How to use a hotel safe?

Today we will talk about an important topic—the safety of documents and money in a hotel, specifically about safes, what types there are, and how to use a hotel safe.

Most often, hotels are equipped with one of four types of safes:

1. Key safe. It is rare, but the simplest to use. You place your valuables, lock it with a key, and take the key with you.
2. Electronic safe, unlocked with a magnetic or RFID card. A more modern technology, but again, you will always have to carry the card with you.
3. Biometric safes. They are extremely rare, opened by scanning the guest’s fingerprint.
4. Electronic safe with a combination lock. This type of safe is the most common. This is what we will talk about today.

First of all, remember that hotel safes are a separate class of safes, and their operating principle differs slightly from those installed in an office or home. Two main distinguishing features can be highlighted:

1. Frequent code changes. In some models, you need to program the code every time you open and close the safe.
2. Hotel safes are always equipped with a master key or master code, which is held by the administrator or a special person from the hotel’s security service. It is necessary in case the guest forgets the code. Keep in mind that emergency safe opening may be chargeable, although most often hotels help guests for free.

There are many manufacturers of hotel safes, so it is impossible to give a universal instruction. As a rule, in each room you will find instructions for programming the safe with pictures, and if you cannot figure it out yourself, ask a hotel employee to show you how to use it. But in most cases, the scheme is approximately as follows:

1. The safe in the room will be open. To program it, press the red button located on the inside of the safe door. A sound signal will follow, and a yellow indicator will light up.
2. Then enter a code, which should consist of 3–8 digits, and confirm it by pressing a special button (this could be “A”, “B”, “*” or “#”). If the code is accepted, a sound signal will follow again. If the code is not accepted, the yellow indicator will light up again, and 3 sound signals will follow. This means that the procedure must be repeated.
3. Close the safe door and turn the handle — the safe is closed.
4. To open the safe, you need to enter the code and press the special button “B”, “*” or “#”, then turn the handle, and the safe will open.

Before placing items in the safe, check its functionality with the door open. If successful, do it again, but this time with the door closed, and only then can you safely put your valuables inside.

Hotel safes run on batteries, which sometimes run out, so always check their functionality with an empty safe.

Where is the safe located in the room?

Most often, this depends on the hotel’s class. In budget hotels, the safe is located in the wardrobe, sometimes it is bolted to a shelf or wall.

If it’s not in the wardrobe — look in the nightstand:

or on a shelf

Safes are generally not built into other areas of the hotel. In more expensive hotels, the safe will be built into the wall.

Is a hotel safe secure?

This question concerns many. As a rule, hotels install safes with the lowest security class. But don’t worry, it’s unlikely that an ordinary maid will turn out to be an experienced safecracker and open your safe. More serious safes with a control system are installed in expensive hotels. This means that the safe is connected to a special hotel security system that records not only the time of opening and closing the safe but also every attempt to open it. Alternatively, this system is built into the safe itself, and a security officer can read it if questions arise. In addition, even the simplest safe has protection against code guessing. If you enter the wrong code 3 times, the safe will be blocked for 5–10 minutes. After the next failed attempt, the blocking time will be increased to 15 minutes. Therefore, without knowing the code, it will not be possible to open the safe quickly.