Leave gear in hotel room or bring to the beach?

Hi. i am planning to go to miami beach in september and will stay in a hotel there for a couple of nights as well.

i will be bringing all my gear as i will be going to other places besides the beaches.

my question is should i leave my gear in the hotel whenever i go to the beach for a swim with my wife(just two of us going so no one to look after my gear in the beach) or take it with me, hide the bag amongst towels or something and keep a eye on it once in a while while in the water having fun?

Thoughts?

btw it is all insured but the catch with the "theft" part is that it is not covered if its unattended and got stolen(i checked many insureres and most ar elike that) im with photoguard by the way

http://www.photoguard.​co.uk/coversummary.asp

I stay in quite a few hotels, I leave stuff in the room all the time. if i'm shooting at the beach, i take it to the beach.

rick_reno wrote in post #14669526
I stay in quite a few hotels, I leave stuff in the room all the time. if i'm shooting at the beach, i take it to the beach.

I concur with @rick_reno...

I leave it in the hotel room, but take a picture with my phone of the stuff in the room next to something identifiable (like hotel stationary with date written on it).

Not sure how effective this will be, but it makes me feel better I at least feel like it gives me a leg to stand on in the case that the stuff isn't there when I come back.

If you leave it on Miami Beach while you head in to swim with your wife its almost like you're daring some one to steal it. While not technically unattended, a thief could make off with it in plain site and there would be absolutely nothing you could do.

dustyporch wrote in post #14669537
I concur with @rick_reno...

One more vote for Rick.

if youre not going to use it on the beach id leave it in the hotel room. if youre iffy about it being stolen in the room. pacsafe has some camera specific cases which should be enough of a deterrent to prevent it from being stolen.

Howdy,

If you are staying at a reputable hotel then I'd be more tempted to leave it with the hotel manager/front desk safe that is usually available to guests. There may actually be a liability clause that puts the responsibility onto the hotel at that point whereas a theft from your room is likely not covered.

See Ya, Dave

Dave Weldon wrote in post #14669953
Howdy,

If you are staying at a reputable hotel then I'd be more tempted to leave it with the hotel manager/front desk safe that is usually available to guests. There may actually be a liability clause that puts the responsibility onto the hotel at that point whereas a theft from your room is likely not covered.

See Ya, Dave

This

Theft at the insured location unless there is forcible and or violent entry

I'm curious about this exclusion, it doesn't make sense to me.

So, if your camera is at your home or place of business (which ever one is the insured location) and someone breaks in and steals it...it's not considered a covered theft? Unless I'm reading it wrong, that seems silly and not a very good policy.

Yeah, I agree about weird stipulations in the policy. The OP mentioned "not covered if its un-attended" and that seems unreasonable to me. When its unattended (i.e. your not there) thats when you'ld most want it covered.

When I was out at a Bird Sanctuary (had my camera and one lens with me) thugs broke into my SUV and stole by bag with all other camera gear, filters, batteries, lenses etc as well as GPS and other things from the vehicle. All was covered and replaced by Wawanesa within 2 weeks.

PS - Yeah - I leave gear in my room all the time unless I'm using it. Or with the concierge in lobby if possible. Depends on what kinda hotel it is.
Chances are better that someone will steal it at the beach if your not watching then from your room.

If you left it at the beach covered and someone stole I would bet the insurance company would say it was unattended since you weren't right next to it. Won't you be worried and constantly looking back at your gear if it's on the beach? What if someone does run off with it, are you going to swim back and run after them?

I'd leave it in the hotel. I suspect it'll be much safer there. You could even put the do not disturb sign up so housekeeping doesn't even go in your room.

rob0225 wrote in post #14670341
Theft at the insured location unless there is forcible and or violent entry

I'm curious about this exclusion, it doesn't make sense to me.

they mean if the gear just vanishes without any signs that someone actually broke in then it isn't covered. i.e. if someone uses a key or wanders in thru an open door/window. You'd need to show evidence that there was a break-in, which in some cases is pretty difficult. Usual insurance company-speak for we-will-try-at-every-opportunity-to-decline-your claim.

i'l leave it in the hotel room

joeseph wrote in post #14670713
they mean if the gear just vanishes without any signs that someone actually broke in then it isn't covered. i.e. if someone uses a key or wanders in thru an open door/window. You'd need to show evidence that there was a break-in, which in some cases is pretty difficult. Usual insurance company-speak for we-will-try-at-every-opportunity-to-decline-your claim.

Got it. I was interpreting it wrong.

rick_reno wrote in post #14669526
I stay in quite a few hotels, I leave stuff in the room all the time. if i'm shooting at the beach, i take it to the beach.

I'm with Rick on this as well. I spend most of the winters in Hawaii and always leave my gear in the rooms I have there. After doing this for a few years now I have yet to have a problem.