Following thefts from hockey players’ rooms at two different hotels in Bratislava, the management of the hotels are trying to increase the security.
The newly constructed Double Tree hotel next to the hockey stadium was the venue of the first theft, when Slovak player Pavol Demitra had all his personal belongings stolen from his room before the start of the championships. The management agreed to compensate the player and now the hotel is trying to ensure the situation is not repeated.
Spokeswoman for the Double Tree Hotel, Maria Adamova, informed that the hotel was boosting security measures and that they had a lead on a possible suspect, while claiming that it was not a member of the hotel’s staff. The hotel is accommodating the Czech and Swedish hockey teams now, as well as certain officials from the IIHF.
Hotel Tatra suffered a greater lapse in security when all 13 rooms occupied by the Danish ice hockey team were robbed, with damages estimated at over EUR 30,000. The hotel manager claims that force ‘appears’ to have been used, but exactly what is meant by ‘appears’ is not known. At the Double Tree Hotel, no force was used to get into the rooms, meaning the culprits most likely had electronic room keys.
Hotel Tatra is now home to the U.S. hockey team, which specifically asked to be accommodated there, despite the earlier incident concerning the Danish team. The hotel is doing a full top-to-bottom review of the hotel and also revising its CCTV system.
The level of security for the US team was increased last week following the announced death of al-Quaeda leader Bin Ladin, for fear of possible repercussions against U.S. targets. The U.S. team sped into Bratislava yesterday by bus escorted by a police escort.