Beware of Hotel Fire Alarm Robberies

A recent string of hotel arsons in Waikiki left officials perplexed. However, break-ins during the arsons made things clear and uncovered an alarming (sorry) trend. So beware of hotel fire alarm robberies during your next stay.

Hotel Arsons

Over the past week, an arsonist struck three Waikiki hotels and a couple of Honolulu-area condos. According to Hawaii News Now, the Alohilani Resort, newly renovated Waikiki Beachcomber, and Hilton Grand Waikikian were hit over three consecutive days. The worst of which was the Waikiki Beachcomber incident. It caused the closure of Kalakaua Avenue for two hours and kept some guests out of their room for up to four hours.

Upon further investigation, officials noticed tampering of the door locks for two rooms at the Beachcomber. And those rooms were missing designer bags, jewelry, and electronics.

Protect Yourself

Obviously, the best thing to do is to not leave any valuables in your room when you’re not there. Of course, this isn’t always possible. So, one alternative is to utilize the safe in your hotel room, if one is available. But those aren’t always all that secure either. So, another option is to use a “portable safe” like this one from PacSafe and reviewed by Your Mileage May Vary.

Yeah, the portable safe isn’t full proof either, but as long as the thief isn’t walking around with something that can cut a lock or through steel cable, then you’re all good. Plus, the thing can hold up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Personally, I don’t have the portable safe, but I have used PacSafe products in the past. They do add a layer of security for you while you travel.

Beware of Hotel Fire Alarm Robberies, Final Thoughts

These kinds of thefts are appalling, but are, sadly, becoming a normal fact of life. And the only thing we can do is to take steps to protect ourselves. Luckily, the REI Outlet has the larger 25L portable safe and backpack on-sale right now for less than the 12L version.

But, it’s also important to remember to continue to heed fire alarms while in hotels. Yeah, most of the time they’re a non-event and can even be a diversion for a theft. However, you don’t want to get trapped in the event that an actual emergency is taking place. So be safe, keep your valuables safe, and follow all alarms.