All lockers work about the same. Nevertheless, the duty manager opens lockers every week with the master key. Is setting and remembering the hotel room safe code so complicated? GuestCompass will find out.

Our observations

“Keep valuables in the safe”: There is such a sign in almost every hotel. But which safe is the best? Room safes are quite small. Laptops often don’t fit: #minus. In addition, hotel guests often struggle with the code. They forget and / or enter them incorrectly. The hotel safe is easier – and perhaps also safer. Hotel guests do not have to worry about this and that is also a disadvantage: hotel guests forget that something of them is in the safe. Even such an important travel document as a passport.

Advantages and disadvantages of a safe in the hotel room

Advantages and disadvantages of a safe in the hotel room

Placing lockers in hotel rooms is only a one-time investment. Using it properly, on the other hand, requires more time and attention. For example, you must inform your guests about the safety of the safe and tell them who is liable in the event of theft. A clear manual is also a must. The better your explanation, the smaller the chance that guests will lose the code and you will have to come (again) to open the safe. And – tip! – don’t make this (beginners) mistake: change the “master key code”. Otherwise, anyone can open the lockers. Oops, #mistake.

Our vision

No safe in the room and hotel guests miss it. However, a safe in the hotel room and hotel guests doubt whether they want to use it. How safe is that thing really? Is it properly screwed on? Will it open again soon? Perhaps a good safe at the reception is a better option in many cases. Especially when the reception reminds guests to bring all their belongings with them.

What trends do we see?

International hotel guests also struggle with the room safe; too unsafe. They prefer to keep their belongings in the hotel safe or take everything with them anyway. Whether that is wise? Probably not, but it is understandable. Search online for  ‘hotel room safe’  and you mainly find warnings .

What does our panel * say about the safe in the hotel room?

Our expert panel is one hundred percent certain: in the future, guests can also store their belongings in the locker in the hotel room. Some hotels even offer larger and more luxurious models that fit laptops and can be charged.

A majority of hotel guests would also like a safe in their hotel room in the future. Why they necessarily want that is not clear. This requires further investigation. What valuables do hotel guests keep in a locker?

Most hotel guests find the room safe an unpleasant thing. Not big and not safe enough and that fiddling with a code… is there really no other way? If you, as a hotel, offer an alternative and better storage service, hotel guests will be happy to make use of it: #goedgeregeld.

More about our panel

Together with a panel of seven different hotel experts, we explore the hotel amenities of the future. In addition, we asked 482 hotel guests in the Netherlands and Belgium for their opinion about these facilities.