I (a guest) had an item mysteriously disappear during check-in. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Hello everyone. My wife and I booked a Saturday night stay in a chain hotel in a small city in the NE.

We arrived Saturday around 4 PM. It was slow but not dead. We checked in with no problem, and we then went to the car to get our luggage (just two overnight bags. I also grabbed a book I had brought to read while she was getting dressed (Scott Pilgrim colored collection, volume 1). We took the elevator to the third floor and the keys would not work. I told my wife to stay there, with our luggage, while I went to get the keys fixed. I took the book with me. I went to the front desk and the attendant fixed the keys. We then went to the room, and took about 5 minutes to make sure everything was ok in the room. I then noticed that my book was missing.

I looked everywhere in the room and did not find it (we hadn't even unpacked). I then went to ask at the front desk (probably 10-15 minutes had elapsed since I was there) and the attendant said that she had not seen it. I then searched the car and the room again. Nothing.

I asked the attendant if she had security footage of the front desk area and I was told that there were no cameras in the front desk are, which I found extremely odd. I then filed a stolen item report, but please note that I did NOT accuse any member of the staff of stealing the book. To me, the most reasonable explanation is that I had it when I went to get the keys fixed, and left it somewhere in the front desk area.

The next day we checked out, I asked the new staff member and they saw nothing. I called the GM this morning and we had a nice chat, but again, no sign of the book. I will contact the GM by email and my main problem wit the whole thing is the lack of security footage. He says there are no cameras in the entire facility!

We got home unpacked everything and no sign of the book. I ordered a replacement.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Edit: thank you all for your comment, I appreciate the feedback and camaraderie.