Hotel guests on holidays not only steal towels and toiletries, but some of them even take home unusual objects like sex toys, stuffed animals and toilet seats,
according to a study.
While sex toys have topped the list of unusual items stolen by hotel guests, some people have even swept light fittings, televisions and bed linen from British establishments in 2009. During the study carried out by Telegraph Travel, staff at Birmingham''s Hotel du Vin revealed how one inebriated would-be thief was caught attempting to remove the stuffed head of a wild boar, which had previously been mounted in the billiard room.
"He was rather embarrassed and worse-for-wear. A few weeks later some of his friends came back and bought the object from us as a wedding present for him - we donated the money to charity," the Telegraph quoted Adam Thompson, a manager at the hotel, as saying.
The Residence in Bath, formerly a boutique hotel and presently self-catering apartments, reported that the most unusual item that often went missing was their sex toys. "Beyond the usual things, such as shampoos and bath towels, the most frequently stolen items were our sex toys," said a member of staff. The Residence once offered kinky accessories on sale to adventurous travellers.
"I would call them up to explain that they had been caught taking them without paying. A pregnant pause would inevitably follow," added the staff member. Staff at another hotel in Bath revealed that a guest once stole one of the light fittings in the floor. On the other hand, a former Forte Posthouse hotel reported that a couple once stole almost the entire contents of their room, including the carpet, curtains, kettle, bedding and even the toilet seat. They had apparently parked their car underneath the room's ground floor window and passed the items through.
{{/usCountry}}"I would call them up to explain that they had been caught taking them without paying. A pregnant pause would inevitably follow," added the staff member. Staff at another hotel in Bath revealed that a guest once stole one of the light fittings in the floor. On the other hand, a former Forte Posthouse hotel reported that a couple once stole almost the entire contents of their room, including the carpet, curtains, kettle, bedding and even the toilet seat. They had apparently parked their car underneath the room's ground floor window and passed the items through.
{{/usCountry}}Kleptomaniacs have not even spared the Travelodge budget hotel chain that revealed in a survey that their towels, drinking glasses, bathrobes and ornaments are their most frequently stolen objects.
In the poll, 37 per cent of respondents admitted having taken something from their hotel room.