Toronto woman’s Jeep stolen while parked outside Montreal East hotel

The Quality Hotel & Suites Montreal East has a parking lot right outside the main entrance, so Vanessa Sabatini parked her red Jeep there overnight, assuming it would be safe.

“I parked it, so that the office, like the front desk office could see it just because it was like the area, to me, in general felt a little iffy and the back garage was like full of random people all the time and there was no security,” said Sabatini.

Even though the Toronto resident thought it would be fine out front, when she woke up last Sunday morning, her vehicle was stolen.

“To myself. I’m like, ‘Am I losing it? Like, did I look?’ And so I walked around a little bit being like maybe, maybe it’s somewhere around here, like, I don’t know why, and then I was like, ‘This, this is gone,” she told CTV News.

She says the front desk called police, but no one had access to the security footage because the manager was away.

Vanessa Sabatini. (CTV News)

Sabatini says staff told her vehicles are stolen from the hotel regularly, and she felt they didn’t seem to care or want to help.

“It blew my mind, like how everyone was just very laissez faire and nonchalant,” she recalled.

On the hotel’s website, there are multiple one-star reviews. Several guests said their cars were stolen while staying there.

Located just off Highway 40, Automobile Protection Association Director George Iny says thieves have an easy getaway.

“So you can move the vehicle quickly. A hotel parking lot, particularly one that is long-term, offers the advantage of having a pretty good idea that the vehicle won’t be used overnight, for example,” said Iny.

Montreal police say they won’t give a history of stolen vehicles at a specific address, but say from Jan. 1 to March 23 of this year, 1,870 vehicles have been stolen in the city.

The Quality Hotel & Suites Montreal East refused an interview request from CTV News. In an email, the hotel’s general manager said, “We are cooperating with local authorities and providing them with our security footage for this ongoing investigation. The safety of our guests is our top priority and we have made considerable efforts to combat crime.”

She said these efforts include upgrading its surveillance system, upgrading lighting in the parking area, providing gated parking on the second level, and regular security rounds of the hotel and grounds.

Iny says these security upgrades are a must.

While Sabatini says it won’t bring her car back, she hopes they save other hotel guests from future theft.