Sex toys and stuffed animals were among the most unusual objects targeted by light-fingered hotel guests this year, according to research by Telegraph Travel.
Light fittings, televisions and bed linen have also been stolen from British establishments in 2009, proving that toiletries and towels are not the only items coveted by some hotel guests.
Staff at Birmingham’s Hotel du Vin revealed how one inebriated would-be thief was caught attempting to remove the stuffed head of a wild boar, which had previously been mounted in the billiard room.
“He was rather embarrassed and worse-for-wear,” said Adam Thompson, a manager at the hotel. “A few weeks later some of his friends came back and bought the object from us as a wedding present for him – we donated the money to charity.”
The Residence in Bath, formerly a boutique hotel and now self-catering apartments, reported another unusual item that often went missing.
“Beyond the usual things, such as shampoos and bath towels, the most frequently stolen items were our sex toys,” said a member of staff at the Residence, which once offered kinky accessories - at a price - to adventurous travellers. “I would call them up to explain that they had been caught taking them without paying,” she added. “A pregnant pause would inevitably follow.”
Staff at another hotel in Bath recalled that a guest had stolen one of the light fittings in the floor, while one former Forte Posthouse hotel reported that a couple had stolen all the almost the entire contents of their room, including the carpet, curtains, kettle, bedding and even the toilet seat. They had allegedly parked their car underneath the room’s ground floor window and passed the items through.
Even the glamour-free world of Travelodge is not immune to passing kleptomaniacs. A survey by the budget hotel chain revealed that their towels, drinking glasses, bathrobes and ornaments are their most frequently stolen objects.
In a poll carried out by Telegraph Travel, 37 per cent of respondents admitted having taken something from their hotel room.
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