Singaporeans second most likely to steal from hotels

A global poll found that more than 7 in 10 Singaporeans take items from hotel rooms.

That places us just below Argentineans in a world ranking of nationalities who are most likely to make off with items from the hotel room. The other nationalities in the top five were the Spanish, Germans and Irish.

The survey was done by Hotels.com and consisted of 5,000 travellers' responses.

This finding may not exactly come as a shocker since most of us have packed "free" items into our bags before checking out at some point in our lives.

What's surprising is that the poll doesn't take into account the little bottles of shampoo and body soap we keep tricking housekeepers into thinking we've finished using when they're actually hidden in our luggage.

“No respectable hotelier is going to want to pry open your luggage and search for shampoo. We hope you take the amenities. We want you to use them later and think of us," said Jacob Tomsky, an author who has spent 12 years in the hotel industry.

The exclusion of toiletries in the poll suggests that Singaporeans are removing more than just bath items from hotel rooms.

So what exactly are we taking from hotel rooms? Here are five of the most commonly targeted items.

 

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Towels

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PHOTO: ST

Why towels? Maybe it's because they're softer and thicker than ordinary ones.

Or maybe it's because you can walk around your room wrapped in only a hotel towel and still feel warm.

So when housekeepers place fresh towels on the bathroom rack, the temptation might prove to be too much for some of us.

 

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Hangers

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PHOTO: ST

If you're wondering how Singaporeans made it onto the list, it's probably because we have an affinity for free things, or things we think are free.

And it's this sort of thinking that makes the most extreme souvenir hunters steal items that most wouldn't even think of taking.

Take hangers for example. Even the wooden or metal pieces we use to hang our clothes aren't safe.

 

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Stationery

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Even if you're strongly against taking items from your hotel room, you would probably have kept a pen or pencil as a souvenir during one of your stays. 

Take a look at your personal stationery stash, there's bound to be at least one item with a hotel's name printed on it.

Keeping a pen for yourself may not seem like a big deal but there are those who don't just stop at one.

 

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Mugs/glasses

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PHOTO: ST

Hotels provide mugs and glasses so we don't have to bring our own or resort to buying disposable ones.

Some of us, though, see it as an opportunity to get new ones without having to pay a single cent.

Oh don't forget about the teaspoons and saucers, they're also part of the package.

 

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Slippers

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PHOTO: ST

Hotel slippers are there to protect our feet from the cold bathroom floor but more often than not, they're the first items we grab when we rummage through hotel room closets.

Sometimes they're just too comfortable to part with so we decide to keep them.

Like pencils and pens, hotel slippers are commonly brought back home for our own use.

Source: The Telegraph