AC110

Our guest bathroom at home has a basket of amenities from hotels all over the world. I only get the ones with labelling from hotels in exotic places or particularly interesting packaging. Throw in new toothbrush from our dentist in exotic downtown Ottawa, and you have a useful and interesting conversation piece.

Guests are expected to provice their own bathrobes.

robb

or just take yours.

0:-)

GopherPuckGuy

I usually bring home the candy for Mrs. GopherPuckGuy, esp. the truffles. Darn, now I have to rethink that too?

Mhttoanywhere

I admit to taking the shampoo/soaps. If I stay a week I may only use 3 days supply and take home 4 days supply. I collect these things.
Recently I went thru my collection and gave half of it away to a young homeless teen whose family can't easily afford to buy toiletries for her. I guess that's similar to the donations to the homeless shelter.
I've never thought of it as stealing as they are there for my personal use each day. But I have wondered if the maids think I have three showers a day.
One time I checked in, used my robe and left it on the bed. When I came back later and went to put my robe on, it was gone. The maid had cleaned the room and I could not find it anywhere. The second robe was still hung up in the closet. I called housekeeping and informed them of what had happened and told them I just didn't want to be charged for the robe. They sent up a replacement and I never did find out what happened.

KMHT FF

[deleted by the moderator. Personal attacks are not permitted on FlyerTalk. Please addess the issue, not the poster. Thanks! --richard, moderator

Christian

I've found in some places (Philippines was one) that the list of items for 'sale' at outrageous prices is quite funny;
TV remote
Pillow
laundry bag
bedside clock

do people actually expect to get away with that??

I also find that 'lower' class hotels are more aggressive with this - as though 5 star guests don't help themselves along the way a little too!

I haven't bought soap in 5 years, and don't plan to! It's become a game... and the little guys make good for camping, guest room, etc.

What do they do with all the extras anyway!? (hygiene question really)

rhwbullhead

I thought about taking the slippers from my hotel in HI last week. The soles were dirty by the end and I don't think they would have reused them. The slippers came wrapped in plastic, and they looked brand new. I'm sure they might launder the less soiled slippers but I think mine were worn after 6 days of use. Had I read this thread prior to my trip, I would have called down and asked about the slippers. Instead, I just left them there.

I was tempted to take the robe, but I knew I would be charged as it came with a note telling me I could purchase one for $100+. I was reminded of the robes at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. I was a member of this student group that held a yearly model UN conference there. The leaders of the group warned us all every year not to take the bathrobes or we would be charged.

As for consumables, I usually take those at the end of my trip. I think it's definately fine to take the shampoo that remains. They are going to throw out the remaining 3/4 or 1/2 bottle that you leave anyway. My mother loves to take the coffee packets and the free toiletries bottles. On my last trip, I had to tell her to take it easy. On a previous trip, I had used the body wash but I wasn't drinking the coffee or using the shampoo/conditioner. She kept putting all the bottles that I wasn't using in her bag every night. By the third or forth day, they stopped replacing the stuff because they realized what she was doing. I got angry because the stuff I was actually using wasn't getting replaced because of her.

I must admit my guilt. On my trip last week, though I left the slippers, I took two shower caps, two shampoo bottles and two conditioner bottles, a complimetary sewing kit, and the rest of the little kleenex box (hey I had a cold). This was in addition to a few less-than-full bottles of toiletries that I knew they were going to throw out, and a pad of paper. I figure the maid left a few extra bottles the day before, so she must have wanted us to take them Some those who posted here would say I will burn in hell

Edit:
I forgot to add that I swiped a hand towel so I could pad my souvenir Wailea Grand glass and prevent it from breaking on the trip home. I did pay $11 for that glass and it came with a comped alcoholic beverage. (Yes, they specify in the drink menu that you can take home the glass. I didn't just swipe some random drink glass.)

lili

I gave some serious thought to the the desk chair at the NYC Grand Hyatt, but was travelling light and TSA had taken my screwdriver...

Checking out at the Dusit Thani BKK I asked if I could pay for the wonderful cotton robe and keep it. (No info in the room.) After much flurry and bowing and smiling, they found the gift shop manager, opened the shop for me and presented me with a brand new robe neatly folded in plastic and handed over in a tasteful Dusit Thani shopping bag. A much more pleasant experience than sneaking it out. Nominal charge on the Visa - and those Thai smiles are priceless.

THEMOON

I can imagine what happened to your robe. Years ago when the St. Regis Los Angeles was just opening my spouse and I were using free weekends there and meeting some other Flyertalkers. One fellow we met said that he really liked the robes, so the next thing I knew he went a few floors up to some rooms that they were just putting the finishing touches on and therefore had the doors ajar. When he returned he was proud to announce that he now had a robe and actually asked if we wanted some as well. In case you are wondering, we declined .

You want to go where?

I must admit my guilt, although it isn't about hotel amenities, but airline amenities.

There you are, sitting in business or first class, laptop on the foldout tray, book on your lap, IFE screen folded out for the air map, and the FA shows up with your meal. You push the laptop to one side, balancing it half on the armrest, half on the table. You unwrap the flatware and then what do you do with the cloth napkin? Well, I often tuck it in my jacket pocket. Since I already have gotten several bevnaps so that I don't get my keyboard dirty while eating the nuts, canapes, etc., I keep using them throughout the meal, completely forgetting about the napkin in my pocket, which I had intended to remove and put on my lap. FA comes and clears up, and the clean napkin is still sitting in my pocket. I don't notice until I am home and cleaning out my pockets.

I have ended up with three napkins this way. I thought about sending them back, put haven't even any idea where to send it. My current plan is to just bring it along when I next fly that airline. I just hope they won't have changed napkin styles in the meantime.

Analise

This thread has come back to life. Stealing is stealing and putting the word in quotation marks doesn't remove the reality of the act.

hotturnip

I worked for Hyatt for years. It's perfectly OK to take the toiletries. It's expected. You'll notice a lot of places bring new ones every day even if the old are not expended. Towels, robes, and pillows are NOT in the same category. Take those and you're a thief. I just love people who rationalize it by complaining about expensive rates, or "their insurance pays for it." Since you earn enough to stay there, I think I'll steal your car. You can afford it.

We once had the National Headstart Association staying in Dallas. They took everything that wasn't screwed to the wall. I heard a manager giving an inventory: it was something like 1,000 towels, hundreds of pillows, several dozen king bedspreads, clock radios, you name it.

TakeMeToEZE

I agree with Analise 100%. I really don't understand why anyone would want to steal a used robe, anyway. Sure, they're nice, but it's been used and washed dozens of times, if not more.

Most of the larger hotels now always put those little cards on the hanger letting you know you're more than welcome to take it home with you and that they'll just bill you the low, low price of $119 or something egregious like that. In that case, it's not stealing at all. You're purchasing used merchandise and probably doing the hotel a favor; they're selling you a used robe for full price when you could get a brand new one for the same price in the gift shop downstairs!

THEMOON

TakeMeToEZE that is why saavy travellers only "steal" them from newly opened luxury properties.

cur

What a free-riding mentality.

Removing a bath robe from a hotel where they do not invite you to remove it (whether at cost or just gratis) is not QUOTE STEALING ENDQUOTE or BARROWING, it's theft. Doesn't matter if it's from a family member or corporation.

Hotel turned prison? Do you detest any sort of structure that badly?