A column on CNN the other day got me thinking. It was a bit of a confessional on items the author (and her friends) had taken from various hotels. “Is it,” she asked, “ever OK to take things from a hotel?”
The answer she got from various hotel managers was a resounding, “Yes!” That is, if the item is purposely designed by hotel management to be taken or ‘stolen.’
All those toiletries and wrapped items you’re familiar with – soaps, lotions, sewing kits, shoe polish – they’re all designed to be carried out worry-free.
Any consumable or disposable item put out in your room for use while you’re there, like stationary, pens, memo pads, etc., is also ripe for walking. (Notice the emphasis on the ‘in your room’). As most know, hotels like it when guests take certain mementos – it helps build the brand and hopefully makes you pine for a return visit.
But, then, what about the other stuff?
The ‘other’ stuff being robes, pillows, towels, and anything else, nailed down or not, that strikes your fancy. Here’s where it gets hairy. The general sense seems to be if the item has the hotel’s name on it, anything outside of the marquee out front is probably designed as a bit of mobile PR. Or, as one general manager put it, ‘designed to be stolen.’ I’ve found if the hotel doesn’t sell the same item in its gift shop, it can be yours. If it’s for sale, but you go for the heavily discounted version? It varies among properties (and individual managers’ tolerances) as to whether you’ll be charged for the pilfered robe you could have bought for $120).
Ever taken a towel with you?
Maybe for one last dip in the pool before you left? (Wink, wink.) Despite the old travel legends about being charged, most properties will assume it was taken in error – as long as you didn’t clear out the whole set.
In fact, the real indicator of future impending charges seems to be a matter of quantity, quality and volume. Take one, you’re probably safe, take a dozen and risk some post check-out charges to your Visa. If the item you’re thinking of making off with has an insurable value, you might want to think twice. (Like the guest who tried to walk out of the Hong Kong W with the $300,000 lobby Warhol – he got as far as the street and left it propped against a streetlight). And volume? Anything so large you probably can’t fit it in your suitcase– like that flat screen – is probably a no-no.
Still confused?
Let’s talk some real-world incidents (and delve into the fascinating world of weird stuff people take). Hotel managers report (as do some of my lighter-fingered friends) that guests have walked away with tea sets, hair dryers, lobby nicknacks, pictures, mattresses, and exercise equipment, along with the old, boring stand-bys like TVs, mirrors, and showerheads.
More unique (and perhaps cheap) are the folks that steal light bulbs, toilet paper, chandelier crystals, and dare I say it, Gideon bibles. iPods are relatively new to the list, but are fast climbers. Last year a man went on trial in England for stealing 40,000 hotel hangars (the court transcript is hysterical, find it here).
It’s not uncommon for some guests to clear out an entire room worth of furniture. This explains why some proprietors are suspicious of those who claim to be traveling with a U-haul because they are moving. Double strike? Asking for a room at the back of the inn.
The strangest theft I can remember was the taking of the hotel’s resident cat from a property I frequented in Canada. I myself once ‘borrowed’ the huge lobby floral arrangement from the Sheraton Boston during my college days, but don’t count it as outright theft because it was replaced before I left.
What’s the dumbest thing that people take? The remote control. Thousands go missing despite the fact they’re programmed to only work in the hotel. They’re so popular, the Grand Hyatt sells them for $14, even though they won’t work at home. Really want to make your domicile look like a hotel? Many chains have entire online collections (e.g. “Hyatt At Home”) that help you replicate that bed-in-a-box look, selling the same sheets, towels, fixtures and furniture you could be hoofing out the backdoor.
I do think that hotels miss the point regarding the sale of certain popular items. Who wants to pay for something they think they can get for free? And where’s the thrill? Or maybe it’s the convenience factor.
One friend confided she stuffed a tea pot into an oversized purse and left, in a hurry to make the airport, to avoid a lengthier transaction in the establishment’s shop. Another friend gleefully recounts the guilty pleasure she gets from accumulating her own full set of expensive china by taking it, one bit at a time, from a favorite hotel restaurant. I had to almost forcibly restrain my husband from packing the nautically-themed lamp on a Disney cruise (also sold in the gift shop for an eye-popping figure).
I had less success at the Bermuda hotel hosting our wedding reception – we left with several mementos, including the cake knife, champagne bucket, and a couple of glasses. (I’d like to think our $10,000 tab covered it, though). And, I’m not sure, but when I visit, I wonder whether my mother-in-law made off with the salt and pepper shakers.
One of the things that seems nonsensical to me is the idea that selling items will deter theft. Maybe because I used to be involved in law enforcement, this confounds me. If they sell the stuff, how would they ever be able to prove you stole it? Of course, hotels probably won’t like the other bit of tactical advice I give to friends and relatives that covet certain lodging amenities: “If you want it, take it – just don’t take it from your room! Try the room down the hall that the maid left open, or better yet, try the maid’s cart.” This explains the plush robe I acquired from a certain four-star facility without getting it charged back to my tab. Then again, the places with the highest rates usually expect guests to make themselves at home and then take it home.
I think a lot of folks leave things behind, not because they’re honest, but because they’re afraid they’ll end up paying for them. The truth is, when it comes to things guests shouldn’t be taking, we’re all paying for them. According to a report from 2007, klepto-inclined customers make off with about $100 million worth of stuff a year. Travel trivia: what’s the item most frequently taken from hotels? (Answer: washcloths). The weirdest? Maybe the incident at the Beverley Wilshire Hotel when a patron purloined an entire marble fireplace.
Who pays for all that? You do. Ever wonder about all those fees hotels tack onto your bill? How ‘bout the ‘hotel heist’ fee?
Truth is, we all do it to some extent. Telling tales of taken towels and other hotel trinkets acquired can be a bit of a parlor game. But relax! Should you be chagrined over that Paris Athenee ashtray or that Plaza trashcan, feel no shame. At least you didn’t try to steal an entire hotel, like Kouadio Koussai. The African immigrant was convicted of trying to swindle the SoHo Grand Hotel out of – the Soho Grand Hotel! He tried to file false deeds with the city records office listing himself as the owner. Charged with larceny (the facility is valued at $76 million), he got a year in jail (and probably a ban from the property).
Fess up! What have you taken?
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t believe Tripso is giving advice on how to steal things (take it from another room or the maid’s cart). You should be ashamed of yourself, Laura. And no (Truth is, we all do it to some extent), that is NOT true, we do not ALL steal.
Just a note, the Gideon’s won’t mind if you take the Bible. They probably hope you’ll be reading it.
hah…i joked with my husband about stealing the cute art deco-esque chairs from the royal hawaiian in waikiki, but i don’t think i would have ever had the nerve to actually take them…i consoled myself with the herbal tea packets :)
As a seasoned road warrior, I’ve stayed in lots and lots of hotels around the world. I don’t usually take anything with me when I leave (although I occasionally leave some of my own property by mistake) simply because I have enough junk at home. Those plush robes take up far too much room in my luggage, my towels at home are better than most hotel towels. I sometimes take the toiletries and sewing kits if I think I’ll need them before I get home. I sometimes take a pad and pen if I’ve forgotten my own. As for room fittings – no way, I don’t usually find them attractive enough to make them part of my home decor. If I did, I’d prefer to buy ones that haven’t had a lot of hotel guests grubby fingers over them.
Is any one else thinking of Ross’ burst suitcase in that episode of Friends? Toilet rolls everywhere.
My old boss encouraged people to hijack as many little shampoo bottles as possible as she passed them on to a local homeless shelter. A curious form of charitable giving, to be sure.
I’m sure this article was a treat to research! What useful facts you’ve now got at the ready for every boring dinner party ever.
I found this article to be pretty confusing because there are a lot of things in it that I don’t agree with.
I think consumables, like toiletries, pens, pads, etc are fair game. Those things are left in the room in case the guest wants to use them, and I expect them to be built into the room fee.
Towels, robes, etc, even if they have the hotel’s name engraved on them? Definitely not. One could say that the engraving is advertising, but did you ever think they do it so these things are marked as belonging to the hotel?
As for taking things out of other rooms or out of maids’ carts, I expect one could get prosecuted for theft.
I would hope most guests use a lot of common sense when staying in a hotel…and common sense seems to be lacking in this article.
I agree, this article is inappropriate. There is no reason to brag about the things you and your friends have taken. I used to take toiletries – my little set from the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego made my bathroom have more of a getaway feel to it. But those were disposable amenities, meant for the taking. This article encourages theft, gives people an idea of what else there is to steal out there. This is irresponsible.
To think the author is actually condoning theft, and has herself participated in the crime…are you a parent????? Is this what you are teaching your children???? Again,
another example of why when we see the kid today who shows morals, no guilt, no thought of accountability for their actions, don’t know the difference between right and wrong, thinks the world owes them something, shows disrespect for others, lack manners, etc we need only look to the parents.
Laura, your first lesson in knowing the difference between right and wrong: yes, this IS theft. When you stay at a hotel, you are RENTING space and BUYING the soap, the shampoo, etc. Just because a manager says its ok, doesn’t make him eligble for
citizenship of the year.
And NO, I don’t steal from hotels…..maybe you’re trying to rationalize your own
behavior by saying we all do it, but don’t drag the honest ones down to YOUR level!
What a repulsive little petty thief you are. I’m sure your parents are quite proud of the daughter they raised. And your mother-in-law must be delighted with your public speculation that she is a repulsive little petty thief as well. Perhaps your employer should check the supply closet.
someone @ 8:38
The point of the article was that many of the things people think they are ’stealing’ are OK to take. The bathrobe I got? Of a cart, but sanctioned. (I checked before I checked out because I didn’t consider it worth what I might potentially be charged for it). The manager seemed confused and confirmed that’s why it had the hotel’s monogram. And, I was paying over $700 a night to stay there.
The Hamilton Princess told me not to worry about the champagne bucket – of course, I paid them $400 for my wedding cake alone.
And that was part of the point of the article – many pricey hotels provide amenities that you are already paying for and are free to take. Not OK?: the artwork, the sheets, the desk , that sort of thing- which I have never taken.
The advice to take things off the maids cart? Hotels are on to that – they don’t put anything there they would cringe if taken. (But be reasonable -save some of that primo conditioner for the other guests!) After all, every hotel I’ve ever stayed in will send up extras of those amenities if you call the front desk and ask – I just save them the trip if I have the chance. Disney’s Grand Floridian left us so much chocolate, we have to ask them to stop.
The article was meant to entertain, my comments about how to take things was in jest! Should you try it and get snagged – your bad!
Outside of a travel size lotion and the shampoo bottle I already opened, I don’t steal from hotels. Nor do I justify it by assuming hotels add on a “theft price increase.” I am a bit worried that you seem to think “everybody” does it.
“Truth is, we all do it to some extent”???
Is that how you ease your conscience? If you’re talking about anything other than the consumables that are included with the room (soap, shampoo, etc), then the truth is, we DON’T all do it. Some of us wouldn’t even consider it.
If you take something that is not yours and was never intended to be given to you, you’re a thief, whether you get caught or not. Regardless of how you justify it or rationalize it, you’re just a common criminal. The fact that you go such lengths to make sure you don’t get caught is proof that you are well aware that it’s wrong.
It’s also obvious that you didn’t want to deal with the reality, because you asked the manager about it. Why would he care? He’s there so he can get a check on Friday. If you steal a chair, he gets the same amount in his check. It’s not his chair anyway. Why didn’t you ask the owner? The person you actually stole from, who now has to pay to replace what some low-life took. Or ask me, or any of the other people who don’t steal, who are stuck paying for your lack of moral character.
My guess is you have a very convenient set of double standards. Do you have the same level of tolerance for guests in your home? Or do you take towels when you visit people? Of course not – probably because they don’t have a maid’s cart you can steal from.
Since you seem to believe that you paid for everything there when you rented the room, and therefore it’s OK, I’m sure you wouldn’t see any harm in dropping a buck or two in a collection plate, then walking out of the church with a statue or two.
This reminds me of the time, about twenty years ago, my sister-in-law fancied a set of blue salt and pepper shakers on our restaurant table. She pilfered them, then asked me to hold them in my roomy handbag. Well, she forgot to take them from me. I forgot I had them,… and they are nesting somewhere in my house, I know not where.
I was appalled when I read the original article in CNN glorifying theft. This is a better article, but it still seems to try to redefine thievery as harmless fun. As another poster noted, we are not all thieves, nor do we find it amusing when others engage in this behavior. Let’s fact it, those thefts do get paid for by higher hotel prices for all of us.
If thefts from hotels can be justified, what’s wrong with me taking a piece of furniture from my office or the nice display rack in the grocery store or those cushy chairs in the doctor’s office?
Apparently some people think honesty and integrity are virtues to be left at home.
Yuck! Who would want those towels and such? No thanks.
But, there are some decent toiletries out there.
Laura, you wrote: “The point of the article was that many of the things people think they are ’stealing’ are OK to take. The bathrobe I got? Of a cart, but sanctioned. (I checked before I checked out because I didn’t consider it worth what I might potentially be charged for it). The manager seemed confused and confirmed that’s why it had the hotel’s monogram. And, I was paying over $700 a night to stay there.
The Hamilton Princess told me not to worry about the champagne bucket – of course, I paid them $400 for my wedding cake alone.”
So because you paid for some items, you should just help yourself to others? This is akin to the thought of being able to steal from the rich because they’re rich enough that they’ll never miss it. Thanks for increasing the cost of my room and/or resort fees because you had to have an ice bucket. Shame on you.
Hey Laura,
I personally found this article hilarious nor did I find it morally offensive. Everyone needs to take this article for what it is — something fun and diverting from the typical travel-industry-sucks-stories.
As for the claim that expensive hotels have items designed to be stolen — I’ve often suspected that — maybe this crowd has never stayed at a cheap hotel, but everything that they don’t want you to take is nailed down or trapped in locked containers. I still remember staying at some cheap hotel and the remote control was glued down to the bedside table. At an angle that made it challenging to actually change channels. And the toilet paper was trapped in a metal box, that you had to carefully pull out of small slit — pull too hard and you didn’t have any paper to use. They obviously didn’t want anyone walking away with a roll of toilet paper.
And as for equating taking items from a hotel to stealing from a store, it’s not quite the same parallel. When you enter a store, it is a brief transaction — one that has a specific purpose of buying said item and leaving. However, a hotel stay is a longer transaction — one that is designed to make you feel at ease and comfortable. And the goal of a good hotel is to make you feel like you are at home and part of that “image” is possibly surrounding you with luxurious items that might be even better than what you have at home. Now a good parallel might be staying at a friend’s house and then “accidentally” packing his good linens in your suitcase before you leave. Not very nice and not exactly expected. However, if a luxury hotel figures that you’ll walk off with nice stuff then they’ll kind of build that into the experience by offering it for sale or assuming x% will walk off with stuff. I’m not necessarily justifying the behavior — I’m just saying that this might be why a luxury hotel doesn’t glue things down to the bedside tables.
It really is amazing that you are trying to justify this article as “entertaining” and “in jest”. What about this part: “One friend confided she stuffed a tea pot into an oversized purse and left…. Another friend gleefully recounts the guilty pleasure she gets from accumulating her own full set of expensive china by taking it, one bit at a time, from a favorite hotel restaurant.” Do you really think that is entertaining? Would you mind if your friend came to your house and took your china or tea pot?
I’m at a loss to understand how Tripso thinks this article is appropriate.
I think it is sad about how some people are proud of their stealing tea pots, china, and other big-ticket items.
I have taken pens, paper, and toiletries. The pens and paper we use here at home; the toiletries have gone to homeless shelters and women’s shelters. Heck, there is even a website that will show you where to drop off your hotel toiletries so they can take them to shelters.
I do have robes from two different hotels–but I bought them. And when we remodel our one bathroom, I want to buy one of the showerheads that are in the Holiday Inn Express hotels.
Laura, Laura, oh Lightfingered Laura,
Stupidity,as evidenced by paying $400 for a cake and $700 for a hotel room, along with ‘fessin’ up to some poor MOD stuck with trying to deal with a brazen admission from a brazen thief at busy check-out time, does not justify your criminal activity. You need a new set of friends (one can only hope the teapot cracks and dumps scalding water over your gleeful friend), and a conscience. Your excuses make you even more repulsive. What is WRONG with you? Raised by wolves is my guess…
I have to agree i cna’t believe Trpso is condoning stealing. Whether its a hotel room or you are a guest in someo one home why would you thinkits ok to steal. I understand the toiletries, pen and paper but anything above that is just plain wrong. Are the people stealing the same one reading and stealing the bibles? Though not steal.
count me in as offended by this article and someone who never takes anything from my hotel room except for the complimentary disposables. Call me humorless, but I don’t find stealing funny.
Dear Ms. Elion:
Assuming you’re serious about legitimizing theft of hotel property, you have now been placed on a watch list sponsored by the AHMA (American Hotel & Motel Association). All member hotels are being notified of your potential criminal activity and will reserve the right to deny you access to their properties. Thank you for tipping us off.
You’re disgusting, Ms. Laura!
Condoning such petty thievery, especially from another’s room (so they’ll get dinged for the bill!!) certainly shows your character… hope you don’t have any children with whom to instill your “ideals”.
That $100 million that the author and her friends steal does indeed raise the rates for all the honest travelers. No we do not all do it, nor find it amusing. I agree that this is an inappropriate article and hardly funny. Consumables that are intended for single use, yes, it’s OK to take them – the soap, the shampoo, etc. But anything the hotel would expect to get repeated use out of otherwise is theft, pure and simple.
“Maybe because I used to be involved in law enforcement…”
Isn’t that the case with just about every criminal?
I can only imagine your “parlour games”:
Morally bankrupt Laura: All my towels are stolen.
Morally bankrupt associate: I steal all my silverware. I want other people to pay for it.
Another bird-of-a feather: The throw pillows aren’t glued to the headboard, because they want you to take them.
Fellow hypocrite: We better hurry up – we’ll be late for church.
Clearly artistic license was used to make us laugh. However the “not me – bad you” comments are just a bit over the edge – and teeter more towards the side of self guilt. Ok, I will fess up… I have taken my fare share of used soaps, and a few tea bags for the road; but resisted anything Disney. However, there was an in-room hot plate cooking contest concerning just four or five of those free live duck’s that march daily in certain hotel in Memphis…
Good God, people — get a grip! Does no one except Occasional Traveler understand the concept of “tongue in cheek”? To steal a quote from the Bard: “Me thinks some of you people protest too much.”
All you are is one big fat thief. I bet you will try to walk out with the bed and tv if it was not nailed to the ground. You should be ashamed of your self!
Welcome to the ME generation. Whatever I need, want, desire: to comfort me, entertain me, pleasure me then I shall have it by any means and in the moment just because strikes my fancy (or by paying $700/night because face it, it’s the cost of doing good business. If they want me back, that is). Morals, values, character, integrity? Oh, the ME generation found out that they weren’t needed and sold them off.
Stealing just keeps driving the cost of business up and leaves less money for payroll to hire people. It’s a high price to pay for loyalty, isn’t it?
Laura, if anything is true, you have the ability to engage the public in dialogue (artistic license can be a stretch through). In any case, it’s great for TRIPSO.
This could have been just as effective if it was an article of odd things that had been stolen and a report on the attitudes and policies of the various hotels.
The column did seem like a “cheat sheet” on how to steal and not get caught, and yes, stealing does increase the price for everyone. It is no different than swiping the office supplies.
Honestly, if they wanted you to take the champagne bucket (or did not care to have it back) it would have been plastic or Styrofoam.
Grab it from an open room? The maid’s cart? A little over the top.
And it does beg the question–which side of law enforcement were you on?