Tempting, but risky: why you shouldn’t steal towels from the hotel

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Towels, bathrobes, and even mattresses are sometimes stolen by hotel guests. But new measures are preventing thieves from getting away scot-free.

If you shop in any store, you can expect the goods to trigger a beep at the exit if they have not been paid for. RFID radio chips are often used for this purpose. They are only one gram in weight and two millimeters in size, and they can be deactivated by radio. They are also increasingly being used in hotels to prevent theft.

Stealing in the hotel? “Better leave it alone!”
More and more hotels use RFID radio chips that trigger a signal on the tablet to the receptionist or housekeeper when a guest leaves the hotel with an item. “You’d better leave it alone! It will only be embarrassing,” advises hotel tester Tassilo Keilmann from the Wellness Heaven Hotel Guide to WELT. In a survey of 1157 hoteliers in German-speaking countries, he found that more and more hoteliers are resorting to this safety measure.

In particular, operators of four- and five-star hotels are stepping up their security measures, even if they are reluctant to discuss it. Not only do many high-quality textiles mysteriously disappear during transportation to and from the laundry, but some hotel guests, most of whom are exemplary, consider it a peccadillo to put hotel property in their suitcase as a souvenir simply.

These items are stolen most often
Towels and bathrobes are particularly popular with thieving hotel guests, even if they are now stolen somewhat less frequently. According to the survey conducted every two years, the rate has fallen by 1.5 per cent compared to 2017. This is probably thanks to the new security measures.

Mattresses are also stolen – especially in five-star hotels. This was stated by 49 hoteliers in the survey. The mystery of how the bulky goods were transported out of the hotel unnoticed remains unsolved. The hotel operators concerned suspect that the mattresses, carefully rolled up and tied up, may have been transported to the underground garage via direct elevators.