Tourism Writers Hit by Thieves

Two American writers for an influential travel magazine are threatening to expose what they believe is a theft racket at a local resort, after losing hundreds of dollars in vacation money.

Californian Sharon Cummings said her visit to Nassau quickly turned into a "nightmare" after $900 was stolen from a safe in the room she shared with her husband at the Nassau Palm Hotel on West Bay Street.

The couple visits various Caribbean countries and submits articles to Budget Travel Magazine, an authoritative guide to inexpensive lodgings in vacation destinations. The magazine, owned by world renowned travel expert Arthur Frommer, has a strong online following and the print edition reaches more than 600,000 Americans a month.

Mrs. Cummings explained that their ordeal began soon after they arrived in the Bahamas. Upon returning from Atlantis to their hotel, Mrs. Cummings said she and her husband "grew suspicious" after their keys would not unlock the room door.

Mrs. Cummings said her attempts to unlock the safe were not successful, and she would only get an "error" message. She said a hotel employee told her she was putting the wrong code, and with the help of staff, it was eventually opened - but all their money was gone.

In 2007, The Tribune reported that a guest of the Royal Palm told police her jewelry and cell phone had been stolen from her room by three men seen walking casually from the hotel. In 2005, Ervin Virgill, 34, pleaded guilty to breaking into hotel rooms at the Royal Palm, after he was seen by some visitors leaving the rooms with their belongings.