Blogs
With the news that gold medal winning Olympic cyclist Bradley Wiggins had his training kit stolen from a hotel spa, we ask if the hospitality industry does enough to guard against theft. Unfortunately, items do get stolen from hotels and it can be other guests, staff or even a chancer passing by that is the culprit.
Despite not directly being the fault of the hotel, it can leave a bad impression on the customer, so it is within the interests of any hotel to make sure they do all they can to prevent thefts.
Word of mouth is a potent tool, both for good and bad and with social media being so prevalent in these modern times it is easy for news of such thefts to spread. This does not necessarily mean putting up signs saying that people leave possessions at their own risk, as this may cover them legally it does not help customers.
Hotels need to provide safe places where customers can leave their possessions safe in the knowledge that they are secure. This may mean a safe behind reception or in the case of poor Wiggo and his training kit, lockers being installed for clothes to be kept in while using a spa.
Wiggins initially tweeted about the theft, but later retracted it saying: "Gotta delete tweet Re the thief, bad PR, never mind my kit though!" This highlights the power of social media and how quickly such negative press can spread and even the best hotels can be targeted by thieves so it pays to have measures in place to protect customers' belongings.
