What do tourists steal most from hotel rooms?

Few have resisted the temptation of taking a "souvenir" home from a hotel room at the end of a holiday. Almost nine out of ten travellers admit that at some point they have left their hotel with something extra in their suitcase. So what are the most typical items stolen from hotel rooms? A study carried out based on a thousand responses to a survey reveals the answer. Among the top items slipped into cases are towels, soap dishes and boxes of tissues, according to the report carried out by Passport-Photo Online.

The study reveals that 87 per cent of guests admitted to having taken something from a hotel room at least once in their life and a quarter of them admit to a minor theft every time they stay in a hotel. What's more it also concludes that the majority justify their "acquisition" by the price paid for the room or sentimental reasons.

The majority also consider it to be acceptable to steal bathroom accessories, personal hygiene products and items from the mini bar.

Guests even boast about these petty thefts to their friends back home, but probably fail to mention that 80 per cent of perpetrators are caught by the hotel and obliged to pay for the items taken or a fine, or have even been included on an accommodation black list. In fact eight out of every ten regret having taken what wasn't theirs.

The study points out that putting something in your case that doesn't belong to you is a question of age. "It's the younger generation that brings the average down: only 80 per cent of under-25s admitted to having taken something, while the figure for the over-55s was more than 90 per cent," explains the report. Furthermore, men are more likely to give in to the temptation than women.

Among the items most popular with more serious thieves are pillows, cushions or head rests, but bottle openers are also popular and even the bible provided in the bedside drawer in many hotels.