I don’t take the tiny bars of soap, but if they’re of significant size or unusual ingredients/aromas, they’re all mine. And I don’t take shampoo or conditioner at all, because I use my own.
And I wouldn’t touch a bible.
I do wonder if this whole debate will be null and void in years to come, as hotels move over to larger, refillable bottles (IHG Group are starting to do this, even in the higher end hotels). Because, plastic waste - think about it, it is an awful waste of single use plastic.
So, I’m in the camp of, it isn’t stealing, but it is wasteful, so I leave what I don’t use.
Actually, to be fair, I did do this last year on my annual summer holiday - I had a week in lovely hotels followed by a self-catering week - I stored the bottles so I wouldn’t have to buy some for the villa.
We don’t care if you take them or not, unless you go berserk like one lady who tried to get 8 extra bottles of shampoo, conditioner and soap.For her last night. We said no.
We have had people pay for shampoo and conditioner and soap- usually they call and ask if they can buy it. A boutique hotel I worked at sold larger bottles - I think 10 ounce - and those sold well.
I live in the US but as I said I don’t travel much.
This. Sometimes (like in major resorts) they make a nice sort of cheap souvenir and some of those little soaps come in handy in my tool box and for other uses.
It’s not stealing. They’re there for your use; I consider it part of the price of the room, and I’m certain the hotel does too.
That said, when checking out, I leave them. I’ve always found the quality of such items to be lacking. Or maybe they’re high-quality products, but I’d just rather use my own stuff that I chose and purchased, that I’m used to.
[spoiler]Dear Maid,
Please do not leave any more of those little barsof soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the sixunopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another three in theshower soap dish. They are in my way.
Thank you,
S. Berman
Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be backtomorrow, Thursday, from her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dishas you requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of yourKleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind. This leaves only the 3 bars I lefttoday which my instructions from the management is to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this issatisfactory.
Kathy,
Relief Maid
Dear Maid,
I hope you are my regular maid. ApparentlyKathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I gotback to my room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under mymedicine cabinet. I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my ownbath-size Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf. They are inmy way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Please remove them.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left3 hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management. I took the 6 soaps which were inyour way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial inthe medicine cabinet for your convenience. I didn't remove the 3 complimentary soaps whichare always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did notobject to when you checked in last Monday. Please let me know if I can of furtherassistance.
Your regular maid,
Dotty
Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed methis morning that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maidservice. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will accept my apologies forany past inconvenience. If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can giveit my personal attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since Ileave the hotel for business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before 5:30 or 6PM. That's thereason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty. I only asked Mr.Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap. The new maid youassigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars ofhotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on thebath-room shelf. In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why areyou doing this to me?
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stopdelivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of furtherassistance, please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.Thank you,
Elaine Carmen,
Housekeeper
Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soapwas taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and hadto call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen,ofyour soap problem. I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since ourmaids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room. The situationwill be rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.
Martin L. Kensedder
Assistant Manager
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in myroom? I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want 54 littlebars of Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars ofsoap in here. All I want is my bath size Dial. Please give me back my bath-size Dial.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room so Ihad them removed. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so Ipersonally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you aresupposed to receive daily. I don't know anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviouslyyour maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camaysplus the 3 daily Camays. I don't know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-sizeDial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on mylatest soap inventory. As of today I possess:
On the shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
On the Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3.
On the bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, - 1 stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.
Inside the medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
In the shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist.
On the northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.
On the northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.
Please ask Kathy when she services my room tomake sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her thatstacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window sill isnot in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries. One more item, Ihave purchased another bar of bath-sized Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault inorder to avoid further misunderstandings.
S. Berman[/spoiler]
I’d assume that the hotel just rolls the cost of the toiletry items into the cost of the room in some sort of indirect way - it seems kind of stupid for them to lose money if every guest uses all their toiletries every day, which I’m sure many do. So they’re not somehow banking on guests NOT using/taking the toiletries with them, but rather assuming they’re going to be consumed one way or another.
I doubt the custodial workers track that rm 123 got 2 soaps, one shampoo, one conditioner and no lotion, while 124 got 1 soap, two shampoos, no conditioner and 2 lotions. They’re just making sure that when they’re done cleaning, each room has 2 soaps, 2 shampoos, 2 conditioners and 2 lotions, and replenishing from a few boxes on their cart as they do their jobs.
Otherwise, you’d see signs asking you to leave unopened toiletries right next to the signs asking you to re-use your towels.
Having witnessed a person who upon seating in a nice restaurant, would promptly swipe all the silver, wrapped in the fancy cloth napkin, the salt and pepper, Any and All condiments packets, bottles.
During dinner, if you had coffee, you had to keep an eye on your creamer and sweetener. Coffee cups were fair game too.
If I had known about this all before hand, I never would have let her have the baby’s diaper bag.
She was nice enough to clean it out afterwards, she didn’t have any paper napkins to clean off the plates she stole.
It’s okay. You will not burst into flames.
This whole thread just reminds me of the episode of Friends where the gang is all staying in a hotel somewhere (for Monica and Chandler’s wedding, maybe?), and Ross is trying to bring home every consumable item he can get his hands on. I just remember a scene in which he’s explaining what can and can’t be taken – that while taking the salt shaker from the restaurant would be stealing, the salt itself is fair game.
I knew a guy who had once been in a traveling Mariachi band. A bandmate would take the bibles and send them to his wife in Mexico, who ran a bible-studies school. I don’t know the setup, but apparently she had made a money-making business of it.
The “anything but the towels” rule. But I don’t use the daily maid service so whether I’m there for one night or five, I don’t get the initial supply replenished unless I go to the desk or call down and ask for it. I rarely take anything home with me, but I don’t have a problem doing so.
It’s not about the flames, it’s about the taint. If somebody took a large dump and left that in the drawer - same difference.
That said, it’s not my dump - I wouldn’t throw it away, just the same way I wouldn’t steal the soap or the salt shakers.
Homer Simpson thought he could take home the shower curtain.
When my grandmother traveled, she would take all of the provided toiletries for as many days as she stayed, and would donate them to the local women’s shelter upon returning home.
I only take toiletries if I really like them – Bath & Body Works stuff at the Holiday Inn, for example. I also rarely travel with bar soap; most of what I find in the rooms is decent. I do travel with a soap box though, since I sometimes encounter bar soap good enough to take home.
I’ve stayed at an inn in Maine that does have signs around the room encouraging you to reuse your towels and sheets to cut down on laundry expenses (and water usage). A towel placed on the rack won’t be replaced with a new one, and sheets won’t be changed unless you leave the designated card on the bed. They don’t seem to have any problem with you taking the toiletries though.
Seems like every hotel I’ve stayed in during the past decade or so has had the signs suggesting that guests reuse the towels.
But not a one has had one suggesting that guests leave unused toiletries.
My father is a retired airline pilot and he took all the soap from the hotels he stayed at and even now, 27 years after he retired, he still has hotel soap in the house. I know, I am home visiting and have used them! I don’t think my mother ever bought cake soap for body washing.
Looks like this thread is going to be moot soon at Holiday Inn, Marriott, & their associated brands.