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Guest Sanook222

"Theft" from minibar

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Guest Sanook222

Hi everybody.

 

Wonder if this has ever happened to you ...

 

I had a boy staying over while I'm staying in a Pattaya resort and when the housekeeping checked the minibar next day they claimed one whisky bottle was missing. Of course I didn't check when I arrived (stupid of me!) so I can't say for sure if it was there in the first place or the boy really took it.

 

What do you guys think and did you have similar experience?

 

Anyway, thanks for a great forum and apologies if I posted this in the wrong board.

 

Cheers!

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Guest Sanook222

Well, I asked him and of course he denies it. I'm struggling to see the logic in taking it without asking me but then again - logic is different here.

 

Also, I'm thinking if some hotels/resorts staff might do this on purpose to get money from guests but again - doesn't make much sense. I do remember one other time a few years back a hotel charged me for some soft drink I knew I hadn't taken but it was a very small amount. This time it's of course the most expensive item that's missing ...

 

The lesson here, I guess, is to always check the minibar upon arrival.

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I'd be annoyed. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I'm afraid that it is a case of caveat emptor; if we invite strangers into our rooms, we need to take care that there is nothing available that may be taken. To be blunt, though I lock money , camera etc, away,I'd never before considered the possibility that the minibar would be a temptation. I suppose that all you can do is to check the bar before before and after, while the visitor is still there. Or just accept this this is an occupational hazard that's unlikely to happen again.

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Guest Sanook222

It's not so much about the money but more about the loss of trust/belief in either boy or hotel.

 

I noticed that they have a sign in the room saying that if you forget your passcode for the safe they'll charge you 500 baht to open it.

 

A hotel that'll do that might be capable of anything in my opinion.

 

Anyway, I guess I'll never find out and will eventually have to pay for it ...

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If the minibar contents are in a separate cabinet, some hotels will lock them on request. If they're out in the open, you could always hide the liquor bottles before going out for the night, leaving only the less costly items on display.

 

There's good advice in posts above.  I think the bottom line comes down to just how memorable was your time with this guy.  If he makes the "definitely want to do this again" category, forget about the loss and move on. If he doesn't make the cut, there are plenty of others who will. And in any case, you're wiser for the experience.

 

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I've had exactly the same thing happen, 10 years ago in The Rose Hotel, Bangkok.

 

I was presented with the bill for a bottle of whiskey on check out.   After some consideration, I figured it was either the cleaner or more probably the freelancer I picked up from just up the road.

 

As it was a ~500 baht bottle & I had not been asked for permission, I consider it to be theft, exactly the same as someone lifting a 500 baht note from my wallet.    

The acceptable limit for helping himself without asking me first would be opening a bottle of water or beer in the room, for consumption in the room.   Of course doing so without asking would be rude, but me not offering beforehand would also be rather rude.

 

If I go somewhere with a minibar & will be entertaining,  I always ask for the contents to be removed from my room.

 

Incidentally, I know one person who was tipping the cleaner on a daily basis & he was suddenly presented with a bill for a drink, even though he had not consumed it or had any guests in the room at that time.   The tips to the cleaner stopped for good the very next day.

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Guest Sanook222

I will certainly do that from now on. Would you believe this place even has a sign on the fridge saying it's not allowed to use it for "outside beverages". WTF?!?

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Most likely the boy took the whiskey bottle but not sure I would refer to it as a theft.

If the boy took it without asking and without paying, then clearly it is theft. What else could it possibly be?

 

I'd put it down to experience and just move on.

 

But I wouldn't off him again; plenty of other fish in the sea. However, if I saw him again I'd ask him politely if he knew anything about the missing bottle - just to let him know I was aware he took it.

 

That is assuming it was the boy and not a member of the hotel staff.

 

And what hotel charges 500 baht to unlock the safe?? That's ridiculous. I've never heard of that.

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I've got a "mi casa es su casa" attitude with people I invite to my place. So if a member of staff took the whiskey, I'd consider it theft, but if the boy did, I wouldn't. That said, personally I would ask before taking anything unless it was offered to me, so depending on the circumstances it could be considered rude.

 

The OP's real problem is that he doesn't know who's to blame. Move on and make sure you will know next time...

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As it was a ~500 baht bottle & I had not been asked for permission, I consider it to be theft, exactly the same as someone lifting a 500 baht note from my wallet.    

 

 

If the boy took it without asking and without paying, then clearly it is theft. What else could it possibly be?

 

as explained in my post above I definitely don't agree with your statements. It could be a theft but definitely neither   'exactly' nor 'clearly'

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.... if we invite strangers into our rooms, we need to take care that there is nothing available that may be taken. To be blunt, though I lock money , camera etc, away,........

whatever I consider needs to be locked is locked before I leave room. I'd not  be locking / hiding anything in presence of boy in the room even if he would be hidding in the toilet, this would be impolite and invite retaliation like stealing bottle from the fridge, LOL

 

Only case I approach safe in presence of boy is at end of meeting if I need money for him but I tend to be prepared with cash somewhere handy. 

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as explained in my post above I definitely don't agree with your statements. It could be ,a theft but definitely neither   'exactly' nor 'clearly'

 

We're politely disagreeing on that point. 

 

Whilst we're at it, if I were in the position of Christian PFC, with a boy stealing cash from my wallet, I wouldn't be seeing him again.   Or at least I'm 99.9% certain I wouldn't.  The remaining 0.1% possibiliity is if he was cute, sweet & good in bed, leading to the brain down there overruling the main one.  That's never happened so far.

 

The one thing I think we all agree on is not making accusations about theft unless we are sure of the facts.  

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if I were in the position of Christian PFC.... I wouldn't be seeing him again........  

power of forgiveness perhaps, I'm more sympathetic to his position since one of my best offs last trip was boy who stood me up, perhaps even twice,  in the past 

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