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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Look Out!
Err Travel · October 17, 2000

Occasionally a news item - a report of an out-of-town motorist being shot and killed, an account of yet another whacked-out airline passenger, a story of a riot in a tropical destination - hints at an idea for an Err Travel column.

This one screams it:

PLAZA NOT-SO-SWEET FOR FLORIDA TOURISTS

By Philip Messing, NYPOST.COM

NEW YORK - A Florida couple who won a trip to New York with a high bid in a charity auction said yesterday they turned into big-time losers when burglars entered their room at The Plaza and walked off with $13,000 in jewelry.

And to add insult to injury, they said the attitude of hotel security was let's blame the victims, and NYPD cops acted as if they couldn't care less.

Neither the cops nor the hotel would comment.

John Toussel, 55, and Maria Procacci, 50, who are married and live in Naples, checked in Thursday night. They had bid $2,400 for the trip, which included round-trip airfare, two nights at The Plaza, and a visit to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

They decided to stay two more days - upgrading to a more expensive room - so they could take in the U.S. Tennis Open with their son, Josh, a junior at American University in Washington, D.C., who came up Friday.

Procacci discovered the burglary Sunday and believes it took place the day before while they were at the tennis matches.

When they reported the loss to hotel security, "They made us feel as if we did something wrong," said Toussel.

"They gave us a tongue-lashing. They said, 'This is New York.' My reply was, 'This is The Plaza ... and at $280 a night, you don't expect to have a problem,'" he said.

Procacci said a Plaza security official lambasted her for not using the room safe - which she said opened with a key that looked like it could easily be copied.

"He said, 'What were you thinking? You're in New York.' And I said, 'I'm not in New York. I'm in The Plaza hotel.'"

The family said cops were "lackadaisical," "unprofessional" and did not take fingerprints...

Read Mr. Toussel's lament again: This is The Plaza ... and at $280 a night, you don't expect to have a problem.

This remark exemplifies the sort of statement so often spoken by a victim. Travelers regularly assume that their security is directly related to the price they pay for their rooms. This is frequently not the case, and often just the opposite applies. (If you were a crook working the hotels in a big city, where would you go looking for a haul of 13 grand in jewelry: "The Plaza" or "The Y"?)

While victims believe that an upscale hotel is inherently more secure, non-victims think more along these lines: This is The Plaza ... and at $280 a night, I expect that there are criminals lurking about waiting to grab my loot and skedaddle.

For the umpteenth time in this space, lemme repeat - this time from the Big Apple: "Yoose guys gotta look out fors yooseselves."

Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. His column appears on Wednesdays. He is author of the popular book Travel Can Be Murder. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at terry@ticked.com.