A survey conducted among thousands of European hotel directors has revealed the most commonly stolen items, shedding light on bizarre anecdotes of theft ranging from the usual towels to pens, but there are also reports of grand pianos and even toilets!
Many guests seem to have developed the habit of taking home a "souvenir" from their hotel stay, engaging in thefts that span from commonplace items that can be discreetly tucked into a suitcase to unimaginable heists.
German guide Wellness Heaven surveyed over 1,376 European hotel directors to identify the most frequently stolen items and to gather anecdotes of the most peculiar thefts.
The responses from the hotels showed the most commonly stolen objects:
1 Towels (79.2%)
2 Bathrobes (66.4%)
3 Hangers (49.8%)
4 Pens (41.8%)
5 Cosmetics (30.4%)
6 Batteries (30.4%)
7 Cutlery (27.5%)
Other Items with lower percentages (below 25%) completing the list included pictures from walls, tablets, blankets, pillows, plates, coffee makers, remote controls, hairdryers, televisions, light bulbs, mattresses, lamps, phones, and mini-fridges.
However, the most intriguing aspect of this study lies in the revelations of the top five most extravagant thefts:
1 Bathroom Accessories: Some hotels confessed that showerheads, whirlpool equipment, a toilet, a drain, and even an entire sink had been stolen.
2 Grand Piano: A hotel in Italy admitted witnessing the disappearance of a grand piano from the lobby, taken by three people.
3 Room Numbers: A guest took it upon themselves to steal the room number plaques from all of the doors at a hotel in England.
4 Trophies: In a French hotel, a guest was caught attempting to steal a taxidermized boar's head from a wall in the establishment.
5 Sauna Benches: At a hotel near Salzburg in Austria, the wooden benches from a sauna were stolen from the spa.
The survey not only exposes the more commonplace pilfering tendencies of hotel guests but also highlights the audacious and eccentric thefts that leave hoteliers scratching their heads.
