FEATURE
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FEATURE
HOTEL THIEVES
The light-fingered guest
RBH recently offered a ‘souvenir amnesty’ to its guests, allowing them to return all of the stolen goods
they have taken from hotel rooms over the years. But why do guests feel so confident in half-inching
hotel property? ALESSANDRO CARRARA delves deep into the criminal mind, and attempts to uncover
the mystery behind hotel thievery
L
ight bulbs, beer taps, DJ lighting, bill include towels, pens, mugs, teaspoons
potted plants, a bejewelled Christmas and remote controls.
reindeer statue and a life-size display
In an act of kindness (and mercy), RBH
Commenting on the scheme Mary
Curtin, group accommodation services
manager at RBH, says: “Guests
mannequin are just a few of the uncanny actually gave past guests the chance to occasionally do like to help themselves items that independent hotel management “come clean” and return items they’ve when they are staying in our hotels, with company, RBH, says have been stolen by its “borrowed” from hotel rooms over the years, towels and mugs the real favourites for guests over the years. touting it as a “souvenir amnesty”. This ‘borrowing’. Every now and again though took place throughout the summer, with we do get a surprise, when some of the THE COST they want “a little souvenir to take back”. teaspoons are stolen quite often, which the
sometimes unavoidably comedic) issue that customers being encouraged to hand in larger or quirkier fixtures and fittings are Travelodge has over 550 hotels across the “I know for a fact that there are customers group is constantly having to replace, and
actually affects the hotel industry more their “ill-gotten gains guilt and consequence carried out from under our noses.” UK, and communications director Shakila across the UK who have a set of six to 12 says she is baffled at how “quite generic
than these light-fingered guests realise. In free”. For every ‘souvenir’ that was returned Ahmed says: “If one guest takes a pillow Travelodge mugs in their kitchen right now,” plain white mugs” are still far too enticing to
addition to the zanier items listed above, to participating RBH hotels the group what can the industry do to prevent its each week at each of those hotels you are she says, adding that bigger properties guests for some reason.
RBH says the top five most commonly donated £1 to the worthwhile causes such light-fingered guests from eagerly taking looking at thousands of pounds in costs suffer the most. “It’s about the scale of pinched items that rack up the replacement as Make-A-Wish UK and NSPCC. whatever isn’t nailed down? across the whole company. That’s 550 your company as well, when you have a big Bespoke Hotels, is more lenient on the
pillows that need to be replaced.” portfolio like we have it does add up,” she thieves, saying it’s all “part of the theatre of
says. “At a smaller hotel it wouldn’t cost as hospitality”. “You want people to take little
much as there is less to replace.” souvenirs away from the hotel,” he says,
Hotel thievery is a notorious (and
But why is it such a prolific issue? And
Even the beds aren’t safe, says
Ahmed, as she recalls a time when a guest
tried to make off with an entire kings size
Fortunately, in the case of the
However, Robin Sheppard, owner of
“because it’s a reminder for the guests of
Travelodge ‘Dreamer’ bed...somehow. Travelodge brand, there “isn’t a lot you when they stayed at the property.” In an
“They didn’t get very far,” she laughs, “and can take really”. She notes that mugs and admirably philosophical tone, Sheppard
they actually ended up offering to pay says: “You can call it ‘thievery’, but at the
for the bed”. The guest was directed to same time you can also call it ‘marketing’,
Travelodge’s online website which allows and that there is a very blurred line
guests to buy the beds available at its between the two. It’s prevalent, it happens,
hotels. It’s a strange scenario indeed, but but is it that much of an issue of hotels? I
Ahmed says the reason for the thefts don’t think so.”
often comes down to the value placed
on a good night’s sleep. “For example THE SOLUTION
sometimes guests have a really amazing Ahmed believes the pinching guest may be
nights sleep so they feel like the pillow under the impression the hotel company
they slept on is really worth something “can afford it”, or they think “it’s not going
and want to take it,” she says. to cost the hotel that much”, but notes
Ahmed points to a few reasons for the
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October 2018
that every penny “does add up, as it’s an
phenomenon. The first is that a few people extra cost we have to take into proportion”.
do it “for a joke”, sometimes the guests As a solution she says fines do work in
just really like the items, and other times it a lot of cases - Travelodge has a policy
can just be down to “brand loyalty”, to the that if a guest damages any of the rooms
point where guests love the brand so much intentionally it will fine them a “massive
October 2018
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