VIC Baggage Theft at Hotel - Reimbursement?

[Laurenmathers]

Hi, we were staying at the art series hotel - the Olsen and were checking out yesterday. The hotel staff told us we could leave our baggage with them whilst we wait for our flight. When we came back to retrieve our luggage, we gave our tickets which they had provided us with and then told us they can’t seem to find our baggage.

Two hours later, they’re still looking and told us they need permission from their GM to check the security cameras. We told the hotel staff we would miss our flights and they told us to miss our flights and they would pay for our new flights when they knew more.

Today they contacted us back saying they have found out the bags were definitely stolen and now they’re saying they can’t reimburse us in anything without a police report. What are our rights after this theft? Do they need to reimburse us for our flights that were lost and our new flights and our luggage which is around $4000 in value?

 

[Rod]

Quite likely. But make the police report and take things from there.

 

[Tim W]

Hi, we were staying at the art series hotel - the Olsen and were checking out yesterday. The hotel staff told us we could leave our baggage with them whilst we wait for our flight. When we came back to retrieve our luggage, we gave our tickets which they had provided us with and then told us they can’t seem to find our baggage.

Two hours later, they’re still looking and told us they need permission from their GM to check the security cameras. We told the hotel staff we would miss our flights and they told us to miss our flights and they would pay for our new flights when they knew more.

Today they contacted us back saying they have found out the bags were definitely stolen and now they’re saying they can’t reimburse us in anything without a police report. What are our rights after this theft? Do they need to reimburse us for our flights that were lost and our new flights and our luggage which is around $4000 in value?

It will be their insurers who will want the police report.

From now, speak only to the General Manager - nobody lower, and certainly nobody overseas.
The word of underlings is nothing.
Back up everything with email or a written letter.

The permission-to-view-the-cameras thing will be about their compliance with the Workplace Surveillance law in Victoria - and is not a problem.
Make the police report. Do this immediately - because you don't know how quickly the hotel recycles their tapes/ discs/ memory cards etc.
Consider also the possibility that if the thief is one of their mates, that video is already gone.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

Also contact your travel insurer immediately, and tell them what has happened. The hotel's insurers owe you nothing, and if they suspect it was an 'inside job', as Tim W commented on, they may decline to provide coverage and you'll be stuck arguing with the hotel. The key for you here is to get reimbursed and on your travels as quickly as possible, and with as little pain as possible. You won't come out of this in the positive because that's not how insurance works - unless you're very lucky.

 

[Tim W]

Also contact your travel insurer immediately,
and tell them what has happened.

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