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Safety in hotels
We suggest that tourists should store their documents, money, jewellery and other valuable belongings in safes located in the rooms or at the reception desk. In some hotels, the use of safes can be offered for an extra charge. In hotels where safes can be used for free, tourists can be required to leave a cash deposit for the safe key. The deposit will be returned upon leaving the hotel.
The hotel management assumes no responsibility for tourists’ money and valuables that were left unattended outside the safe.
Safety in hotels
In case of discovering a loss of valuable belongings tourists are recommended to contact the hotel guide or call the tourist assistance hotline phone number: +216 25 99 44 77 (Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram) for prompt coordination of their actions.
The hotel guide and other DMC’s staff provide necessary assistance in the course of the tourists’ communication with the hotel management and can also accompany the tourists when visiting a police office or help translate and fill in the documents. However, the DMC’s staff cannot provide consultations related to legal aspects nor represent the tourists in court. In such cases the tourists are required to use legal assistance services provided by specialized entities.
After filing a statement on the loss of valuable belongings to the police in a country of temporary stay, tourists are entitled to inform the consulate of their home country. The assistance or consultations of the consulate staff can be of use for the tourists for further interaction with local law enforcement authorities.
Tourists shall keep a copy of their statement to the police until the lost belongings are found or until the hotel management or the insurance company solve the issue related to the compensation payment (or until a substantiated refusal to pay compensation is received from the hotel management or the insurance company).
In Tunisia, it is common practice for hotels to voluntarily insure their civil liability related to compensating for damage to the property, life, and health of guests and visitors. This type of insurance is primarily offered by higher-category hotels; however, some budget accommodations also choose to obtain insurance to ensure the protection of guests’ interests in case of damage to their property.
The scope of insured liability depends on the insurance company and the options selected by the hotel when signing the insurance contract. If a hotel insures its civil liability towards third parties, the object of insurance includes the hotel’s financial interests associated with the obligation to compensate for damage to the property, life, and health of third parties, including guests and visitors. This type of insurance allows hotels to transfer the burden of covering all expenses related to liability towards third parties and guests to the insurance company.
Please note that only a tourist’s statement to the police can serve as grounds for carrying out an investigation. If the tourist decides not to appeal to the police, the hotel may conduct an internal investigation at its own discretion. However, in the absence of the tourist’s statement to the police the hotel will not be able to file a damage compensation request with the insurance company and, consequently, will not be able to pay any compensation to the tourist.
Safety in hotels
In the event of passport loss during the tour, the tourists shall inform the hotel guide as well as visit the official website of their country’s embassy in the Republic of Tunisia. The website provides information on the address of the embassy’s consular section and the list of documents required to obtain a temporary travel document confirming the tourist’s identity for the departure flight. The DMC’s staff has considerable experience in supporting citizens from many countries in such situations and can provide a comprehensive consultation on the peculiar features of the document reissuing procedure in the consulate of the tourist’s home country. The DMC’s representative may accompany the tourist when visiting the police office for filing a statement. The DMC provides assistance to the tourists in arranging a transfer for visiting the police office and/or the consulate. All the expenses related to the document reissuance and visits to the police office and the consulate shall be borne by the tourist. Neither the DMC nor the tour operator shall bear material responsibility for the actions or inaction of the tourists or third parties.
To avoid the loss of a passport and the associated time costs, expenses, and negative emotions, tourists are strongly advised to store their documents in the safe after checking into the hotel. If identity verification is required outside the hotel, including during excursions, carrying a copy of the passport is sufficient for presentation upon request.
Safety in hotels
Video surveillance in hotels serves for ensuring the security of the people, preventing incidents, protecting property or arranging entry and exit to and from the hotel buildings.
Video surveillance equipment is mandatory only in the entrance/exit areas and near the reception desk. The installation of video surveillance cameras in other areas is at the discretion of the hotel management.
According to the current regulations, videorecordings from the video surveillance cameras can be viewed by a limited number of persons: hotel administration and police officers. The DMC may request the permission to view the videorecordings but its acceptance or rejection is at the discretion of the above-mentioned persons. Hotel guests can get access to the videorecordings by court ruling only.
It should be noted that video surveillance cameras provide no full three-dimensional view and have blind spots. Therefore, even if video cameras are available in the place in which the tourists are interested, it cannot guarantee that these cameras have captured the required events.
