Attention, Travelers: How Do You Protect Your Computer On The Road?

I have my Apple laptop on the road with me, and have discovered that some otherwise excellent hotels do not provide security lockboxes in guest rooms that are large enough to fit even a 12” laptop.  These hotels were probably built before folks were traveling a lot with their laptops and the hotels have not decided to upgrade to larger security boxes.

I do have travel insurance for this trip, which (theoretically) covers the possibility of theft of my MacBook Pro.

However, the maximum insurance payout would be $1,000 and there's a $100 deductible in case of theft.

Equally important:  based on my travel-insurance policy and an exchange of emails with the company, World Nomads insurance, I am covered in case of physical breaking-into a lockbox or security device .. or in case of a theft that I personally witness.  However, I would not be covered if a housekeeper or other hotel employee stole the computer from my room in my absence without doing physical harm to the lockbox.

Last week, at a top South American resort here in Uruguay where the lockbox was too small, I hid the laptop under my larger suitcase at some times when I was outside the habitación.

This week, in a more modest hotel where there is no horizontal stand for the bag let alone a larger lockbox, I am hiding the laptop under a large blue towel on a shelf.

I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it with the front desk as security here leaves something to be desired.

Going forward, I think it's impractical to try to figure out in advance if my laptop would fit in the lockbox of a prospective hotel.  But I realize this may be possible in some cases.

How would you deal with this security issue ?

cccmedia, on the road in Atlántida, Uruguay