The strangest things stolen from Hotels…

Stealing soaps or pens seems harmless for many hotel guests…

However, some are bold enough to carry TVs, mattresses, pianos or even stuffed animals out of the hotel. Wellness Heaven has recently surveyed a large number of hoteliers to ask which items are most commonly stolen. In particular, the findings revealed a striking difference in the theft behaviour between guests in 4-star and 5-star hotels.

Of the 1,376 hoteliers surveyed towels and bathrobes are stolen the most they noted. These two objects of desire are closely followed by hangers, pens and cosmetics. In addition to these “ordinary” items, there are a number of more unusual items that go missing.

Highly skilled craftsmanship was required of those guests who managed to steal bathroom fixtures, the head of a rain shower, a hydromassage shower, a toilet seat, a drainpipe or even an entire sink, as reported by a Berlin hotel. Another hotel manager noted how the grand piano was removed from a foyer with no one suspecting it was being stolen. “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.” they recalled.

A cosy room at Beersbridge Lodge Hotel, Glasgow

Room numbers have also been removed numerous times from various hotels while a guest was caught trying to steal a stuffed boar’s head. At a later date, he did receive this trophy: friends bought the precious piece from the hotel and gave it to him as a wedding gift. Wooden benches from a sauna were stolen. The “private sauna” was located on the terrace of a spa suite. The benches were made of fragrant pine wood, which probably stirred up the guest’s desire. Only when a subsequent guest criticized the absence of the benches the hotelier noticed the theft.

When classifying the delinquents by nationality, a different picture emerges. It turns out, for example, that German and British hotel guests follow a rather boring theft behaviour: In addition to towels and bathrobes, primarily cosmetics and toiletries are in the focus. In contrast, Austrians snitch in a more pleasure-oriented way: dishes and coffee machines appear high up in their theft ranking. It seems they cannot get enough to satisfy their thirst for coffee. For US Americans, pillows and batteries appear as the prime objects of desire.

Italians seem to prefer wine glasses as a hotel souvenir, while the hair dryer ranks high up in the Swiss ranking. The French, on the other hand, steal in a more spectacular manner: they represent the nation that is attracted mainly to TV sets and remote controls. Dutch hotel guests see in their souvenirs above all the practical benefits: Their favourites include light bulbs and toilet paper.

A small grim room at Blackpool’s Norbreck Hotel by Britannia

A total of 740 hoteliers from 4-star hotels and 636 from 5-star hotels were surveyed to determine the behaviour of thieves depending on their wealth. As it turns out, “Greed is good” seems to be a reliable motto, especially for the well-heeled 5-star clientele.

The probability of tablet computers being stolen in 5-star hotels is 6 times higher in comparison to the 4-star segment. Similarly, artworks are popular objects of desire in luxury hotels (4.3 x higher theft probability). TV sets (4.9 x) and mattresses (5.4 x) are also being stolen a lot more frequently in 5-star hotels. This is quite astonishing: 11.8% of 5-star hotel managers mourn the loss of mattresses, while only 2.2% of 4-star hotels seem to be affected. In total, 91 hoteliers indicated the theft of mattresses in our survey, so at least that many were stolen in their hotels.

4-star hotel guests are content with less spectacular gifts: towels and hangers tend to be in higher demand than in 5-star hotels. The typical 4-star hotel guest is especially fond of practical items such as batteries and remote controls (theft probability 2.8 and 4.4 x higher, respectively).

Premier Inn, Argyle Street, Glasgow