You call souvenir, others call stolen goods

Let me tell just an initial thing: the years pass and tourists are still the same...

After reading the recent text below, it was just a matter of googling a bit and finding out there were surveys (and articles) like that already some couple of years ago, showing no major different results... or are the texts suggesting that the writers are recycling old news more and more?

Things people steal from hotels

By Nikki Bayley @uk.yahoo

OK, OK, we admit it. We have been guilty in the past of the crime of theft from a hotel room. Admittedly it's just been the occasional flannel, or too-tempting set of toiletries, but even so, we probably shouldn't have done it. And we're awfully sorry that we did... But we're not alone.

A survey from last year found that 86% of hotel guests had taken toiletries, as opposed to a mere 3% who admitted to stashing away bathrobes in their suitcase... and then there's the hard-core 1% who confessed to stealing electronics, silverware, and most worryingly, bibles! Hmm, thou shalt not steal, surely? So what are the most popular things that people tend to trouser after a stay in a hotel? We got the low down on some of the most pilfered, and also a glimpse into the world of the weirdest things stolen too.

Strange thefts in Salcombe...
Keith Makepeace, owner of Soar Mill Cove hotel in Salcombe, Devon, shared some of the stranger thefts with us. "We're always baffled by some of the zanier things that people pinch. Our most recent top ten has some really weird things in it: one-inch square of curtain fabric, taken from the middle of the curtain! Toilet brushes and holders, so many that now we don't put such fancy ones in the rooms. TV remote controls, which seems a bit random. We have individual cafetiere coffee pots which are regularly stolen, along with the hip flasks that we provide. It seems that some of the thieves are at least eco-aware as they steal our low-energy light bulbs, but the thing that amazes me more than anything is when people steal bibles."

Hotel chain reveals most stolen items
The Novotel chain put together a top 10 list of their most-stolen items. The most common thing to disappear from their hotel rooms are towels, followed by – perhaps more surprisingly – cushions!

Top ten most stolen items from the Novotel chain in full:
1. Towels
2. Cushions
3. Bathrobes
4. TV remote controls
5. Light bulbs
6. Mini-bar contents
7. Clothes hangers
8. Bathroom display trays
9. Coffee sachets
10. Plastic tissue boxes

Paws off!
Thanks to new technology from the USA, it looks like the number one and number three culprits from the chain's list – towels and bathrobes – could soon be off limits. Washable security tags are to be stitched into the pinchable items which will set off an alarm if anyone tries to leave with them stashed in their suitcase. A hotel in Hawaii has been trialling the thief-busting tech, and towel theft has fallen from 4,000 a month to just 750 since it introduced the tags last summer, saving more than £9,000 a month!

Now, check this also, for instance, from 2004 BBC news

Pilfering hotel guests revealed

Toilet seats and brushes, a medieval sword and a door hinge, are among items stolen from hotel rooms, a survey says.

A hotel owner's dog, a four foot high wooden bear, and a spy hole from a hotel room door are among others.

The survey of 1,000 hoteliers by Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine found pilfering by customers was widespread, with towels top of the list.

But guests can also leave surprising items behind, such as false teeth, false eyeballs, wigs and toupees.

As many as 6% reported people having left their family member behind before checking out.

Four per cent of those questioned had found artificial arms and legs.

A third of hoteliers said towels were the most commonly stolen items from their rooms, with one in five reporting bathrobes stolen as well.

More than 10% of staff reported toilet rolls as the items most often taken and 1% said penny-pinching guests would even steal the light bulbs from their rooms.

Not satisfied? Try these 3 others, 3 different countries domains, 3 same impressions on human condition...
A survey by Accor brought by RAC travel

A survey by Telegraph Travel brought by India Times

A still running survey from a slightly different perpective of the Most Wanted Item brought by CitizenM