Although it could have been a guest at the reception, I am inclined to believe that someone from the hotel staff swiped it. They were clearing tables in this area as we were dancing.
Obviously, I was stupid for leaving it lay out, but I can’t decide whether or not to push for some compensation from the hotel. Do they have some responsibility for the security of their guests and events? Do they have insurance to cover stolen property of their guests? Should I just suck it up and pay for a new camera myself? What would you do?