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How secure are hotel safe deposit boxes? Anyone ever use one to store his carry weapon when traveling to places off limits to CHLs?

Normally, my car becomes my "safe storage" in situations like this, but suppose the hotel parking is valet only. Valet parking means I would have to secure the weapon safely in the car prior to handing over the car...still, I'm not comfortable with this option because I don't have a car safe (now I know I need one...). I suppose I could find a self parking option nearby, but that might tend to look suspicious to those I'm traveling with. So, I thought of the safe deposit box option...

Thoughts...???

Nothing is perfect but I guess a hotel safe deposit box is as good as you're gonna find in that situation.

But I would only do this if the hotel is valet parking only. If I can self park the car, then that's what I'm gonna do.

I'm no authority on this stuff. Just my 2 cents.

smyrna wrote:How secure are hotel safe deposit boxes? Anyone ever use one to store his carry weapon when traveling to places off limits to CHLs?

Normally, my car becomes my "safe storage" in situations like this, but suppose the hotel parking is valet only. Valet parking means I would have to secure the weapon safely in the car prior to handing over the car...still, I'm not comfortable with this option because I don't have a car safe (now I know I need one...). I suppose I could find a self parking option nearby, but that might tend to look suspicious to those I'm traveling with. So, I thought of the safe deposit box option...

Thoughts...???

Hotel safe deposit boxes are faily secure. Most better hotels now offer safes in each room. If you are traveling frequently I would suggest looking at something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/LARGE-gun-pistol-sa ... 0240814702
When its not in use in the car, it can be attached to the bed frame or plumbing in the hotel room.

Can't comment about a specific hotel, but in general the in-room safes are the best option, IMHO. Yes, code overrides exist, but it isn't probable the routine waitstaff has 'em. That's less likely, I think, than the possibility of a car break-in in an unattended parking lot (or structure)...unless Gecko45 is monitoring it.

Me, I'd prefer to carry my firearm with me into and out of the hotel. And I'd want the firearm with me in the room.

If you're faced with a 30.06 hotel, my recommendation would be to lock your sidearm in the smallest possible Center of Mass lockbox, walk up to the registration desk, and entrust the lockbox to the hotel stating it contains "personal valuables." The hotel will have liability insurance for items left in its safekeeping.

I must disagree. I have never used them and have been cautioned by other seasoned travelers to not do so. They are not as secure as you would think. You would be much better using a lockbox in your vehicle. When you are traveling, someone enters your room when you are not there. This happens every day. This does not happen in your vehicle.

When I travel with firearms and I can not take my firearm with me I secure it in my luggage the same as I would when flying - in the locked hard case inside locked luggage. If someone breaks into your luggage you have a little more standing to recover damages than if you use the safe because there is a disclaimer on the safe. You never know whether someone has rigged the safe.

Anygunanywhere

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it has been mentioned on other hotel threads that you can technically count a hotel room as a place that you have been charged with keeping (residence), similar to an apartment, and as such it is legal to carry from your car to the room under TX law, but any other part of the 30.06 posted hotel is off limits. Of course that would only apply to TX hotels. Me personally? I'd find a non-posted hotel and avoid the can of worms entirely. I never trust the safes in the room or behind the counter. I may just be paranoid, but I'd rather know that all keys in existence are in my possession.

I interpreted the OP to mean the hotel room safes instead of the safe deposit boxes you would have to speak to the staff about.

I have used the hotel room safe in a pinch. Some are better than others. Some I wish I had in my own home, others couldn't keep a determined 8 year old out.

agbullet2k1 wrote:Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it has been mentioned on other hotel threads that you can technically count a hotel room as a place that you have been charged with keeping (residence), similar to an apartment, and as such it is legal to carry from your car to the room under TX law, but any other part of the 30.06 posted hotel is off limits. Of course that would only apply to TX hotels. Me personally? I'd find a non-posted hotel and avoid the can of worms entirely. I never trust the safes in the room or behind the counter. I may just be paranoid, but I'd rather know that all keys in existence are in my possession.

That's what I was wondering about.

I am a former hotel GM. From my experience, the in room safe is next to useless. Maybe worse than useless, because using it signals that you have something worth stealing inside. Hiding your stuff in the mini bar would only be a little bit worse than the safe, IMO.

The safe deposit boxes are a better option. The hotel is supposed to issue you the only key to the box. That key, with the hotel's guard key are both required to open the box. The hotel staff has no reason to know or even ask what is being kept in the box.

If you lose the key, expect to be charged a locksmith fee for the lock to be drilled out and rekeyed.

Just for clarification...

The hotel is not 30.06, but I am required to visit a place on foot that is, so leaving the pistol in a valet parked car without a safe (or even with...I tend to be paranoid too) is not high on my list of options. Valet parking for the hotel is the ONLY option at the hotel.

Since the original post I have done a little scouting and have found a public parking lot a few blocks away for a few dollars a day...looks like I'll take my chances for the 3 or 4 hours being disarmed and park there. May look weird to others, but hey, it's really none of their business...right?

On a side note...Last night during my stay, I woke up at about 11:30 pm thinking I had heard a knock at the door. I had almost convinced myself it was a dream and then I heard it again. So I crept to the door, armed of course, and through the peephole I see a dude standing there. I said, "Who is it?" After a long pause, the dude replies, "Florida", nothing more nothing less. Now at that moment my Something Is Not Right Meter pegged off the scale. I said, "You got the wrong room." He hangs around a few minutes, makes a phone call, I hear him repeat my room number, mumbles, then leaves. Talk about weird! I ran several potential scenarios for why this guy was there and the strange reply and I really couldn't come up with a plausible one that I really cared to entertain.

Ugh! I gotta quit traveling...

It was a knock-knock joke and you messed it up.

Anygunanywhere

anygunanywhere wrote:It was a knock-knock joke and you messed it up.

Anygunanywhere

OK...I'll bite...

Florida who?

smyrna wrote:

anygunanywhere wrote:It was a knock-knock joke and you messed it up.

Anygunanywhere

OK...I'll bite...

Florida who?

I have been trying to come up with something, pretty much regretting that post.

Here goes...

Florida.

Florida who?

Florida gas and let's go!

WaaWaaaWaaaaah

Anygunanywhere

anygunanywhere wrote:

smyrna wrote:

anygunanywhere wrote:It was a knock-knock joke and you messed it up.

Anygunanywhere

OK...I'll bite...

Florida who?

I have been trying to come up with something, pretty much regretting that post.

Here goes...

Florida.

Florida who?

Florida gas and let's go!

WaaWaaaWaaaaah

Anygunanywhere

Actually, that's pretty good. I'll try it out on my kids.

I used a hotel safety deposit box for the first time a few weeks ago. It was the kind they keep at the front desk. It worked a lot like the one at a bank. They assured me I had the only key.

After filling out some paper work, they gave me the box, and acted like they expected me to put whatever in it right at the counter. I asked if I could take it to my room and bring it back. The clerk looked confused, but, after checking with someone else, agreed. The Sig 239 barely fit. The box was long, but narrow. I returned the box back, closed, and watched them lock it up, and give me the key.

Later, I started worrying. What if, when I went to check it back out, the clerk didn't want to let me to take it back to my room? What if they tried to be helpful, and open the lid when they presented it to me? When I picked it up, I made a point of asking them to keep it closed, and let me take it to my room, which they did.

A lesson learned: If I ever do that again I'm going to wrap the pistol up in a T-Shirt or something, so that if required I could remove it from the box in public without freaking out everyone in the lobby.

Scott