Hotel Burglarized During Coachella, $100K+ In Luxury Goods Stolen

I think most people would like to believe that their hotel room won’t be entered without permission, especially when the “do not disturb” sign is on. However, here’s a good reminder of what can go wrong…

La Quinta Resort & Club guests report in-room theft

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is going on right now, and for those who are into music festivals, it’s one of the most popular ones in the world. Unfortunately for some guests who chose to stay at the La Quinta Resort & Club, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, the experience hasn’t been so dreamy.

Over the weekend (specifically, on Friday night and into Saturday morning), several sets of guests at the property reported having belongings stolen from their rooms, despite having the “do not disturb” sign on. It wasn’t electronics (which are easily traceable) that were stolen, but instead, things like vintage bags, jewelry, sunglasses, and family heirlooms.

Apparently it was obvious that there had been someone in the rooms, beyond just items going missing. It was clear items had been moved and dumped out of bags, and drawers had been pulled out. So far, at least 15 people who stayed at the hotel have reported items being stolen from their rooms, and it’s believed that the value of the items stolen totals over $100,000.

All the people who had items stolen reportedly had someone knock on their doors earlier in the day to offer a “housewarming gift” (I assume they mean a welcome amenity), despite having their “do not disturb” sign on. Obviously that’s really suspicious, since no one should knock when the “do not disturb” sign is on.

Guests also claim that the night of the burglary, a security person informed them that a master housekeeping key had been lost or misplaced, though the next morning, the head of security claimed he hadn’t heard that.

Guests report that while the hotel staff responded to reports of theft, they didn’t so with the urgency that they hoped. Some guests also claim that the hotel wasn’t too happy when guests reached out to police:

“He didn’t appear to enjoy that I had called a police officer. Moreover, when the police officer asked if they would be willing to give him any information, he wasn’t cooperative with the police officer.”

“We’re so concerned that as soon as we leave the property, especially with the lack of urgency and lack of communication. They’re going to just hope that it goes away and that we stop bothering them.”

In response to this incident, the hotel has released the following statement:

“The safety and security of our hotel guests and team members is our top priority. As soon as we were made aware of claims of theft at the resort, we immediately engaged local law enforcement. At this time, we are unable to provide further information on the ongoing investigation, but are actively working on a swift resolution for all that may be impacted.”

What an unpleasant experience for hotel guests

It goes without saying that having items stolen from your hotel room can feel really violating, beyond just the material loss. Most people would like to think that if their “do not disturb” sign is on, that their room (and belongings) will be safe, but obviously that’s not always the case.

I can see how this was an attractive target for a thief — you have people spending a lot of money for rooms at a luxury hotel during a music festival, and you know they’re going to have some valuables, and are almost certainly going to be out of their room at a certain time (especially on a Friday night during the first weekend of Coachella).

It’s anyone’s guess whether someone managed to actually steal a master key from housekeeping, or if this was an inside job, where someone with access to the master key was behind the theft.

Unfortunately all too often, many hotels just don’t want to be useful in these situations, and do just want the problem to go away. After all, they don’t want an investigation to reveal that it was an inside job, because the optics of that are terrible.

But that’s also so disappointing, and shows such negligence. One would certainly hope that a hotel would be able to determine who committed theft in multiple rooms, based on cameras stationed around the hotel. That really shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. I’m curious what comes of this investigation, and if the details are made public…

Bottom line

Several guests staying at La Quinta Resort & Club during Coachella report having their rooms burglarized, despite having the “do not disturb” sign on. In total, it’s believed that over $100K in luxury goods were stolen from rooms. Guests report someone knocking on their door earlier in the day to offer a welcome amenity, despite the privacy signs being on.

Obviously someone had access to a master key, or else this wouldn’t have been possible. Here’s to hoping that an investigation determines who the culprit is.

What do you make of this Coachella hotel burglary?