Pens, towels, and bathrobes…for sure. But what else do people steal from hotel rooms? A new survey offers fascinating results.
Wellness Heaven is a German-based guide for luxury hotels. It surveyed 1,157 four and five star properties to probe which items are stolen most from hotel rooms. The results include stolen TVs, coffee makers, tablet computers, artwork, and even mattresses!
Take a look at the survey results:
How about the difference between four and five star hotels?
One hotelier shared of a grand piano theft. “Once I walked through the lobby, I noticed that something was missing, and soon after I learned that three unknown men in overalls had taken away the grand piano, and it never reappeared, of course.” Another shared of a guest stealing the brass room numbers from the door. Another shared of a guest stealing the aromatic pine benches from a sauna.
Thieving Preferences By Nationality
The nationality section of the survey just cracked me up.
British and German hotel guests prefer towels and bathrooms, plus cosmetics and toiletries. Austrians steal high-end coffee machines while Americans steal pillows and batteries. Italians take wine glasses and Swiss take hair dryers. Dutch take lightbulbs and toilet paper while French take TVs and remote controls.
LOL.
I can’t see how that is quantifiable and suspect those “inclinations” are mostly one-off incidents.
CONCLUSION
Serious question, though. Soaps and pens are one things. Towels are pushing the line. But bedspreads? Computers? Mattresses? Coffee makers? Have people no shame? If any readers have worked at hotels before, is this sort of outright theft common?
You can view the full results of the survey here (H/T: Flyertalk).
Wait… so taking the toiletry bottles from L’Occitane is considered theft? They looked really nice, and the housekeeper placed an extra set the next day during room service, so I thought it was okay to keep…
I do not agree with the chart.
Is the individual bottles of shampoo and the second bar of soap considered “cosmetics”? If so, they are for the taking. Also the pen is for the taking, especially if you are in need of a pen for your trip.
Although I consider it a sign of cheapness, I believe it is acceptable to take the box of tissues (Kleenex) and the spare roll of toilet paper. For that matter, the other roll of toilet paper, too. One can also take the coffee that you didn’t use, which is usually one or two Keurig cups. Batteries is not acceptable, though.
I confess to what I take…shampoo, soap, occasionally the pen, usually 2-3 sheets of tissue in case I have a runny nose on the trip to the airport.
Why is it oK to steal toilet paper and Kleenex? Is this in a rule book I’m not aware of?
In answer to your question, I think the logic is that like with the shampoo, pens, soap, coffee/sugar packets, these are consumables which you are expected to use. Some people don’t drink coffee and some won’t use the shampoo, some will. So it’s a matter of whether you use all or less. The only distinction is whether you use them in the room or not that makes it iffy.
The batteries are another factor. Yes, they are consumable and they go bad but it appears more tacky than usual. It’s possible that someone might have used up all the TP but the batteries disappearing?
What I’m puzzled over are the TV’s and artwork. That’s just plain theft (not meant to be “consumed”) and they have the guests’ information and credit card imprint. Also, most hotels have security cameras for liability reasons (one guy who used to work at one told me hilarious stories 🙂
Sorry if a stupid question… how does one carry out a mattress without being noticed?
Asking for a friend.
Have your friend look at YouTube. There is likely a how-to video there.
@Lantean: LOL, or a grand piano?!
I discovered missing batteries in remote control. The room attendant told me it happens VERY frequently. This was a GH. Almost defies belief that people paying $300 for a room are so cheap to do this ( I guess it could be overstretched millennials living off credit cards)
Hold my beer:
https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/trending-news/story/indian-family-steals-accessories-from-bali-hotel-caught-by-staff-viral-video-shocks-internet-1574278-2019-07-27
Well some of this just sounds insane to me. I usually don’t take the toiletries but I sometimes take a pen or a laundry bag and once I took slippers.
Gee, I always assumed they wanted you to take the pen, which normally has hotel advertising on it. As someone said above, where’s the rule book? What do hotels say?
Cosmetics? So they have eye shadow and lip gloss? My wife and I must be choosing the wrong hotels.