The most stolen item in hotels is the towel: nearly 9 properties out of 10 name it as the piece that disappears most often from rooms, according to surveys carried out among hoteliers and hotel managers. Bathrobes, hangers and bed linen follow. The phenomenon costs the industry enormous sums: in the United States alone, the estimate exceeds 100 million dollars a year.
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The top 10 most stolen items
The most recent surveys on the subject, carried out in 2025 and 2026 among over a thousand owners and staff of accommodation businesses, produce a ranking that’s remarkably stable over time. Textiles always top the list, easy to fold and hide in a suitcase; further down come items that are increasingly bulky and increasingly hard to justify.
| Rank | Item | Properties reporting it | Indicative replacement cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Towels | Around 88% | €8 to €25 each |
| 2 | Bathrobes | Around 66% | €40 to €90 |
| 3 | Hangers | Around 59% | €2 to €8 each |
| 4 | Large-format bathroom toiletries | Around 50% | €5 to €20 |
| 5 | Blankets and throws | Around 36% | €30 to €80 |
| 6 | Pillows | Around 32% | €15 to €50 |
| 7 | Hairdryers | Around 27% | €25 to €60 |
| 8 | Pens and stationery | Around 22% | A few euros each, but by the thousands |
| 9 | Crockery, cups and glasses | Around 14% | €3 to €15 each |
| 10 | Remote controls | Around 12% | €10 to €30 |
The percentages show the share of properties reporting recurring disappearances of that item: figures gathered from international industry surveys, consistent with what the major chains have reported for years. Off the list but frequently mentioned: remote control batteries, light bulbs, duvets, bedside Bibles, and even shower heads.
Souvenir or theft? Where the line falls
The psychology of the phenomenon has been studied for a long time: many guests don’t see themselves as thieves at all. The towel with the logo becomes “a keepsake”, the pen “a freebie”, the hanger “they’ve got thousands of them anyway”. The most common reasoning is that the price of the room covers everything in it. It doesn’t, and the distinction is clear: single-use amenities (small soaps, shower caps, slippers, pens) are there to be used up or taken away, while everything meant to serve the next guest (textiles, appliances, crockery, amenities) remains the hotel’s property. The line between keepsake and theft is clearer than it seems: what you can take from a hotel depends on whether the item is a consumable or part of the room’s fixed equipment.
Taking amenities is, technically, an offence: the hotel can charge the value to the card left as a guarantee, as the stay conditions almost always provide for, and in the most serious cases file a police report. The paradox is that this phenomenon coexists with the opposite one: the same rooms things disappear from are also the kingdom of items guests forget, chargers topping that list too.
How much theft costs hotels
The aggregate figures are striking. For the US market alone, industry estimates put direct losses from items taken from rooms at around 100 million dollars a year. For a single mid-sized Italian property, 40-60 rooms with good occupancy, the “replacement for shortfalls” line comes to roughly €3,000 to €10,000 a year across linen, crockery and small appliances, not counting staff time spent on inventories and disputes.
There’s also a hidden cost: stock. For every room, a hotel keeps on average 3 to 5 complete linen replacements in rotation between the floor, the laundry and storage; every disappearance speeds up the repurchase cycle and shifts budgets. It’s no surprise that major chains have started periodically publishing their own rankings of missing items: telling the story with humour has proven more effective than any threatening sign.
The extreme cases: mattresses, TVs and artwork
If a pen disappears through carelessness, other thefts require premeditation. An international survey among hoteliers in the luxury segment found that a surprising share of high-end properties have had mattresses stolen, wheeled away casually on trolleys or service lifts, often at night. Documented cases from the chains also include televisions unbolted from walls, pod coffee machines, artwork and mirrors, curtains complete with pole, decorative cushions by the dozen and, in one famous anecdote, even the lounge piano and a st\uffed wild boar.
The luxury segment is hit hardest for a simple reason: the items are worth more, and the dishonest guest banks on the fact that an elegant property will avoid a scene. That’s a miscalculation: it’s precisely 5-star hotels that have the most effective inventory systems and communal-area video surveillance, and post-departure charges are now standard practice.
How hotels protect themselves
Over the years, hoteliers have refined an arsenal of countermeasures, almost all design-based rather than policing. The main ones:
Anti-theft hangers, the ones with a pin hook that only releases from the wardrobe rail, really work. The price is a small inconvenience for the guest, which well-made contract models reduce considerably: hangers for hotels designed for contract use hide the security system inside the shape of the hanger, and nobody notices until they try to take it away. Then everything that can be fixed down is fixed down: TVs with security brackets, wall-mounted hairdryers, bolted safes, mirrors and pictures with hidden fittings, lamps anchored to the bedside table.
On the floors, digital inventory records room amenities during servicing, so a shortfall surfaces while the guest is still in the lobby rather than three days later, when raising it is pointless. On the contractual side, stay conditions listing the price of amenities, a guarantee card and immediate follow-up are needed. The countermeasure that pays off best, though, is commercial: many chains sell pillows, bathrobes and even mattresses, and if a guest has grown fond of the product, it’s better to sell it to them than to lose it.
The most elegant defence remains the design itself: furniture designed for contract use provides for fixings, spare parts and replaceable finishes right from the specification. Choosing suppliers who guarantee consistent spare parts and finishes over the years means being able to replace a hanger, a knob or an identical door even years later, without redoing the whole room over a single shortfall.
What someone who steals from a hotel risks
Beyond the anecdotes, the matter has concrete implications that hoteliers know well. Taking room amenities constitutes an offence that can be prosecuted, and before that it entitles the hotel to charge the value of the item: the signature at check-in binds the guest to the property’s rules and the stated charges. On the other side, the hotelier’s obligations include responsibility for items guests bring into the hotel: the duty of custody runs both ways, and that’s precisely why hotels carefully document the condition and equipment of their rooms.
In practice, a police report is filed rarely, and almost only for the big thefts: for a bathrobe, the norm is a charge; for a mattress, the police station. But the growing traceability of bookings has made the game riskier: chains share internal blacklists, and a charge disputed carelessly can end up costing the guest far more than the item. The golden rule remains the same as ever: when in doubt, ask reception. Many room amenities have an official sale price, and taking the pillow home after paying for it is a better ending for everyone.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 10 most stolen items in hotels?
According to the most recent industry surveys: towels, bathrobes, hangers, non-single-use bathroom toiletries, blankets, pillows, hairdryers, pens, crockery and remote controls. Batteries, light bulbs and duvets also make it into the wider tally. Towels have dominated for years: nearly 9 properties out of 10 name them as the item that disappears most often.
Do hotels report guest theft to the police?
Rarely for small items: the norm is to charge the value to the card left as a guarantee, as provided for in the stay conditions. A police report follows for serious cases, such as mattresses, televisions or artwork, where the value justifies legal action. Many chains also use digital floor inventories and internal blacklists for repeat offenders.
How much does theft cost hotels every year?
For the US market alone, industry estimates put direct losses at around 100 million dollars a year. A mid-sized Italian property budgets roughly €3,000 to €10,000 a year for replacements across linen, crockery and small appliances, on top of the cost of managing stock and inventories.
What does someone risk by taking items from a hotel?
For consumable items, nothing, they’re included in the price. For amenities like bathrobes, towels or decorative items, the hotel can charge the amount to the card left as a guarantee, as provided for in the internal rules accepted at check-in. In the most serious cases, such as televisions or mattresses, a police report follows: it’s misappropriation in every sense, and properties today have floor cameras and digital per-room inventories.
