Stealing From Hotel Rooms

If airlines complain headphones, pillows or blankets get stolen on flights, hotels also share the same predicament, even though one of the Ten Commandments is Thou Shalt Not Steal (sound effects of thunder). The temptation to steal is high especially when rooms feature items that are too convenient to fit into a luggage or guests pretend to think they’re complimentary, like the TV remote controls, light bulbs, towels, bathrobes, mini-bar contents, hangers, bathroom display trays, coffee sachets and plastic tissue boxes!

So, why do ordinarily honest and conscientious people think that it’s okay to take things from a hotel without paying for them? My theory is that many times items in a hotel have the name of the hotel on them.  Therefore these items become souvenirs and since no one is watching you in your hotel room, it’s unlikely you will get caught. And here's the kicker; the more education you have, the higher the probability you'll steal-or rather- take some hotel gifts back home with you!

"I'm not a thief," and pushing Richard Nixon aside for a moment, when I'm in the privacy and comfort of my $250 a night hotel room, with all those miniature toiletries and such, kleptomania runs away with me. My wife is worse, but I divert.

There is a flip-side to this, you know. Something you probably never thought of! Rummaging through the random collection of stuff left behind, and stored in the hotel's lost and found department. It's mystifying! Countless mobile phone chargers, wallets, hidden cash, jewelry, underwear, ahem...adult toys, handcuffs, fake chest hair, whips, sundry leather clothing, false teeth, hearing aids, electric toothbrushes, car and house keys, walking sticks, wigs, eye glasses, blow-up sheep! Baa, baa, I think I'll stop here, folks.

I'm not going to ask for public confessions of whether or not you've stolen something from a hotel stay, but I do want to leave you with the reminder to check your room really well before you check-out. Enjoy your vacation and be well.