Iuliia Tore 
Many travelers revel in opening their hotel room door and taking in all the wonderful amenities – a plush robe, gourmet coffee, luxury bedding – that make the room feel like home, or even better. However, 35 percent of global travelers take it one step further and take these amenities to their home according to a recent survey by leading online accommodation booking service Hotels.com®.
While a majority of hotel guests globally (65 percent) say they’ve never pilfered an item from a hotel room – except toiletries, everyone takes those – Danish travelers come out on top as exceptionally honest with 88 percent saying they’ve never pocketed a hotel amenity. American travelers fall quite a bit further down on the list with only 66 percent saying they’ve never stolen an item from a hotel room. Here’s how the rest of the countries surveyed rank… assuming the respondents were honest about their own sticky finger tendencies!
| The Habits of Sticky-Fingered Global Travelers | |||
| Rank (by honesty) | Country | Percent that have never pocketed hotel property |
Most commonly taken item |
| 1 | Denmark | 88 | Magazines/books |
| 2 | Netherlands | 85 | Magazines/books |
| 3 | Norway | 84 | Linens/towels |
| 4 | Brazil | 81 | Magazines/books |
| Canada (Quebec) | 81 | Linens/towels | |
| Hong Kong | 81 | Linens/towels | |
| 7 | Italy | 80 | Linens/towels |
| 8 | Russia | 79 | Magazines/books |
| 9 | Taiwan | 78 | Magazines/books |
| South Korea | 78 | Magazines/books | |
| 11 | Argentina | 77 | Magazines/books |
| Singapore | 77 | Magazines/books | |
| 13 | Ireland | 75 | Linens/towels |
| 14 | UK | 74 | Magazines/books |
| 15 | Switzerland | 73 | Magazines/books |
| New Zealand | 73 | Magazines/books | |
| Japan | 73 | Magazines/books | |
| Finland | 73 | Magazines/books | |
| 19 | Germany | 72 | Magazines/books |
| Australia | 72 | Magazines/books | |
| 21 | France | 71 | Magazines/books |
| 22 | Canada (excluding Quebec) | 70 | Magazines/books |
| 23 | U.S. | 66 | Linens/towels |
| China | 66 | Furnishings (lamp, clock, artwork) | |
| 25 | Sweden | 65 | Linens/towels |
| 26 | Spain | 64 | Magazines/books |
| 27 | India | 62 | Magazines/books |
| 28 | Mexico | 60 | Magazines/books |
| 29 | Colombia | 43 | Magazines/books |
While more than a third of global travelers have stolen hotel amenities, there are a few niceties that guest are willing to pay for: a room with a view (29 percent) and a balcony (17 percent) came out on top.
The Hotels.com 2013 Amenities Survey also revealed that free Wi-Fi is king when it comes to must-have hotel amenities.
- 34 percent say free Wi-Fi is the number one factor in choosing a hotel even on leisure stays.
- 56 percent of respondents said free Wi-Fi is their number one must-have when traveling for business.
- 66 percent indicated free Wi-Fi is the amenity they most wish would become standard at all hotels in 2013.
Creature comforts of home and food are also high on the priority list for travelers:
- 23 percent chose high-end coffee makers as their top modern in hotel room amenity.
- 43 percent said complimentary bottled water is the most appreciated simple amenity.
- Happy hours, wine tastings or any other time with free food and drinks is 42 percent of global travelers’ favorite newly offered hotel service amenity.
- 23 percent cite unlimited free food and beverages as their most missed comfort from home when traveling.
Source: hospitalitynet.org
