hotel electronic door lock

[zrxkawboy]

We just got back from Disney World, where we stayed at one of their resort hotels. Last evening, we had a strange experience.

Now, for anyone not familiar with their system, you can use a "Magic Band" (wrist band) with all of your info on it. This also functions as your room key. There is a small (maybe 1.5"x3") plastic cover above your door handle/lock. You touch your Magic Band to it, and your door unlocks.

Last evening, we left our room to go eat dinner off the grounds. When we returned, the above-mentioned plastic cover was missing from our door, and the circuit board exposed. I touched my band to the board, and the door unlocked. Now, here's where it gets strange. When I opened the door, the plastic cover was on the floor, INSIDE the room about 3 feet. To me, it looks like our lock was somehow defeated, and someone had been in our room (though we didn't notice anything missing). I talked to the manager, who was quick to assure me that we were safe (of course), and he checked the log of entries into our room, and no one had entered while we were gone. I closed the door and checked to see if the cover could have been pushed into the room under the closed door, and there was no way.

Does anyone know about these locks, and how easily they can be defeated? I simply can't think of any other explanation.

 

[01rangerxl]

Weird. That would freak me out too.

Was it an inside hallway, or an outside breezeway? Any layer of security before the door (like a locked door for the building), or could any crackhead just walk up to it?

Any possibility someone bumped a bag or elbow on the plastic cover and it just popped off without being noticed?

I would think if someone had a way to defeat the electronic lock, it probably wouldn't require removing the cover. IE a bogus card/wrist band, or some device that could trick the reader.

That's a weird and unnerving thing for sure.

 

[silvercivicsi]

That's really weird. I'm assuming they have surveillance footage of the corridor where the door is located? Hopefully they look into it and see what happened.

 

[JHZR2]

cover was inside?

If someone was breaking in, I would suspect the cover would be on the outside, if they didnt really care about showing the fact that it was broken into (which I assume is the case because if a thief cared, they would have covered it back up so you would not know what happened). Of course someone might not have cared and just kicked the cover inside for the sake of doing so.

I suspect that someone caught it going in or out and it knocked the cover off. Could also have been room service, when they were pulling their cart out of the room (assuming they pull some stuff inside).

Weird.

 

[spackard]

Probably you bumped off the cover as the door closed, maybe a lady with a purse. You should be able to inspect the cover and how it fastens, and decide if it was ripped off in such a manner/direction.

 

[GreeCguy]

Questions:

1. Was anything in the room disturbed? (Drawers opened, any unattended bags opened or moved).

2. Did you have all your valuables with you when you left, (Wallets, purse, credit cards, phone, etc).

If you left anything with personal information in the room that could be used in identity theft, I would get on top of that immediately.

While I hate to think of the worst happening at "The happiest place on earth," I know from working there years ago that not all Disney employees are perfect.

It could very well be some kind of kookie accident, but the possibility exists someone was looking for something in a quick "snatch and grab."

 

[crazyoildude]

there are so many tricks that burglars know. A locksmith can open anything and it seems burglars can also .
I know a lockguy that showed me how easy it is to pick a lock it took him under a minute to pick the tumblers in my front door which is a Baldwin $245.00 lock and also picked open my shop heavy duty padlock and front door deadlock when i lost my keys in about the same time. Those guys are scary if you think about it. They can access locks and safes and cars and anything. If they can do it so can the bad guys. I often think after seeing this that locks are not as safe as we think.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

You, or housekeeping, knocked off the cover when you went into the room.

 

[Boomer]

I was robbed in Florida years ago at the new Peabody right after it opened. The manager insisted that I must have lost my travelers checks and papers. But I called the local police. When the officer showed up, he told me that they had a rash of complaints in the hotel and that there was a master key card stolen that someone was using to enter the rooms.

Moral of the story: Call the cops when something like this happens.

 

[mcrn]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
I was robbed in Florida years ago at the new Peabody right after it opened. The manager insisted that I must have lost my travelers checks and papers. But I called the local police. When the officer showed up, he told me that they had a rash of complaints in the hotel and that there was a master key card stolen that someone was using to enter the rooms.

Moral of the story: Call the cops when something like this happens.



Dang that is messed up. That is a really nice hotel too. I live fairly close to it!

 

[GreeCguy]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
there are so many tricks that burglars know. A locksmith can open anything and it seems burglars can also .
I know a lockguy that showed me how easy it is to pick a lock it took him under a minute to pick the tumblers in my front door which is a Baldwin $245.00 lock and also picked open my shop heavy duty padlock and front door deadlock when i lost my keys in about the same time. Those guys are scary if you think about it. They can access locks and safes and cars and anything. If they can do it so can the bad guys. I often think after seeing this that locks are not as safe as we think.


We have a professional lock smith who attends our Church and like you, I am amazed at how easily he can pick a lock, (even the expensive ones we have at Church). He's told me more than once "locks keep honest people honest."

 

[KD0AXS]

I'm thinking the cover got knocked off while you had the door open and fell on the floor, which would put it about 3 feet inside the door. Then the door closed behind you and you didn't notice the cover was missing.

 

[dlundblad]

What resort did you stay at? I doubt anyone there had the time to pick the lock. People would be walking up and down the halls all day long. House keeping, room service, guests etc.

Was anything else in the room disturbed? Id hope if you left any valuables behind, you left it in the safe they provide in every room.

+1 on it accidently being knocked off. It is still a good thing you told a manager though.

 

[Corvette Owner]

We had a bad cover at Disney, it fell off 4 times on first day. We called maintenance and they replaced it that night. It usually fell inside the room.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
I was robbed in Florida years ago at the new Peabody right after it opened. The manager insisted that I must have lost my travelers checks and papers. But I called the local police. When the officer showed up, he told me that they had a rash of complaints in the hotel and that there was a master key card stolen that someone was using to enter the rooms.

Moral of the story: Call the cops when something like this happens.


Yeah this. So many people when they're at work, college, or a hotel witness or are a victim to crime, and they let the campus handle it. They'll do so quietly, and usually incompetently, so that their reputation doesn't get soured.

 

[zrxkawboy]

I would agree with the comments about the cover accidentally being knocked off, except that I was the last one out of the room, and I wasn't carrying anything that could have bumped it. Plus, I always double-check that the door is locked after I close it, so I'm sure I would have noticed the missing cover. Also, this was evening, and housekeeping had cleaned the room in the morning (which the manager confirmed when he checked the log). Oh well, we'll probably never know what happened. Nothing seemed to be missing, so no harm done, except for making us a little uneasy. On a positive note, when I called the manager to report the issue, he gave me a discount, which I wasn't even asking for.

 

[Corvette Owner]

My cover that was broke would slide off the door edge side, easy to miss. That also ensured it would fall off into room.

 

[Dave Hess]

Thugs like to rob tourists cause its unlikely the tourist will come back to testify against them.

Places like Miami Beach has high rates of crime targeting tourists.

 

[Toy4x4]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
I was robbed in Florida years ago at the new Peabody right after it opened. The manager insisted that I must have lost my travelers checks and papers. But I called the local police. When the officer showed up, he told me that they had a rash of complaints in the hotel and that there was a master key card stolen that someone was using to enter the rooms.

Moral of the story: Call the cops when something like this happens.


I work at a major worldwide resort chain. Having this happen shows real incompetence. ANYTIME a master key is lost, EVERY clone of the key should be made inactive and reprogrammed. It is a pain in the rear, but the alternative is unacceptable.

Tips:
Always use your DO NOT DISTURB placard unless you want your room cleaned. Even when you leave as it makes people think someone is in the room. No one will try to break in. If you leave the room with the DND in place and find its been bypassed (say, by housekeeping), raise CAIN with the front desk manager.
When in the room, use the DND if you need it, but always use the swing lock and the dead bolt. This will render front line employees unable to enter.

 

[Dave Hess]

I always use the Do Not Disturb placecard when I leave my room.