Hotel Groups: More Sticky-Fingered Guests Checking in, Room Theft at an All-Time High

Hotel groups in India are seeing a sudden surge in theft by hotel guests, reporting that upwards of 35 percent of room items are stolen.

The fear that housekeeping might steal guests’ belongings is a thing of the past; nowadays, it seems that hotels are the ones that need to be on the lookout for thieves. Five hotel groups in India — Marriott, Hyatt, Novotel, Movenpick and Ramada — have released statistics showing that theft from hotel rooms by guests is not only on the rise, it’s at an all-time high.

According to two unidentified hotel executives, in 2013, only 10 to 15 percent of room items were stolen. That number has since jumped to a whopping 30 to 35 percent.

While it was once only small things disappearing from the rooms, such as towels or a pair of slippers, hotels are now reporting theft of larger, more expensive items like irons, sheets, artwork, iPod docking stations and rugs. Some guests have reportedly even gone so far as to replace the contents of mini-bar bottles with water, just to “prove” they didn’t actually take anything.

Aniket Sarkar, room division manager at the Novotel Hyderabad Airport, suggested that more guests are stealing because they don’t think the room discounts are deep enough, and they want to get what they believe to be the “full value” of the room.

Hotel representatives interviewed by The Economic Times also suggested that first-time guests who booked a room at a deep discount are taking hotel-exclusive items for “snob value.”

In order to curb theft issues, some hotels are trying to make their items look less appealing by removing logos. They’re also removing certain products or mini-bars altogether when rooms are booked for group events.

[UPDATED 11/12/14: This article has been updated to add clarity to Aniket Sarkar’s remarks.]

[Photo: iStock]