HoJo went ABOVE and BEYOND and a warning!

[HTanner]

Just returned from a week at the Happiest Place.

Warning: There is a rash of car thefts/break-ins at the hotels around Disney. How do I know?

A call awoke us at 6 am in our hotel room to let us know we were the unfortunate winners in a car break-in lottery. For what? The thieves decided to smash our passenger side window for a $10 IPod charger. NOTHING else was missing!

We thought we had taken everything of value in the hotel with us. We parked in a lighted spot. We followed the suggestions of the staff.

The police officer told us the thieves probably looked in, saw a chord and presumed something valuable might be attached to it. That is all that it took to smash our window in.

Now, for the good news: HoJo's manager heard what happened and immediately called our room. He arranged for a mobile glass company to come out and repair our van while we swam in the pool. Then, they gave us a credit for the amount of the repair!

I have always LOVED the HoJo, but this really went above and beyond, imo.

Anyhow, when you park at the hotel, take a good look through the windows of your car and decide if anything visible might look valuable to a thief. Take it all inside! You never know what they are willing to break in for!

[bennette]

I am glad HoJo's was so gracious in resolving the problem.

I'm not sure one break in constitutes a rash (and I hope it was a rare thing for that area) but I wholeheartedly agree with your advice on not leaving ANYTHING of potential or mistaken value in the car. This is good advice for any high tourist area.

There is a beach we sometimes go to in Hawaii that is notorious for break ins. When we go there, we leave our doors unlocked and a window partially down in addition to an obviously empty car. On my last visit there, there was an English family visiting that had left a wallet, keys, a camera, and a videocamera in their car. After two hours of snorkeling, they came back to nothing but a broken window. (They left them in the car so they wouldn't get sandy or stolen on the beach!). They took it pretty well but it was obviously a pretty big inconvenience. (Plus it was a rental car, which was just that much extra hassle.)

Keep your important stuff with you or leave it in the hotel safe.

[HTanner]

I meant to include in my earlier post that the police officer told us there had been quite a lot of car break-ins over the past couple of months.

They put fliers on all of the cars in the parking lot about the thefts, too.

So, no, my break-in didn't make a rash of thefts, but mine was just one of the thefts in, apparently, a string.

They are doing their best to try and stop them, but please be careful with your belongings.

[gotchalk]

thanks for sharing this with us and for the advice. I will be sure to hide everything in my car, we will stay 2 nights in June at the HoJo, I always felt that the area was ok, so hopefully this will not continue to happen.

[disney3mel]

Thanks for the heads up! That was really nice of Hojo's to take care of you!

[Drince88]

Wouldn't the comprehensive on your insurance have covered it (minus deductible)?

[BrandonH]

Even if you don't take everything to the room with you, use the glove compartment and trunk for what you can. As long as a thief doesn't see you put the items there, they will have no reason to suspect that your car holds anything unusual or valuable.

[The old man]

Wouldn't the comprehensive on your insurance have covered it (minus deductible)?

For most people the deductable is about the same as the cost of a new window. Also remember the first rule of insurance--you pay us, we don't pay you. And if we do pay you then you will pay us more in the future.

[Malcon10t]

While the insurance probably would pay it, there is dealing with the paperwork, the deductible, and generally, we have had to get reimbursed for it. Nice work Hojos!!!!

[Drince88]

For most people the deductable is about the same as the cost of a new window. Also remember the first rule of insurance--you pay us, we don't pay you. And if we do pay you then you will pay us more in the future.

Yea, I (fortunately) haven't had to replace a window, so I didn't know how the cost compared. (Though I know my comp deductible is quite a bit lower than my collision.)

But I thought comprehensive wasn't supposed to 'count against you'?

And the paperwork hassles.

[Malcon10t]

I think it really depends on your insurance company. I have had very good interactions with AAA. Claims are quick and it probably would have been handled without a worry. My folks have Fireman's Fund. It takes forever for them to get things "done" and money back in hand.

[The old man]

But I thought comprehensive wasn't supposed to 'count against you'?

Not to derail, but I don't trust the insurance companies.

[adriennek]

Thanks for such a great report about HoJo's customer service! I'm so sorry your car was broken into but it definitely sounds like HoJos, as you said, went above and beyond in helping out in the situation!! That's terrific!!

Adrienne

[darph nader]

Sorry what happened to you. I thought HoJo's had security at night? (tripadvisor)

[The old man]

Sorry what happened to you. I thought HoJo's had security at night? (tripadvisor)

Even if they do do you think they can be every place at one time?

[Malcon10t]

Sorry what happened to you. I thought HoJo's had security at night? (tripadvisor)

They do. Anaheim also has police.

It is probably because they have security they knew so early about the issue.

[UsBurchs]

WOW! That certainly was nice of the HoJo's to take care of you like that! I wish we lived there . . . our car was stolen out of our parking space back in January at the condo we live in. (nothing of value showing - they wanted the car for parts and ripped of the door handle to get in!). I wonder what HoJo's would have done for us then? I think they probably limit their customer service to broken windows, not entire cars. LOL!

But, thinking of living next to Disneyland is a happy thought!

[HTanner]

Wouldn't the comprehensive on your insurance have covered it (minus deductible)?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, however you choose to see it , our deductible was more than the bill for the window.

Still, with having been off work for 7 months due to a layoff, it wasn't an expense we had budgeted for. (Yay, just got a job before I left, though!)

[HTanner]

Thanks for all the well-wishes, guys.

You know, we were fortunate. This happened on a day we had planned on taking off from the parks. We were going to stay and swim at the hotel, maybe go sight-see. We skipped the sight-seeing, but otherwise, had a lovely day.

A nice delivery guy noticed the window smashed and called it into the front office. It happened sometime in the early hours and the car was over by building 2, so not in a very traveled area. From the way they went through things, it looks like they were either startled by someone coming or just did a quick grab and got out of there. Either way, I don't think they would have been around if a security unit came by.

I felt silly because when we looked in the car, we realized a lot of things were much more in plain view than we thought. We hadn't purposefully been careless - we had actually tried to be careful! Anyhow, that night, we slept with pretty much everything in the room! LOL.

First call we made was our insurance. HoJo had already called Anaheim PD. Insurance through ESurance. Since we still have a loan on the car, we have to have full coverage, not just California minimum. Still, not enough coverage to take over this cost.

I was stressing a little bit. I've been laid off since August. Things have been tight. This trip was a real extravagance and only pulled together through the kindness of some friends who wanted to see my daughter get her 5th birthday wish to meet Cinderella. So, I was thinking - oh, there goes anything fun in the park the next day. All our spending money would have been gone to pay for the window.

So, HoJo really made my day. They salvaged the trip for us! We got to go and have our birthday meal the next day after all!

And, when I came back, I got to start my new job!

Yay!

[houseofmouse]

Sorry about that! I wonder was that you in the lobby yesterday morning I saw talking about the break in? Do you have three kiddos? The guy checking me out said it definitely has been happening and I told him I was glad my car was not with me this trip. HoJo is a great hotel and I am glad to hear they took such good care of you!

[kfreak]

Wow such a bad thing happening, but with such a wonderful ending. I cant think of any hotel that would do such a thing. Since most post up those disclaimers they would just shrug it off, and have you deal with it on your own. This is a great example of customer service going above and beyond what would ever be required. I am so glad that things worked out for your daughters b-day.

[booradly]

We got our car broken into as well. We got woken up on Mother's day morning to the call. They did not get anything out of our car because we did not leave anything in it. They just broke the window and looked in the car and did not find anything. That morning they had broken into a total of 3 cars. The police officer told me that this has been happening all over anaheim. Where ever you stay do not leave anything in the car.

HoJo did take care of us though. We were so grateful!

Michele

[quackinup]

Not only should you remove or hide any electronics or cords, some people suggest you clean off the ring created by a suction cup holding a GPS device. The crooks see that and assume you have one hidden in the glove box or center console.

[EeyoreAdorer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drince88
Wouldn't the comprehensive on your insurance have covered it (minus deductible)?

Not to derail, but I don't trust the insurance companies.

Comprehensive is a "no-fault" coverage. So, no matter what the insurance companys' pay-out is, it will never count against you.

p.s. I've been selling insurance for over 25 years.....yes, I 'am' old


On the flip side HTanner, I'm glad that HoJo took such good care of you. Whenever my daughter goes to Disneyland without me (sniff) she and her friends stay at HoJo's.

[HTanner]

Sorry about that! I wonder was that you in the lobby yesterday morning I saw talking about the break in? Do you have three kiddos? The guy checking me out said it definitely has been happening and I told him I was glad my car was not with me this trip. HoJo is a great hotel and I am glad to hear they took such good care of you!

No, just two kids - but I do have a very short husband. LOL.