Thanks for the info! I know I have seen other liveaboards/dive resorts offer cash discounts, but I'm almost positive our paperwork showed there would be a 7% surcharge for using a credit card for incidentals once on island.
Money missing from safes at Laguna Beach Resort, Utila
- Thread starter mllong31
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Thanks for the info! I know I have seen other liveaboards/dive resorts offer cash discounts, but I'm almost positive our paperwork showed there would be a 7% surcharge for using a credit card for incidentals once on island.
If you read through the info you will notice the safes on the page listed have "
Remember, your talking Roatan where batteries last an amazingly short time and power outages and surges can wreck havock with anything electronic. If a safe on the Island DOES NOT have a manual override and relies completely on electronics i would never think of using it
Robertcrockett
Contributor
Thats a real shame that happened. I stayed at laguna and kept some traveling USD, passport and a bunch of Lemps in my safe. Left a lot of spare lemps laying around in the room unattended as well as my laptop, digital camera etc and never had a single issue. As you said though the staff is great (except for the nefarious one obviously).
Troy Bodden
New
I am the owner of Laguna Beach Resort and am writing to address the issue of the safes and security.
Yes, it did turn out to be an inside job--our longest employee and head of maintenance. He was finally caught in the act. Over the course of the last 6 months we fired 3 people we suspected of taking money from the rooms. We even put him on probation at first, still in denial it was him, but it seems he was swimming across the channel during meal times--even as early as breakfast. It is unfortunate to not be able to trust your employees but it gave us a huge dose of reality. He is currently being prosecuted in the legal system.
Initially we thought the money was taken while out of the safes--it seemed impossible for someone to have a master key since they are all kept in a master safe in the office but somehow a copy was made or stolen at some point in time. We also found out the master key included for each safe opens ALL of the safes--we were led to believe by the manufacturer that each safe had a separate master key. Not so. Obviously we discovered this too late. This could be the case in other scenarios mentioned here as well.
Unfortunately this does not excuse the fact that our guests were being compromised. I sincerely apologize to any guest that felt unsafe while staying here at Laguna Beach. Although we replaced stolen money it does not allow us to overlook a major security issue. We have since removed all safes from the rooms and put a central safe in the main office for valuables. We have also changed all of the locks on the rooms. We also now have 2 watchmen on duty to cover the resort property more effectively.
I appreciate the forum and all suggestions made here and invite any new comments as well. Thank you all for your concern and I look forward to seeing you in the future.
Troy Bodden
Owner
Laguna Beach Resort
Utila Aggressor
Utila Watersports
troy@utiladiveventures.com
Side Note: We have not charged a fee for using a credit card in over 3 years. The bank charges merchants but it is now illegal to charge our customers. However, the US and European credit card companies usually charge fee for using your card out of the country as well as a conversion rate. There is the ISV tax at the bottom of our bill and then the total. If there is a charge on your credit card statement please contact your company directly.
Yes, it did turn out to be an inside job--our longest employee and head of maintenance. He was finally caught in the act. Over the course of the last 6 months we fired 3 people we suspected of taking money from the rooms. We even put him on probation at first, still in denial it was him, but it seems he was swimming across the channel during meal times--even as early as breakfast. It is unfortunate to not be able to trust your employees but it gave us a huge dose of reality. He is currently being prosecuted in the legal system.
Initially we thought the money was taken while out of the safes--it seemed impossible for someone to have a master key since they are all kept in a master safe in the office but somehow a copy was made or stolen at some point in time. We also found out the master key included for each safe opens ALL of the safes--we were led to believe by the manufacturer that each safe had a separate master key. Not so. Obviously we discovered this too late. This could be the case in other scenarios mentioned here as well.
Unfortunately this does not excuse the fact that our guests were being compromised. I sincerely apologize to any guest that felt unsafe while staying here at Laguna Beach. Although we replaced stolen money it does not allow us to overlook a major security issue. We have since removed all safes from the rooms and put a central safe in the main office for valuables. We have also changed all of the locks on the rooms. We also now have 2 watchmen on duty to cover the resort property more effectively.
I appreciate the forum and all suggestions made here and invite any new comments as well. Thank you all for your concern and I look forward to seeing you in the future.
Troy Bodden
Owner
Laguna Beach Resort
Utila Aggressor
Utila Watersports
troy@utiladiveventures.com
Side Note: We have not charged a fee for using a credit card in over 3 years. The bank charges merchants but it is now illegal to charge our customers. However, the US and European credit card companies usually charge fee for using your card out of the country as well as a conversion rate. There is the ISV tax at the bottom of our bill and then the total. If there is a charge on your credit card statement please contact your company directly.
parrotheaddiver
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I didn't have a dog in this fight......but I am impressed that you took the time to post a conclusion to this thread....
I have visited Roatan for many years and found most of the people that work for the resorts etc in the Bay Islands to be honest hard working people....but like anywhere else I guess one bad apple......Thanks again for posting...LBR will be on my list of places to visit
I have visited Roatan for many years and found most of the people that work for the resorts etc in the Bay Islands to be honest hard working people....but like anywhere else I guess one bad apple......Thanks again for posting...LBR will be on my list of places to visit
Kudos to Troy for getting wind of the thread and posting a response. My wife and I have been to LBR 4 times in the past, and are returning again this summer with a group of friends and past students.
Having never had an issue at the resort in the past traveling with computers, camera gear, etc. we were shocked to hear about what happened, but not shocked to see that it was handled swiftly by Troy and his managers. As previously stated, one bad apple seems to be behind the incident, and he is being handled properly.
Parrotheaddiver, I hope you make your way to LBR, you'll have a blast. There is a reason we keep going back!
- Kris and Mindy
Having never had an issue at the resort in the past traveling with computers, camera gear, etc. we were shocked to hear about what happened, but not shocked to see that it was handled swiftly by Troy and his managers. As previously stated, one bad apple seems to be behind the incident, and he is being handled properly.
Parrotheaddiver, I hope you make your way to LBR, you'll have a blast. There is a reason we keep going back!
- Kris and Mindy
Rainer
Contributor
Impressive response, Troy. It's appreciated.
In today's questionable security times, I for one, do not leave my $$$ in room safes. As Dive light technology has improved, older C or D cell lights are very reasonable in price. A couple of lead weights cut to the right size will mimic the mass of batteries, fit securely, and leave the other battery slots available for other more valuable things such as passports and cash. If the light is left in room, it can either be put in the toilet tank, or stored with extra dive kit.
If one is EXCEEDINGLY paranoid, it is possible to take all valuables down with you too. It is a dive light chassis after all.
Also... 'GoodGuy' points to Troy for stepping up with a response. Welcome to the ScubaBoard. Perhaps you may choose to stick around after this situation settles down. You will find that this may be a good forum to find a targeted audience for say specials and incentives... Very TARGETED marketing opportunity
If one is EXCEEDINGLY paranoid, it is possible to take all valuables down with you too. It is a dive light chassis after all.
Also... 'GoodGuy' points to Troy for stepping up with a response. Welcome to the ScubaBoard. Perhaps you may choose to stick around after this situation settles down. You will find that this may be a good forum to find a targeted audience for say specials and incentives... Very TARGETED marketing opportunity
itsjustme0770
Contributor
All, I'll chime in with my .02. Troy is a major reason that Utila has become the Mecca for divers that it has become. Between Laguna Beach and the Utila Aggressor Troy has one of the finest dive ops in all of the bay islands. He also has some of the nicest and most pleasant staff I've ever had the opportunity to interact with. Although I've only met Troy a couple of times his appreciation for the beauty of the island and it's reef is apparent. If anyone understands the importance of ensuring excellence in tourism, Troy certainly does. Glad to see him present on the boards and hope he'll continue to contribute.
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