How Safe Is Your Hotel?

July 23, 2009 — -- As Bill Stanton threw an iPod, laptop and camera into a bag, said goodbye to the maid cleaning the hotel room and strolled toward the exit, only one thing was wrong: none of the possessions were his.

Stanton boldly robbed the most valuable things from someone else's hotel room in broad daylight. Fortunately for the real owner -- a "Good Morning America" producer -- Stanton, a security expert, pulled off the caper as part of a "GMA" experiment to test hotel security.

But the implications for the ease with which he was able to calmly walk away with nearly anything he liked are very real, Stanton said.

Stanton ran his test at two Atlanta area hotels.

First he followed a "GMA" producer who was posing as a guest into a luxurious hotel room. Stanton followed the guest to the room and then waited until it was empty.

When it was, Stanton approached a cleaning lady who was down the hall and told her he was the guest in the empty room and he needed it cleaned immediately. The cleaning lady obliged and, while she began cleaning, Stanton brazenly walked in the room, telling her he forgot some things.

While she worked, he made himself at home in the room, nabbing an extra key that was left behind and even calling the front desk, hoping that when they answered, the operator would greet Stanton with the last name of the real guest.

Then he grabbed the laptop, iPod and a camera that "GMA" placed in the room to capture his mock robbery, and sauntered out the door.

To complete the getaway, Stanton made a bold move: He stole the rental car the room's owner likely picked up. Though he did not have a valet ticket, he was able to provide the guest's last name, the hotel room number and the room key.

That was enough to get the valet to bring around a red Mustang. With a simple "thank you," Stanton was off in a stolen car with all the guest's belongings -- no questions asked.