Friday, December 13, 2013

If it’s in the hotel room, it's a souvenir, right?

by Theodore Koumelis

More than two in three (70%) of British travellers admit to taking something from a hotel following their stay, with toiletries being the most popular pilfered items. Three in five (59%) UK hoteliers report that their guests often take a variety of items when they leave. However, the TripBarometer Truth in Travel survey reveals several discrepancies between what travellers say they take, compared to what hoteliers report missing from hotel rooms once guests depart.

“Shampoo is one thing, but please stop taking the towels!”
Guests are more likely to admit taking items that are customarily thought of as complimentary such as toiletries or stationery. However it seems some travellers feel that even the towels, light bulbs and batteries they find in their rooms are free for the taking as well.

Despite less than one in ten (7%) of global travellers, and just one in twenty (5%) British travellers, saying they have taken towels from hotel rooms, an alarming one in four hoteliers report towels going missing following a guest’s stay.

Some travellers have peculiar ideas about what makes a good travel memento – one in ten hoteliers report clothes hangers going missing and 7% have found the batteries removed from TV remote controls after guests check out.

Items travellers admit taking from hotels vs. what hotels report having been taken:

“If it’s free, it’s for me”
When it comes to the key motivators for choosing an accommodation, travellers around the world love a freebie. Over the past year, traveller interest in complimentary amenities has gone up, reinforcing the idea that one of the best ways for hoteliers to entice guests is to offer free services as part of the daily rate.

More than two in three (68%) British travellers now expect the hotel they choose to have free in-room Wifi.

What amenities global travellers expect from their accommodation in 2013 vs. 2014: “It seems some of us Brits are prone to stretching the bounds of what is a legitimate hotel freebie, but we’re not alone. Travellers from around the world are apparently pilfering items such as towels and clothes hangers, with US hotels the most likely to report these items missing,” commented James Kay, TripAdvisor spokesperson.



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