Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Thou shalt not steal … except from hotels

LIGHT-FINGERED hotel guests will steal everything, even if it is nailed down, it appears. That's the finding of MonitoredAlarms.co.uk which has compiled a list of the most stolen items in the hotel business.

Most nicked are towels and sheets, which customers can put into suitcases and be away before the house staff notice. They’re closely followed by light bulbs.

‘Thieving light bulbs really shows the depths to which some people sink,’ says MonitoredAlarms.co.uk spokesman Jonathan Ratcliffe. ‘These are customers who could be spending upwards of £100 for their stay stealing things that cost mere pounds.’

Top 10 stolen items:
  1. Linen
  2. Light bulbs
  3. Food/Drink 
  4. Towels 
  5. Picture Frames and artwork 
  6. Dressing gowns 
  7. Curtains 
  8. Kettles and cutlery 
  9. Books 
  10. The Bible 
The level of thefts often depends on the standard of the establishment, MonitoredAlarms.co.uk says, meaning that while one hotel grapples with missing light bulbs, others have to deal with high-quality knives and forks disappearing from the restaurant.

Lower-star hotels tend to fall victim to petty thefts such as soap out of the bathroom and the toilet paper. A guest house in Blackpool stated that 50% of guests steal something. Upscale luxury hotels count the cost of dressing gowns and the contents of the mini bar.

‘Why do so many people steal Bibles from hotel rooms? Have they not read the eighth commandment?’ Ratcliffe asks. ‘We've even heard of somebody stealing “The Teachings of Buddha” from a Japanese hotel, so there's no limit to this.’

With profit margins being squeezed in an ever-competitive business, hotels and B&Bs know they have to strike the right balance between maintaining security and not being accused of spying on their guests.

‘That means establishments need to work ever harder to build up a relationship between hotel and guest, and make the customer actually feel bad about unhooking the curtains and throwing them out of the window for an accomplice,’ Ratcliffe says.

Some criminals fall victim to their own stupidity. ‘Many petty thieves get found out quickly and forget that the management has their credit or debit card number,’ says Ratcliffe. ‘It comes as a nasty surprise to read their statement the following month. They've only got themselves to blame.’


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