History Main / StealingFromTheHotel

This can a way to PokeThePoodle. Another form of petty theft is StealingFromTheTill. For the inverse, where hotel employees steal from the guests' belongings, see TheHelpHelpingThemselves.

This can a way to PokeThePoodle. Another form of petty theft is StealingFromTheTill.

** During a trip to Great Britain, Al gets arrested for stealing a towel from his upscale hotel, and is chained up in a dungeon; his fellow gray-bearded inmate [[WhatAreYouInFor is there]] for stealing an ashtray.

** In one episode, Sophia does this. There's even one thing she tries to take, but it's secured to its table, so it doesn't work. It's some kind of container that looks like a closed clamshell.

** During a trip to Great Britain, Al gets arrested for stealing a towel from his upscale hotel, and is thrown into a dungeon in the Tower of London; his fellow inmate is there for stealing an ashtray.

** During a trip to Great Britain, Al gets arrested for stealing a towel from his upscale hotel.

* ''VideoGame/TomodachiLife'' has treasure items that can be [[VendorTrash sold for money]] and one of these is "Hotel Toiletries." The description states, "Might as well stock up on the essentials while you're on vacation. They're free... right?"

* A notable RealLife aversion is that of the Bible that is in many hotel rooms. As they are placed there by the Gideons International organization, the book does not actually belong to the hotel. The group actually ''wants'' people to take them, as it is their way of spreading the Gospel. And certainly someone who steal the Bible could use the lessons inside it.

--->'''Ross:''' No, Chandler, you have to find the line between stealing and taking what the hotel owes you. For example: hair drier, no, no, no, but shampoo and conditioners, yes, yes, yes. (pause) Now, the salt shaker is off-limits, but the salt (he opens the salt shaker and pours the salt into his hand) I wish I'd thought this through.\\
'''Chandler:''' I think I know what you mean though...the lamp is the hotel's, but the bulbs (goes to take the bulb)...oh, you already got that.\\

'''Chandler:''' Ok, how about this (picks up the remote control)?\\

'''Chandler:''' Yes, but the batteries...\\
(Ross claps his hands)

* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': During a trip to Great Britain, Al gets arrested for stealing a towel from his upscale hotel.

* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': In the two-part season two episode where the Bundys go to Dumpwater, Florida, the family runs afoul of an axe murderer. Preparing to pack up their hotel room and flee, Al announces to the family, "Steal everything that's not nailed down!" He even hands Peggy a fork to pack, reasoning, "We can always use a fork!"

** There was an episode where Ross and Chandler were together on a hotel and they decided to do this (in this case because the hotel ripped them off). By the time they check out Ross' suitcase is so full of stolen items that it bursts open in the lobby.

In RealLife, a lot of these items can't actually be "stolen" because they are ''meant'' for the guest to take, like shampoo and bathroom soap. Many locales have laws that require the hotel to throw these out after every guest checks out, so if you don't take them they're just going to wind up in the trash. Most hotels also require a credit card be kept on file, even if the room is going to be paid for in cash, so the costs for larger items will simply be added to your bill after the hotel realizes they're missing. If the work recognizes that hotels now keep a credit card on file, expect part of the story to revolve around them trying to replace the stolen items with a cheap substitute so the hotel won't notice what happened.

In RealLife, a lot of these items can't actually be "stolen" because they are ''meant'' for the guest to take, like shampoo and bathroom soap. Many locales have laws that require the hotel to throw these out after every guest checks out, so if you don't take them they're just going to wind up in the trash. Most hotels also require a credit card be kept on file, even if the room is going to be paid for in cash, so the costs for larger items will simply be added to your bill after the hotel realizes they're missing.

* In ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington With One Stone]]'', some Manticoran spies [[InfractionDistraction pretend to be caught doing this]] in order to account for the empty suitcases from the espionage gear they had just disposed of.