To take free hotel toiletries even though I don't need them?

[AliceTemperley]

I don't stay over often in hotels but had to earlier this week for work with a colleague. I commented in the morning that I'd stocked up on the toiletries and my colleague really laid into me, saying it was selfish and that it was eating into the hotels profit and wrong to take them if I didn't need them.

(For info, I tend to take them home and leave them in my spare room for guests, or use them as an emergency when I run out of shampo)

AIBU? I just assumed everyone did it!

I swiped the White Company toiletries in our cabin on North Sea Ferries earlier this year, and the Clarins ones later in the year, was well pleased with them. I see it as part of the price you pay.

The ashtrays in malmaison used to have ' stolen from malmaison' on the underside. Made lovely soap dishes. Haven't stayed in a hotel for many years, sigh.

After looking at catalogues for the hospitality industry, I've gathered that unless you stay in a very luxurious hotel or they're a brand you recognise, the toiletries in hotels are generally ridiculously cheap. It no longer seems worth the effort to pilfer some Asda Smartprice-standard smellies.

I do shamelessly load myself up with sample tubes of toothpaste when I go to the dentist, though.

It is the law that hotel guests take the shower gel, shampoo, coffee sachets and so on. Failure to comply is a very great sin . Clayton Hotels do some nice stuff since they took over the Bewleys chain. I'm still using some stuff for after-swimming which I acquired earlier this year.

I take them and bag them up for the homeless girls I see, perfect size so they don't have to carry them about

Always swipe them, its part of the price you pay.

Slightly related - have a tv with a property of prison label on it, not sure how we got that but I guess it was the price that someone paid

I stayed in a hotel in Amsterdam that had a free mini bar that was restocked daily. I came home with a stash of Smirnoff, Bacardi and Grey Goose!

I only take them if they're worth taking- and only the shower gel!

Food banks will take them too, if you don't know how to get them to your nearest refuge.

I take the things I'll use. Tissues, cotton wool pads, cotton buds are always nice, as are shower caps. I tend to leave the shower gels and shampoos as I find them a bit too strong for my skin (leave it very dry or even slightly rashy) but the little bars of soap are good. Those mini sewing kits are my most treasured hotel room swag!

There is, of course, a Friends scene for this.

It's what the hotel owes you for the price of the room.

I take all the toiletries and drinks/sugar/UHT for my local food bank.

I used to keep it myself but, as pp's have said, so much clutter!

I rarely take them as they never smell nice and are harsh.

Ha! I've never seen that clip tofutti

I think taking them to a refuge or homeless shelter is an incredible idea. I shall start distributing mine (i only have a few) and continue to do so in the future.

Of course it is ok to take them

It's fine to take them, if they're tiny bottles, but I don't bother any more because like many PPs have said the small bottles make it almost impossible to get the shampoo etc out of them - none that I've found have been easy to use, so I just use my own now and take the 100 ml squeezy bottles that I have for when travelling hand luggage only on flights.

I rarely bother with the hot drinks either - I did have my eye on a couple of Galaxy hot chocolate sachets earlier this week until I realised they had nasty articifial sweeteners in them. Bleugh. I did steal the mini pack of posh biscuits though.

I accumulated a huge pile of nice small toiletries from marriotts, sheratons etc our first couple of years in the US and H would bring them back from all his work trips too. When we moved again we weren't supposed to pack liquids so our relocation agent took them all for a women's shelter which I did think was a really nice idea and useful.
Have already started on my new collection - shall have to remember to pass them on again. I'll have to add in H's many business class toiletry bags as well - must have about 20 of those!

YABU. Not for the reason your colleague gave, but because most hotel toiletries are nasty. Terrible stuff. If you travel a lot, the various awful brands wreck your hair. Only place I've bothered with hotel toiletries was a lovely place in Texas where they were Le Labo, in my favourite scent from that brand.

Besides, it's just naff, really.

We recently stayed in a hotel in Budapest and as well as the usual shower gel, tooth kit etc, there was a little bottle of "Intimate Cleanser" on the bidet. Replaced every day, collection taken home.

Can someone please tell me why they dont do shower gel in Californian?Nevada/Arizona hotels.
And why there is no coffee in rooms in Vegas?

Our hotel pays the housekeeping company a set price per room regardless of what toiletries were used; so taking them doesn't eat into the hotels profits at all!

And whether it eats into the Housekeeping companies profits, well, I care not a jot. They use and abuse the maids, and penny pinch to the point of the extreme. Take it all, I say!

Bruffin - you stayed in the wrong hotels 😄
I have bottles from those states.

I thought everyone takes them. Great idea to give to shelter if not used. I love pens so have a collection of hotel pens too

Foodbanks will also accept donations of toiletries.