Video Exposes Indian Family Who Stole Items from a Bali Hotel

HighAndDry on 30/07/2019 - 18:43

https://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/asia/video-expos…

OzBargaining taken to…. extremes?

In the tourists bags were found:

  • a hair dryer,
  • soap dispenser,
  • mirror,
  • jars,
  • towels,
  • toiletries*,
  • coat hangers.

I'll 'fess up, I'll take toiletries if I like the ones in a particular hotel. But uh… not so much the other stuff.

I've heard (but never personally tested) that some hotels don't mind and actually (secretly) like you taking their towels as they're branded and it's a form of marketing (Hilton from memory was one).

Is it okay to take some stuff? Where's the line? And what do people here usually/sometimes take from hotel rooms?

Travel

Comments

        • salmon123 on 31/07/2019 - 10:11

          Lol - the ideas aren't original. They've been featured on numerous TV shows and movies.

          • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 10:12

            @salmon123: I guess I don't watch enough TV haha.. actually no, I think I've heard about drinking from the minibar and refilling them.

      • geoffs87 on 31/07/2019 - 12:53

        a bunch of hotels i stayed in the US last year have sensors under the minibar items (cold and benchtop), so no more taking somethign and restocking it from woolies the next day, or refilling with water/tea :(

        • salmon123 on 31/07/2019 - 12:57

          amateur … make sure you watch macgyer before your next stay at a hotel.

        • grimwagon on 31/07/2019 - 15:16

          How does that work. What if you pick an item up to look at it? What if you move something from the fridge to fit something else in?

    • hey aj on 31/07/2019 - 15:39

      Your caution is well-founded, just look at all the reports flooding in from these devious people and their tampering infidelities. How uncouth!

  • Randxyz123 on 30/07/2019 - 21:11
    +2

    Reminds me of the friends episode lol.

    • Some Guy on 31/07/2019 - 08:11
      +1

      Reminds me more of The Simpsons episodes "The Last Temptation of Homer" and "The Boy who know too much". Free shower curtain!! lol

      • deliciousdimsim on 31/07/2019 - 16:54

        "I believe Freddy Quimby should walk out of here a free hotel." The episode is too good.

        • Some Guy on 03/08/2019 - 01:57

          "I'll prove to you that Freddy Quimby is not only guilty, but he's also innocent of not being guilty." Yep great episode.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 30/07/2019 - 21:22
    -7

    For my honest example I get negged 5+ for my previous comment :p all good, i dont mind.

    The resort has my credit card details they can easily charge 60 quids (for the missing cup and saucer if need be) besides I doubt they are going to go broke any time soon especially where base rooms are 20 times the price of the missing cup and saucer per night.

    • cynicalmike on 30/07/2019 - 22:09
      +8

      yeah i think you got neg'd because it's outright theft when you steal actual non-disposable items from the room eg. kettle, tv, hair dryer - or in your case cup and saucer

      they can easily charge 60 quid but you can also dispute the transaction and will probably win. they might have also missed it and won't know until several other guests have checked in and maybe even another guest was accused of stealing it.

      for all we know the (presumably) honest maid could have had her wages docked for a missing cup and saucer.

      • TheMindsetTraveller on 30/07/2019 - 22:57
        -4

        Yep I get why I got negged, it's all good and I dont mind as I understand why it is wrong.

        When we return to this amazing resort sometime in 2020, we will take back the cup and saucer and see if they want it back.

        We only took it because it reminds us of this resort :P

        • TheMindsetTraveller on 30/07/2019 - 23:16

          and to be fair, the OP asked people to fess up and work out "where the line" so I guess by revealing my situation, negging (which is cool) proves what is / is not acceptable :p

          • Hirolol on 31/07/2019 - 08:43
            +2

            @TheMindsetTraveller: Negging doesn’t mean anything.
            It has no affect on your life.

            • salmon123 on 31/07/2019 - 10:14
              +10

              @Hirolol: Clearly you're not a Gen Z, who grew up on instagram … anything less than 50 likes and you need therapy to figure out why no one loves you.

  • GangGang on 30/07/2019 - 21:23
    +1

    I'll take toiletries if I like the ones in a particular hotel.

    I'll take it even if I don't like it.

  • Clear on 30/07/2019 - 22:30
    +5

    I'm guilty of taking a bus sign outside of a hotel. Does that count?

    • pinchies on 31/07/2019 - 00:29
      +37

      Wow, that's dedication. Pulling out all the stops.

      • Clear on 31/07/2019 - 09:04
        +3

        Pulled out in Melbourne and dumped in Townsville on the road trip ;)

        • Kangal on 31/07/2019 - 17:46
          +2

          The signs were Clear-ly placed and presented.

  • brad1-8tsi on 31/07/2019 - 08:24
    +2

    I take the soap, moisturiser, hot chocolate, fancy herbal teas and biscuits.

    I haven't bought soap for years.

  • TEER3X on 31/07/2019 - 08:33
    +1

    Some people like to take toiletries and build up a collection of crap at home. Not judging them or anything, but I think they're morons.

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 10:14

      Not judging them or anything, but I think they're morons.

      Lol. I used to do this. Then I looked at my pile of stuff at home and was like… I'm never gonna use this…

      • roy125 on 31/07/2019 - 18:11
        +3

        My wife does this, although uses them in the guest room and bathroom when we have people stay with us.. works quite well actually.

    • cynicalmike on 31/07/2019 - 11:46
      +11

      Not judging them or anything, but I think they're morons

      you sir, are the master of contradiction

      • OldBugger on 31/07/2019 - 14:25
        +3

        Possibly an oxymoron. Then again, I hate people who judge others ‎ツ

        • hey aj on 31/07/2019 - 15:44

          There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.

          • Scrooge McDuck on 31/07/2019 - 16:19

            @hey aj: Hyperbole is worse than Hitler!

          • TEER3X on 31/07/2019 - 19:29
            +1

            @hey aj: Unfortunately those movies don't stand the test of time, even though some of the quotes do.

  • Mattmattmatt on 31/07/2019 - 08:36
    +16

    Whatever you do don't steal a propaganda poster from your hotel…

    • cynicalmike on 31/07/2019 - 14:28
      +1

      or a bar mat in phuket

  • HeWhoKnows on 31/07/2019 - 08:40
    +2

    Usually if anything like that is missing they have the right to charge your credit card

  • Webber000 on 31/07/2019 - 08:44
    +2

    The article I read said that they had actually unscrewed the soap dispensers off the wall.
    That's not the same as keeping the little bottles of toiletries!

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 10:15

      Hahahahaha I mean, the soap was there for them to be used, and what else would they hold the soap in…?

  • SmiTTy on 31/07/2019 - 09:24

    I take the toilet paper

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 12:00

      On the one hand, consumable. On the other… what do you do with it?

  • GG57 on 31/07/2019 - 09:25
    +2

    Taking consumables (toiletries, tea/coffee, etc.) is totally acceptable.
    A lot of people donate these to initiatives that provide them to homeless people to use, as they are not too bulky but satisfy a need. Some hotel chains do this with used soaps etc., as well.
    Or, keep them for your next trip when your accommodation might not provide them.

    The taking of other items (fixtures or fittings, incl. towels) is just theft.

    • TerryJustTerry on 31/07/2019 - 13:42

      Totally agree, traveling around euro I found simple consumables were available about 50 50

  • Taro Milk Tea on 31/07/2019 - 09:25
    -1

    I once swap my pillow with the hotel's before I leave

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 10:16

      You got negged but I'm more curious - you take a pillow with you on holidays?

      • Taro Milk Tea on 31/07/2019 - 10:20
        +1

        Yes, it was a domestic trip with some crazy mates during my youth age. It was a crazy idea lol

        • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 10:21
          +1

          Eh. I have a street sign in my garage from my younger days… I'm not gonna judge haha.

  • noz on 31/07/2019 - 09:38
    +8

    Imagine the fury if the title was instead "Video Exposes Aboriginal Family.." . Somehow Indians are fair game in having their race is highlighted.

    • p1 ama on 31/07/2019 - 09:50
      +8

      Well it’s factually accurate - the article doesn’t say anything to disparage Indian people at large.

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 10:18
      +7

      I was a little surprised in our modern 'progressive' age the title even had any mention of race in it.

      On a slight tangent, there was news this morning of a 40 year old man in Germany pushing a woman and child off a train station platform in front of a high speed train, killing the child. Age and gender in title and first paragraph.

      Only in like the 6th paragraph or so is it mentioned that the man was an Eritrean citizen.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 31/07/2019 - 16:23

        the man was an Eritrean citizen.

        A white one?

        • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 16:46

          We'll never know!

      • MessyG on 01/08/2019 - 19:41
        +1

        The ABC outright reported him on the radio as a refugee but didn't mention where from. Gutting story.

    • casho on 31/07/2019 - 15:19
      -1

      some people like dressing up as dogs and cats

    • Windows98 on 31/07/2019 - 16:32
      +3

      Except Indians love making fun of other Indians. Especially when they do stupid things like this.

  • Ace Ventura on 31/07/2019 - 11:54
    +15

    I run a resort, we charge for any non consumables taken from our rooms. Hard costs on the rooms are high enough without dropkicks taking things. Towels and robes would be the most commonly pilfered items. The amount of thieves that come back with "oh I thought they were free" is amazing.

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 12:04

      Makes perfect sense. I wonder if anyone disputes this with their credit card or files chargebacks?

      • Ace Ventura on 01/08/2019 - 07:40
        +1

        It happens, not often but had a couple over my years. Our paper trail and housekeepers checklist is generally enough to have the banks stay on our side.

    • psdillon on 31/07/2019 - 12:36
      +7

      I would love it if you started an AMA thread.

      • geoffs87 on 31/07/2019 - 12:46

        yes +1 to that!

    • Duram on 02/08/2019 - 13:56
      +1

      What kind of people stay at lowlife resorts?

      • Ace Ventura on 02/08/2019 - 13:58
        +2

        Only the classiest of lowlives of course.

  • geoffs87 on 31/07/2019 - 12:45
    +3

    i love taking toiletries, especially the good ones. I stayed at a hotel in the bahamas a couple years ago, and every day (whether i'd touched the current ones or not) they game me additional ones! They were big too, like 100ml each I took them every day of the 7 days, as they were really top notch. Still use them in my guest bathroom at home today :)

    as an aside re your towel point - i wonder how often hotels replace towels which might lend itself to them allowing you to take them given they have a short shelf life - but i'm not sure.

    I've never taken anything other than toiletries, but sometimes i wish i nabbed the towels cos some hotels use amazing towels (oh and some have awesome pool/beach towels too)

    • salmon123 on 31/07/2019 - 13:06
      +2

      i wonder how often hotels replace towels which might lend itself to them allowing you to take them given they have a short shelf life

      I don't think hotels keep a close inventory of how many towels are in each room. It's just too onerous. I think the towels in the video are just a bonus find for the staff, they were really looking for the hair dyers/soap dispensers/etc.

      • geoffs87 on 31/07/2019 - 16:27

        Yeah i always think on those days where they give you a freshy but don't take the used one… should i just bag the freshy? I never do :(

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 13:11
      +1

      I actually looked and while this probably isn't the exact article I read before, it covers some of the same things:

      https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/12/what-can-and-cant-you-…

      So there are things in grey areas which is okay to be taken depending on how fancy the hotel is (and so if they can afford to/want you to) take them. Things like bathrobes, coffee mugs (surprisingly), etc. Towels apparently not, but hotels knew that monogrammed ones would get taken more so costed that in… so… grey area of the grey area?

    • Ace Ventura on 01/08/2019 - 09:51
      +1

      Low/mid range hotels usually don't own their linen at all, they have a contract with a laundry service that provides linen. Laundry drops off clean stock, hotel uses them, laundry picks up dirty stock, leaves more clean stock. The laundry should pull stock from rotation as it shows signs of age. Not true in all cases of course, but the majority of chains use this system.

      Although inventory of stock wasn't a high priority in years passed, more and more properties do keep inventory sheets now.
      Hotels don't make as much money as they once did, so hard costs need to be monitored and kept at a minimum. Budget brands are stocking rooms according to booking numbers. As an example if you book a room for 2 adults, they would put in 2 bath towels and 2 pool towels. Even if that room type had the ability to sleep 4 people. It's easy enough to provide extra towels if the guest requests, but is a small saving if only the 2 towels are used. These small savings add up when you consider the laundry mentioned above, charges the hotel, based on the weight of the linen bags.
      They work on the idea that often people simply won't ask for more, but if more are provided to begin with, they would use them.

      Edit:oh yeah, my actual point, it's becoming more likely that hotels will know if towels are missing.

  • PurchaseAnxiety on 31/07/2019 - 13:05
    +3

    I don't bother taking anything, unless it's got some novelty value to it. If I did, I would just throw them in a draw thinking they'll be useful for next time I travel (right next to all the chemist warehouse free samples), then never touch them again.

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 13:11

      This has been my exact experience…

  • illuSion on 31/07/2019 - 14:03
    +4

    I take everything that hotel would throw away anyway, like shampoo, body wash, mini soap, etc.

    But hair dryer? Really!? That's a new low.

    • salmon123 on 31/07/2019 - 14:50
      +2

      But hair dryer? Really!? That's a new low.

      Well, if it was a dyson supersonic, I'd probably have a crack at stealing it … only for the resale.

  • whatsinaname on 31/07/2019 - 14:44
    +4

    Saw this on Facebook Feed. Different Hotel group jumping on the action.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE1yfCGPaeU

    • hey aj on 31/07/2019 - 15:56
      +2

      You had to go and post a video where the actor is Indian, didn't you? I love your timing.

      • cynicalmike on 01/08/2019 - 12:14
        +1

        here's a panel of non-indian white and african american militant feminists talking about the same subject. if that makes you feel better?

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OrDK91GrZU

        • hey aj on 01/08/2019 - 12:18
          +2

          Thank you. My jimmies were really getting rustled without the diversity of opinions. I feel much better now.

      • runybix on 02/08/2019 - 22:16

        The video was made (by an Indian travel company) in response to this incident. So fair game I guess.

  • RSmith on 31/07/2019 - 15:47

    Lucky they left the toilet seat…

    • khomeini on 31/07/2019 - 16:58

      The cops are looking into it.

      • RSmith on 01/08/2019 - 04:52

        Looking into it won't lead to anything… The evidence might have been flushed.

  • Bid Sniper on 31/07/2019 - 15:47

    Meanwhile corporations effectively steal billions by avoid tax and corporate welfare.

    But a hairdryer, TRIGGERED!!!

    • hey aj on 31/07/2019 - 15:52
      +6

      Tell me a story about a corporation stealing money and I will be appalled. Tell me a story about a person stealing a hairdryer and I will also be appalled. Stealing is stealing.

      What is your point?

      • Scrooge McDuck on 31/07/2019 - 16:26
        +2

        I once took two biscuits when I was only allowed one.

        • hey aj on 31/07/2019 - 16:40
          +3

          That's a paddlin'.

    • HighAndDry on 31/07/2019 - 16:08
      +3

      The fact you need to qualify it as "effectively steal…" means you know yourself that they're not actually stealing anything.

      If they're breaking the law and evading tax? Take them to the cleaners. But if they're following the law in minimising their taxes, yeah, everyone does that when filing their taxes. They're called deductions.

      And as for "corporate welfare" - all I can say is that these companies contribute to society more than most individuals on welfare. Putting it somewhat bluntly.

    • salmon123 on 31/07/2019 - 16:46
      +2

      Somehow, I don't think the hotel featured in the video was the type of respectable establishment that takes a credit card on check in.

      Going to put it down to a mom'n'pop shop, rather than an evil tax-avoiding-corporation.

  • Dack Smith on 31/07/2019 - 18:17

    People love theft as long as it is to the detriment of others and not themselves.

    Gotta love the stupids

  • Cul8r on 31/07/2019 - 19:42
    +2

    Won’t lie, those little soaps and toiletries are very convenient for the night getaway at an air bnb or camping.

    Pens… have so many pens!

    Also, I have had thoughts of swiping a bunch of goodies when walking past a trolley full of miniature gold while the maids are cleaning up a room. Have never been able to follow through on this one though!

  • DonWilson on 31/07/2019 - 19:48
    +3

    I've got a (local) mate in Bali and he's low man on the totem pole in his tourist facing job. Because he's low man on the totem pole he gets the Indians when they come through. It's impressive to see the Balinese who pride themselves on their tolerance and hospitality to reach a bit of a breaking point. That said he's also got stories of plenty of individual western people who are grifting to get free/heavily discounted stuff including a lady who among other things washed her clothes in her private chlorinated pool (!) then complained her jewelry was stolen by staff and amazingly the value of the jewelry was the exact value of the amount owing on her bill.

    • DonWilson on 31/07/2019 - 20:00
      +2

      Common scam for him is people booking stuff for say 6 people and showing up with more like 10 people then saying the deal had already been struck and they wouldn't pay extra for the extra vehicle/beds/driver/whatever. I think he said the most common people to try this one was Indonesians (damn Indonesians, they're ruining Indonesia) but it was a standard all round.

  • Lockieasy on 31/07/2019 - 20:47
    +3

    I've stayed in hotels where the 'welcome' pamphlet has a section listing the price of every conceivable item in the hotel room (pillows, lamps, curtains etc).

    If any item goes missing I guess they would charge it to your credit card.

  • Ghost47 on 31/07/2019 - 21:43

    Everything is fair game when staying at a hotel. I've taken furniture before.

  • AustriaBargain on 01/08/2019 - 07:15

    You're allowed to take the towels if they don't have a way to track them, usually they are piled up on a trolley in a hallway.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/08/2019 - 07:24

    As long as you don't have sex during late checkout, it's fine..

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