Hotel Guests Who Steal (And Why They Do)

What do towels, hotel sheets, hair dryers, and silverware have in common? Well, they all tend to disappear, with the audience and the hotel management watching, astounded.

Hotel thieves have no shame - as soon as a hotel adds something nice, thieves will start stealing it.
One hotel guest in Abuja who went for a weekend with a half empty luggage arrived from her trip with a stocked luggage. On opening her luggage, she literally brought the whole hotel with her except the bed which was too large to contain. Even the small pocket bible was not spared!
When she was questioned, her reasons were:
"The room rates were exorbitant, I just had to find a way of getting a percentage of that money back"

Call it unreal, a separate reality, or fantasy. Unsurprisingly, bizarre hotel tales are as standard as over-priced minibars.

The lampshade may be the epitome of crass, but you will want it.

Online forums vigorously debate the moral (and hygiene) values of towel thievery. Some ballyhoo their success at pilfering hotel towels and bathrobes, while others raise eyebrows in disgust at how many bodies that much-used cotton has clung to.

Statistics claim that on average a third more women steal than men – towels are the most commonly appropriated items.

More commonly spirited out of the hotels and resorts are: bathrobes, leather items (blotter, telephone pad), alarm clock, hair dryer, bath pillows, show pillows, cushions, drinking glasses and feather duvets.

One frequent hotel-goer revealed, “I’m afraid the most extravagant thing I’ve ever stolen was a laundry bag – which they caught me doing and charged me. So I guess I didn’t steal it. I just bought it. Never used it since.”
Many get away scot-free. In Amsterdam, one perfectly respectable couple didn't buy soap, shampoo or toilet rolls for seven years as they stayed in a hotel each week.

In Asia, hotels have reported that duvets have been spirited out by enterprising guests using a simple technique. The guests arrive with their old duvets packed in their bag and simply exchange these with the inner stuffing of the hotel quilt.

Of course, a collection of results from some Nigerian hotels is not exactly a scientific survey, but it does give a bit of an idea of the scope of what people help themselves to during their stay.

Towels: Towels are by far the number 1 item people help themselves to. Pool towels disappear more than in-room towels because there is no way for anyone to know how many you use.

Room Service Items: Room service items are also high on the list. Now, I agree that room service is an overpriced scam, and it may feel like the hotel is stealing from you, but to recoup your losses by stealing from the hotel is just plain mean.

Bathroom Amenities: Apart from complimentary shower items, the pricier items like hair dryers, make-up mirrors and towel bars are not immune from being taken. This is why hair dryers at certain Luxury Hotels are routinely affixed to the floor.

Electronics : There is apparently a reason the TV is bolted down. Some hotel guests even steal items that are useless outside the hotels like in-room phones, cables and remote controls.

Sadly, the price of theft impacts us all, because the more people steal, the higher hotel prices will go.

Have you ever 'taken' home anything from a hotel? What are your opinions on guests that steal?

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