Argentinians most likely to steal from hotels

A survey has revealed that Argentinian travellers are the most likely to steal from hotels, Telegraph.co.uk has reported.

A new survey has revealed that 73% of Argentinians have admitted to taking items – not including toiletries – from their rooms.

Less than half of British guests surveyed owned up to taking hotel property, which makes them 16th out of 28 nationalities to feature in the list.

The global poll of almost 5000 travellers, conducted by Hotels.com, found that Singaporean and Spanish holidaymakers are also inclined to steal from hotels, with 70% admitting to it.

Germany, Ireland and Russia completed the top five.

Colombians were found to be the least likely to take something, with just 31% admitting they take things from hotel rooms.

They were followed by travellers from Norway, South Korea, Hong Kong and Denmark.

The most common items taken by British travellers were stationary (20% admitted taking such items) and slippers (12%).

Toiletries were not included, a spokesperson said, as “everyone takes these”.

As Jacob Tomsky, author of the best-selling Heads in Beds, a memoir of ten years spent in the hotel industry, explains: “No respectable hotelier is going to want to pry open your luggage and search for shampoo. We hope you take the amenities. We want you to use them later and think of us.”

Tomsky suggests guests can often get away with taking things that are outside of their rooms too.

"Consider the unmanned housekeeper’s trolley a smash and grab situation,” he said.

“Take three of everything and get out of the hallway. Even if you do get caught, just say you were out of shampoo, or, even better, out of toilet paper, and thought you’d save them the trouble by grabbing it for yourself.

In Japan a few years ago, one hotel reportedly had a young couple arrested for taking bathrobes and an ashtray, while a woman in Nigeria was sentenced to three months in prison for stealing two towels from the Transcorp Hilton Abjua Hotel.