A survey amongst 500 hotels across the world by hotel and leisure specialist lastminute.com found that the overwhelming majority of hotels (95 per cent) has has been victim of petty theft by their guests. According to the survey, one in every ten guests has stolen at least one item belonging to the hotel they stayed in. Hotel owners estimate that such thefts cost them over €5,500 per year, with five-star accommodation establishments reporting a figure four times as high, due to the increased value of such items in high-end hotels. The list of items that are most frequently stolen includes towels, toiletries and televisions. Six per cent of hoteliers even reported losses of artwork, sculptures or antiques. However, while most guests filch items of real value, some simply seem to merely enjoy the act of “hotel lifting”, as they take away items of no apparent use: nine per cent of the hotels participating in the survey noted that they had been victims of light bulb theft.
