New research has revealed the top 10 most commonly stolen items from hotels abroad; with holidaymakers most likely to help themselves to towels, soft furnishings, batteries and cutlery/crockery. 14% of British travellers have previously been caught taking something that didn’t belong to them from a hotel abroad.
The poll was conducted by www.sunshine.co.uk as part of ongoing research into the behaviour of Britons on holiday. 2,623 people aged 18 and over from around the UK took part in the research, all of whom had been on at least six holidays abroad in their adult lifetime. Respondents were asked to honestly answer questions about items they’d taken from hotels in the past, if any.
When asked ‘Have you ever stolen anything, however small, from a hotel during a holiday abroad?’ 56% said ‘yes’. A further 14% of the total respondents confessed that they had been caught in the act of taking something that wasn’t theirs from a hotel abroad. Anyone who had stolen a hotel item in the past was asked to name everything they had taken in this manner in the past, which revealed the following top 10 answers:
- Pool towel(s) – 31%
- Room towel(s) – 27%
- Soft furnishing (e.g. cushions) – 22%
- Batteries – 20%
- Cutlery/crockery/glassware – 18%
- Slippers – 12%
- Robe – 9%
- Light bulbs – 8%
- Bedding (duvet cover, pillow cases, blankets) – 4%
- Decorative accessories (e.g. a vase) – 2%
1% of the hotel thieves said that they had taken electrical items (such as alarm clock, music player or remote control). Two respondents to the survey admitted during the research that they had previously taken a television from a hotel on holiday abroad. Another respondent admitted to stealing a bible from a hotel room they’d stayed in.
When relevant respondents were asked why they had stolen items from hotels in the past, 47% of the people taking part shared the attitude that the ‘hotel would have plenty more spare’ and 28% said it was in order to get their ‘money’s worth’.
Chris Clarkson, managing director of sunshine.co.uk, said: “Stealing is wrong on many levels and unfortunately I think many people don’t consider taking from hotels to be theft. The truth of the matter is that taking anything that doesn’t belong to you is stealing. Hotel guests need to respect the fact that the items in rooms they stay in aren’t just there for the taking, but rather are there to enjoy during their stay.”
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