“We dealt with it all the time,” said hospitality consultant Anthony Melchiorri, a former hotel manager and the host of the Travel Channel show “Hotel Impossible.” “That’s one of the reasons you take a credit card and check in with a deposit.”
In recent years, hoteliers have taken more steps to combat theft: selling in-demand products online, displaying signs in rooms that indicate what can be purchased, and using trackable chips in linens or electronics.
“Hotels can implement controls to minimize the risk of theft, but the more controls, the more the hotel begins to resemble a prison,” Sean Hennessey, a clinical associate professor in New York University’s hospitality program, wrote in an email. “So it’s a balancing act.”
Hennessey wrote that most brands have also boosted security to better track and monitor access to rooms “such that hotel theft is probably less prevalent today than in the past.”
The most-stolen items at hotels
Major hotel chains contacted by The Washington Post, including Marriott and Hyatt, did not respond to questions about hotel room theft. Industry experts say there are no publicly reported statistics.
But hospitality insiders with years of experience shared the items that they’ve known to walk away, including towels, lightbulbs, hangers, hair dryers, smart speakers, coffee makers and, of course, robes.
“You’re not entitled to taking the pillows, which people will do,” said Lonny Wolfe, a former general manager who works with hotels to turn around troubled properties. “You’re not entitled to taking the iron, which people will do.”
Paul Eckert, executive vice president of operations for Davidson Hospitality Group, said there was a time when smartphone-docking radio clocks would get stolen, but those aren’t used anymore. TVs have also disappeared with guests.
“All those things get charged back to the customer,” said Eckert, who noted that theft has been rare in his experience. “If there’s something noticeable, we pass the cost on.”
Wolfe said one guest at a hotel he was working with in South Florida reported that he didn’t like his room, nor the second or third that he tried. Wolfe noticed the Bible was missing from all three rooms; after checking security cameras in public areas, he could see footage showing the man throwing the Bibles in garbage cans.
“I caught him red-handed,” he said. After the man returned to the hotel to complain about rooms yet again, Wolfe told the property to never let him return.
Taking furniture and electronics
It’s not just rooms that get raided.
Melchiorri said one guest at a New York City hotel claimed late at night to an employee that Melchiorri had given permission to use new lobby furniture for a house party. The guest removed one chair — and then the night manager cried foul, foiling a larger plan.
“We got it back the next day,” Melchiorri said.
Michael “Doc” Terry, a senior instructor at the University of Central Florida’s hospitality school and longtime hotelier, remembered running a large convention hotel when thieves swooped in.
“They came right in the front door, grabbed A/V equipment and just [went] right out of the hotel right in front of everybody,” he said, noting that they could have easily been legitimate contractors. “You have crews coming in all the time.”
He managed a Hollywood-themed hotel once that had fake Oscars — inscribed with winning names and all — in the main lobby bar.
“People just ripped it right off the bar after hours,” said Terry, who also has a hospitality consulting business.
He said the items people will take — and the response from management — will vary according to the type of hotel, amount the owners have invested, risk management approach and housekeeping practices.
Mehmet Erdem, who teaches lodging operations at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, said hotels need to keep a careful inventory, meticulously check for missing items and be sure about the culprit if they plan to charge a guest for pilfered items or report theft to police.
Melchiorri said if a guest takes one towel or washcloth, they probably won’t get hit with a bill.
“However, if you consistently take things, we’ll definitely charge you,” he said. “Some hotels, some management companies are a lot more strict than others.”
He said guests might dispute a charge and try to initiate a chargeback. That’s when a hotel would have to provide some kind of proof.
“Listen, there’s security cameras everywhere today,” he said.
While some towel snatchers might get away with their scratchy souvenirs, travelers shouldn’t assume there will be no consequences. In 2010, a hotel guest in Nigeria was convicted of stealing two towels. They were ordered to serve three months in jail or pay a $20 fine, ABC News reported at the time.
What hotels expect to lose
There are items hoteliers expect people to take — an idea explored on an episode of “Friends” in which the characters Ross Geller and Chandler Bing raid an inn for amenities.
“You have to find the line between stealing and taking what the hotel owes you,” Ross says. “For example, hair dryer: no, no, no. But shampoos and conditioners: yes, yes, yes.”
Eckert, whose hospitality management company includes 86 hotels and resorts under different brands, said hotels even welcome it when guests take some knickknacks home; a pen emblazoned with the name of a hotel, a tiny sewing kit or a little lotion bottle can serve as a mini piece of marketing.
“They’re all branded and part of it is people will see it,” he said, calling it “a decent opportunity to catch someone’s attention.”
Some properties include locally inspired body products, small samples of which are available in the room; larger versions can be purchased. Often, though, single-use products that used to be available for the taking are being swapped for larger bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash in an effort to cut down on waste.
“Sustainability is changing a lot of what is in the guest rooms for people to take with them to reduce that single-use plastic,” Eckert said.
He said theft occurs in a “very, very small percentage” of cases and noted it hasn’t been a big discussion in his 32-year hospitality career.
“The one that comes up the most that we charge people for is the robe,” he said. “Another opportunity for us to promote the brand of the hotel and resort that we’re operating.”
correction
An earlier version of this article included the wrong first name for Paul Eckert. This version has been corrected.
