What can you take from hotels?

[marla]

When you stay at a hotel, they usually give free ammentities like shampoo, soap, coffee and tea. What is acceptable to take when you leave the room and what is not in your opinion?

[PrincessPerky]

I figure since it is there to be used it can be taken, but not the REusable stuff, so I don't take towels .

But if I don't open it they will leave it for the next person, and the more people who take it the more the price of the room goes up, so I doon't take what I wont use. That and I hate hotel brand soap! (oh and I have memories of cluttered bathrooms full of hotel stuff, I really hate clutter)

[terry1156]

I think that stuff that has been used is fair game. If you use part of the shampoo, then taking the rest of the bottle is actually better. They would just throw it away which is a waste. Things that you haven't opened is debatable, but I think it's ok if you are going to use them (they are factored into the hotel room charge).

[cercis]

I've always wondered if the hotel staff takes home the partly used items. They could combine the shampoo and end up with some pretty high priced shampoo (some of the shampoo in those places is very expensive to buy in the store). Soap makers could melt the soap down and use it to make larger bars (again, some of the soap is high quality stuff).

DH brings his home and we use it pretty regularly. Some of the stuff he brought home smells soooo good.

We use the coffee and tea when we have guests who drink coffee. Sometimes we put it in the stockings of his mom and stepdad.

[CheaplyClever]

Guidelines used to be, if it had the hotel's logo on it, you were expected to take it. Remember the Holiday Inn ashtrays? The days of logo's (small scale operations anyway) are gone.

Shampoo and soap will not be re-used once opened. The almost used up toilet paper rolls are usually put in the employee access restrooms. Ammentities untouched stays in the room for the next guest. Linens are not ammentities and many properties will charge missing items back to your room. Large (expensive) hotels sell the thick house- coats and bedding in the gift shop.

The freebies are part of inventory and has little reflection on the price of the room. Many of the freebies are never even put in your room so if you want a new toothbrush, for example, ask at the desk. Other items include, ink pens, shower caps, band-aids....

My uncle says that people take the pictures off the walls! He replaces many even after securing them with screws. I won't go into what he calls those people!

[stone]

Anything that isn't nailed, or i guess screwed down...LOL!

I general just stick to the pens, shampoo, soap... I don't really feel comfortable taking towels nad other things. Basically the nicknacks.

[PRICEPLUS]

Just toiletries. They would get thrown out otherwise. I don't to go to many hotels/motels though.

[cicy33]

Just remember you usually have to give a credit card number to get a hotel room and they can and will charge it if you take something that you are not supposed to!

[cercis]

You can also ask for a razor and shaving cream in many hotels. Combs and brushes too, I think.

I generally try not to ask for things unless I truly need something I forgot. I've requested a razor and shaving cream before.

[stone]

Is that true for most hotels now, or only a select few?

[cercis]

Stone, are you asking me?

I think your lower end motels won't have the free toiletries (super 8 and motel 6) but I'm not sure. DH is so good at finding deals that we usually stay in fairly nice hotels for about the same price as a cheap motel. All of the ones we've stayed in recently offered those things.

[mom-from-missouri]

In some states even unopened soaps and shampoos are thrown away-state health rules-(because of tampering). So, find out if the state you are staying in is one of those--if so, the soap and shampoo is yours, regardless of if it is opened or not. My cousin is a bigwig with a major chain, and they take all those unopened ones and donate them to homeless shelters and such. I remember reading an article about a guest in a hotel who lost their hair after shampooing with hotel provided shampoo--seems someone replaced part of the shampoo with Nair, and left it for the next guest. I would assume its the deadbeats like that who forced some states to changed threir health and santation rules.

[stone]

Thats not very nice. Its good to see them have some purpose rather than just being thrown away.

cercis- I was just asking in general

[marglo]

We stay in timeshare condos and occasionally in hotels. I take what I feel I could have used while I was there or the rest of what I partially used. For instance, I will take what's left of the soap I used. If I'm there for several days I will take one or two unopened bars of soap....it was there for my use and I could have used it. Same with shampoo/conditioner. That's the way I look at it.

There is usually an opened box of kleenex in the condos and I take it with me. I do not take an unopened box however. I take the little packages of tea, coffee, sweetener etc. I do not take the seasonings. I do not take the toilet paper however I see nothing wrong with taking what's left of the roll you have been using if you are there for several days. I would not take an unopened roll. Same with paper towels.

I do not take cloth towels or sheets...I feel those are part of the hotel/condo furnishings and are meant to be reused.

Guess people may look at these things differently and I don't know that what I do is right but I feel ok with it. I use the little bars of soap and toiletries when I run out at home and also take them in our RV. Due to taking the open kleenex, I almost never have to buy kleenex.