Stolen Souvenirs: 95% of Hotels Report Thefts by Guests, and Towels Top The List

Ever nicked something from a hotel room? To be honest, we always felt those little toiletries were fair game – but they come in at number two on a list of the items most frequently stolen from hotels by guests.

A survey of 500 hotels worldwide, carried out by lastminute.com, has found that 95% of hotels have had items pilfered – but if they’re counting the mini shampoos then we’re surprised it’s not 100% really… 

Hoteliers are estimating the cost of opportunist guests taking home some, um, souvenirs, from their rooms is costing over €5,500 on average per year, and as much as €20,000 in 5 star hotels as the costs of the products increase. 

So what do we try to sneak back out that we didn’t bring in? Well, the top ten is as follows…

1. Towels   87%
2. Toiletries   60%
3. Crockery & cutlery   52%
4. Slippers   39%
5. Bathrobes   34%
6. Remote Controls   28%
7. Pillows/duvets   23%
8. Newspapers   19%
9. Clothes hangers    17%
10. TVs   16% 

A quick poll around the Her.ie office suggests we’re guilty of the toiletries one, and maybe a pair of comfy slippers may have gone home in a bag once or twice – but that’s where we’d draw the line. 

There are plenty hotels goers much cheekier than us though – one 5 star hotel in Dublin reported how one guest stole every wrapped ‘gift’ under a Christmas tree – empty cardboard boxes. One Berlin hotel reported the theft of a SINK, (seriously – how?), while a Las Vegas hotel guest cut out and took home their hotel room carpet.

And it's not always a case of a tipsy prank gone too far. Kathy Doever, head of Brand and PR for lastminute.com commented: “For this survey hundreds of hotels shared secret stories to give an insight into how far some guests will go to take things like towels, and high value items like TVs, sculptures and cigarette machines. In some cases the theft is very much premeditated with guests apparently packing their tool bag to remove some items.”