IN THE NEWS: Half of all Brits take ‘freebies’ from hotels…

Have you ever taken a towel from a hotel bathroom or slipped some of their toiletries into your suitcase as you checked out? stuffed suitcase If so, you’re not the only one…

Shocking research by leading discount travel site Hotwire.com reveals 59% of us believe taking shampoo and conditioner home with us is fine – and 7% would even stuff the hotel towels into their suitcase.

In fact, 46% agreed that it is acceptable to take hotel items from rooms, especially if they paid too much for the room.

Talking to more than 2000 people around the country, Hotwire.com found that 59% agree that taking a shampoo or a conditioner is OK and nearly one in three (29%) would grab the hotel’s stationery on the way out. Surprisingly, that’s not where they would stop. Some would pack in other items as well, going in this order:

· 59% shampoo & conditioner
· 29% stationery
· 9% slippers
· 8% non-alcoholic drinks
· 7% alcoholic drinks
· 7% towels

Men, Londoners and younger holidaymakers turned out to be the most prolific offenders. On the other hand, when on holiday, Scots are least likely to take something they ‘shouldn’t’.

Brits claimed various reasons for filling up their suitcase before checking out: 40% of people told Hotwire.com that they nicked hotel items because they like free stuff, 11% thought the hotel wouldn’t care and a further 12% do it for the thrill. However, 41% agreed that if they found a great hotel deal they would be less likely to walk away with ‘souvenirs’ from the hotel.

A spokesman from Hotwire.com told Sell Your Story UK: “To keep their conscience guilt free we would tell them to give Hotwire.com a try, where travellers can book a 4-star hotel at a 2-star price. With deals like that, Brits will be more inclined to leave the hotel goodies where they belong – in the hotel.”

Hotwire.com offers up to 50% off in the UK and 2500 destinations abroad. Bringing to the UK 10 years of experience selling deeply-discounted rooms in the US, Hotwire launched in Britain earlier this year. Hotwire has special relationships with over 25,000 leading hotels worldwide. When these hotels have unsold rooms, they use Hotwire to fill them, so consumers can book 4-star hotels at 2-star prices.

Hotwire® customers are given information about the hotel’s star rating, amenities, neighbourhood and customer reviews of the hotel. Once the room has been booked, the name of the hotel is revealed.

Have you ever taken something from a hotel room? Let us know below…


Add to Technorati Favorites

Alison Smith-Squire

Alison Smith-Squire is a writer, journalist and media agent selling exclusive real life stories to newspapers, magazines and TV. She owns the sell my story website Featureworld.co.uk, which was set up to help ordinary people sell their stories to the press.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.