Can You Take Hotel Shampoo and Body Wash? Senior Hotel Manager Reveals Which Items Are Safe to Take at Check-Out

When staying at a hotel, which room items can guests actually take home? Many travelers double-check before checking out. Items like toothbrushes, slippers, tea bags seem safe to take, but packing robes, towels, or even hairdryers into luggage could violate hotel policies. According to media reports summarizing hotel industry practices, disposable amenities are generally free to take, but reusable in-room items are considered hotel property, and unauthorized removal may lead to requests for return or additional charges. According to Condé Nast Traveler, Anne Golden, Senior Hotel Manager at Pan Pacific London, states that guests can usually take disposable amenities without concern—such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, shower caps, sewing kits, small soaps, and mini bottles of shampoo and body wash. Room-provided tea bags, coffee sachets, sugar packets, and welcome snacks are also typically not restricted. The reason is that even if unused, these items are rarely reused for the next guest and are usually discarded, so allowing guests to take them doesn’t significantly increase costs. Slippers fall into a gray area, but if they are specifically designed as single-use, many mid-to-high-end hotels assume guests will take them home and generally don’t pursue the matter. The real concern lies with reusable items like bathrobes and towels. Reports indicate bathrobes are among the most commonly stolen hotel items, with towels ranking similarly high. A European survey of hotel operators found that nearly 80% have experienced towel theft. Unlike disposable items such as toothbrushes, these are designed for repeated use across many guests, so each loss increases operational costs. High-end hotel bathrobes can cost over $100 each, and if they are branded, custom-designed, or co-branded, the cost is even higher. Towels, bed linens, and pillowcases may seem ordinary, but their collective loss results in significant expenses. Golden notes that hotels are well aware of their in-room inventory and conduct post-checkout inspections. However, most establishments avoid confrontations at the front desk and instead contact guests afterward, offering options to return the items or pay for them. Why do people who wouldn’t steal in regular stores take bathrobes in hotels? Clinical psychologist Kate Mason suggests it’s not just about petty greed, but also a 'value-for-money' mindset. When guests perceive their stay as expensive, they may subconsciously feel they need to 'get their money’s worth,' viewing the robe as part of the experience or a travel souvenir. Additionally, some guests feel less psychological burden due to the hotel’s large scale, believing one missing towel or robe won’t make a difference. However, when many guests think this way, the cumulative effect becomes a substantial cost for hotels. Estimates suggest U.S. hotels alone lose up to $100 million annually due to guests taking in-room items. To reduce such losses, some hotels have started embedding RFID (radio-frequency identification) chips in towels, robes, or linens to track their movement. Others clearly label which items can be taken for free and which are available for purchase. Travel consultant Pippa O'Keefe notes that many modern hotels now prefer to proactively list complimentary welcome gifts—such as tote bags or red wine—rather than price-tag every item, maintaining trust with guests and avoiding the impression that everything in the room is being monitored for cost.