The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

TWO American writers for an influential travel magazine are threatening to expose what they believe is a theft racket at a local resort, after losing hundreds of dollars in vacation money.

Californian Sharon Cummings said her visit to Nassau quickly turned into a "nightmare" after $900 was stolen from a safe in the room she shared with her husband at the Nassau Palm Hotel on West Bay Street.

The couple visit various Caribbean countries and submit articles to Budget Travel Magazine, an authoritative guide to inexpensive lodgings in vacation destinations.

The magazine, owned by world renowned travel expert Arthur Frommer, has a strong online following and the print edition reaches more than 600,000 Americans a month.

Mrs Cummings explained that their ordeal began soon after they arrived in the Bahamas.

She said: "We checked in and went to Atlantis. The money was left in the safe because we figured it probably wasn't smart to take so much money with us."

Upon returning from Atlantis to their hotel, Mrs Cummings said she and her husband "grew suspicious" after their keys would not unlock the room door.

"Those keys almost always work properly, I knew something was not right when we tried for a while to get into the room.

"As soon as I got in there, I tried to check the safe."

Mrs Cummings said her attempts to unlock the safe were not successful, and she would only get an "error" message.

She said a hotel employee told her she was putting the wrong code, and with the help of staff, it was eventually opened - but all their money was gone.

Mrs Cummings claims some staff members tried to convince the couple they had never put the money in the safe in the first place.

"I've woken up at 3am every morning thinking what are we going to do with no money, when we have to head back to Florida tomorrow and then back to California," she said.

Mrs Cummings said a person or group that has easy access to the hotel - either through lax security or by some other means - must be responsible for the theft.

"I emailed Crown, the manufacturers of the safe, who told me that had I entered the wrong code into the safe, it would have told me to try again.

"But because it said error, the company said that someone had erased the code that was originally set," she said.

Mrs Cummings added that she and her husband are outraged that nothing has been done to tighten security - as this is not the first theft from the hotel room.

"After someone came in here and took our money, the police told us they have on numerous occasions come in and told management that their security system is not up to par," she said.

In 2007, The Tribune reported that a guest of the Royal Palm told police her jewellery and cell phone had been stolen from her room by three men seen walking casually from the hotel.

In 2005, Ervin Virgill, 34, pleaded guilty to breaking into hotel rooms at the Royal Palm, after he was seen by some visitors leaving the rooms with their belongings.

Mrs Cummings said: "You can bet that we will write an article telling people what kind of place this is."

She claimed insult was added to injury when hotel management "attempted to hush our complaints" in ways that could not compensate their loss.

"They offered to take us to Atlantis for food and to give us taxi fare to get us to the airport tomorrow. That does not add up to $900," she said.

When The Tribune attempted to contact the hotel's general manager, he was said to be in a meeting. He did not return the call, despite promises to the contrary.

When asked to comment, Ministry of Tourism public relations officer Clarence Rolle said: "The general manager should have told you to call the officer in charge of the case. I will not be commenting on what happened or how they are being helped."

The officer in charge of the Fort Charlotte Police Station could not be contacted last night. The Tribune was told to call back in the morning.