Say What? Nearly All Travelers Steal from Hotels

A new study from Passport Photo Online found 87 percent of travelers admit to stealing from hotels. Don’t think you’re among them? What about that extra tiny shampoo you tucked away in your toiletry bag before checking out?

The study discovered, of the nearly 90 percent of guests who admit to having stolen from a hotel at some point, more than a quarter admit they steal from their hotel during each and every stay.

The most popular items to snatch? Towels, soap dishes and tissue boxes. However, the most “acceptable” items to steal during a stay include bathroom accessories, toiletries and minibar items. The generation with the stickiest fingers? Travelers aged 55 and over.

So why all the stealing? Most chalk up their behavior to how much they paid for the room, feeling a little petty theft here and there is justified. However, some just like the technically illegal rush, while others steal as a form of retaliation in response to poor hotel employee behavior.

But just because so many travelers admit to stealing from hotels, it’s worth noting the survey also found quite a lot of travelers are caught stealing from hotels. About 80 percent of thieving survey respondents said they’d been caught in the act in the past.