Don't leave Money on the Table

This is one of my favorite sayings and philosophies when it comes to taking advantage of every perk, discount and opportunity to save money. However, this BLOG entry is more cautionary*. It’s about hotel room theft and unintentional or money (or credit card numbers) being mistakenly taken from your room.

When you are on vacation, understandably, you let your guard down. You are there to relax, have fun, leave your worries and cares behind…. especially at Disney!!! The happiest place on earth. But you may still want to be mindful of your cash.

In some resorts, including those at Disney, it is customary to leave a tip for the Housekeeping staff. Since you may not have an envelope to enclose your tip with a thank you note at the end of your stay, you probably leave it on the table. So it is understandable that leaving cash out could be mistaken as a tip. (How much you tip, or should you tip in the first place, is up to you.)

I will say that leaving your wallet out on your bedside table (even with the Do Not Disturb sign on the door) is generally a bad idea. That is why you should use the in room safe. I wouldn’t even bury valuables in the drawers with your clothing.

There have been reports in the Orlando Sentinel News about thefts that have happened at Disney World. And, there was a time where even Disney outsourced its housekeeping staff (another words they were not truly Disney Cast Members adhering to the high level of Disney standards). The report in the Sentinel was that a person’s credit card was used fraudulently and it was determined that the 'perp' was someone who accessed the credit card numbers from the wallet the guest had left on the bedside table. Luckily, the credit card company caught the fraud. But, stealing is stealing, and that is why you should either bring your cards with you or put them in the safe, (and, please don’t leave them in your stroller either). You don’t want anything to spoil your vacation after all. So just take a moment to lock it up in the hotel room safe.

TIP: If you have a Chase Disney Visa card, you will want to bring that with your photo ID with you to the Parks anyway as you will get 10% discounts on merchandise and a free 5x7 photo with characters at the Chase Visa spot in EPCOT.

*More positive "don't leave money on table" tips to come in future BLOG posts, I promise!