A businessman visiting Samoa for a week has had an experience he does not want to remember when he returns to Australia. 

Kam Nasseri who works for John Batman Group has had some valuable belongings taken from him at a local hotel and he is not happy.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer yesterday, Mr. Nasseri said he was mostly unhappy with what he described as the unhelpful attitude of hotel workers.

“On Saturday before I left the hotel there were two ladies cleaning my room,” he said.

“It was usually one lady who cleans the room in the past days but when I came out of the shower, there were two and one of them was holding on to my packet of cigarette.  “She asked me if she could have one and I said to her you have it on your hand so you might as well take it.”

According to Mr. Nasseri, the ladies had asked him where he was going. He responded that he would be going to To Sua trench.  “Before I left, I took off my bracelet thinking that I don’t want to lose it (at the Trench) and I also left my phone,” he said.

“I came back later on and got ready to go to dinner and when I checked where I put my jewelry, it wasn’t there. I looked for my phone, it was the same thing. 

“I asked the hotel about it and they simply said they don’t know anything.”

The businessman said he had asked if he could speak to the lady that took his smoke but they kept telling him she has left. The days after that they continued to tell him that she hasn’t come back to work. 

“That bracelet is 18KTgold and it’s a treasure to me, something that my mother bought for me on my 30th birthday,” said Mr. Nasseri.

“Even the phone I can get another one but it has all my children’s photos from when they were babies and other memories there. It just disappeared and there has been no support or whatsoever from the hotel.”

Contacted for a comment, an official at the hotel who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they couldn’t comment because the Police are investigating the complaint. 

Another source at the Hotel confirmed that the Police are following up other leads – including the possibility that someone known to Mr. Naseri had stolen his stuff.

 In the meantime, Mr. Nasseri said it would have been great if the hotel had at least acknowledged that it has a responsibility to protect the properties of their guests.  “Not a single note or word from the owners but just the workers who just tell me that they don’t know what happened to my belongings,” said the businessman. 

“This is really bad for tourism in Samoa and for their hotel. Personally they’ve destroyed their reputation and by the looks of it – it seems to be something that is “normal” and it doesn’t bother them.”

Frustrated with the lack of support Mr. Nasseri reported the matter to Police and had posted on social media for any help from the locals about his missing belongings.