# Is keeping a hotel 'souvenir' towel, robe or other OK? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-keeping-a-hotel-souvenir-towel-robe-or-other-ok/705948 "2014-11-30T12:38:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-keeping-a-hotel-souvenir-towel-robe-or-other-ok/705948/61 "2014-12-02T06:37:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Pen is likely OK too. Ask for anything else. Oh, I may have the pen? Thank you sir, may I take the six page notepad as well? Case in point, people take this to extremes on both sides. A bathrobe? Fuck no, that’s not a takeaway item. I’ve never taken a full sized towel, but I would if I needed one and I have no compunction whatsoever in taking a washcloth or hand towel if I have an immediate need for it. If I needed a pillowcase to haul or wrap something in, same deal though I’ve never taken one of those either. What do you think Hilton or Marriott pays for a hand towel or a pillowcase? Two bucks, maybe? Fifty cents for a washcloth? Four bucks for a full size towel? This from the company that just charged me $15 for shitty WiFi service and $6 for a bottle of water on top of a $140 room charge? Cry me a river. Tip your housekeeper five bucks and leave in good conscience. I don’t take shit as souvenirs, to stock my linen closet (quality is mediocre if you’re lucky) or my apartment, but if I need something consumable and reasonably inexpensive for my convenience (not the wall paintings), I’m not going to lose any sleep over taking it. Like I said, there are extreme opinions and behavior on both sides. > [@shiftless](#): > > Taking the linen or most any other durable item from a hotel room is straight up theft. In my opinion, so is charging $15 a night for shitty internet service. [Jamming personal hotspot devices to sell that service for $1000 certainly is.](http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2014/10/hotel-wi-fi) As I said, cry me a river over the $2 hand towels I’ve STOLEN. Good grief. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-keeping-a-hotel-souvenir-towel-robe-or-other-ok/705948/62 "2014-12-02T07:22:57Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Why not take the TV set too then? Well I’ll be, who knew that there are places where this is frowned on? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-keeping-a-hotel-souvenir-towel-robe-or-other-ok/705948/63 "2014-12-02T16:35:06Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Why not take the TV set too then? They they obviously converted to flat screens to make it easier to fit the TV into one’s luggage. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-keeping-a-hotel-souvenir-towel-robe-or-other-ok/705948/64 "2014-12-13T20:33:12Z")
We stayed at an America’s Worst Value Inn once. The place was a dump, seriously - I mean, the room seemed clean but there were many signs of the place being in poor repair. The towels were small and rough. But the hotel helpfully had a sign on the door saying “if you love our towels, you’re welcome to them, here’s the price list”. Erm, no thanks. I’ll go steal 'em from the Ritz, thank you every much (and no, I don’t swipe towels from the Ritz or anywhere else; I do grab the toiletries and sometimes the cheap pen emblazoned with their logo, as I figure they expect that to serve as advertising). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-keeping-a-hotel-souvenir-towel-robe-or-other-ok/705948.md?page=3)