Remember when checking into a hotel felt like being welcomed as an honoured guest? According to travel expert Kate Wickers, that era is fading, replaced by a barrage of unsubtle reminders not to pilfer items, creating a climate of suspicion that jars with any notion of a warm welcome.
The Pervasive Culture of Mistrust
Wickers highlights the now commonplace and, in her view, deeply distasteful habit of hotels leaving endless notes and deploying physical restraints. She argues that while messages like items being 'purchased upon request' or 'not to be removed from premises' tags on bathrobes are dressed up politely, their true meaning is glaringly obvious: 'we've got our beady eyes on you'.
This approach, she contends, is fundamentally incongruous. 'It's time hoteliers cut them out,' Wickers states, pointing out that the vast majority of travellers understand that bed linen, towels, and robes are not takeaways. The irritating little reminders, she feels, are an unfriendly insult to the over 99.9 per cent of honest guests.
Extreme Thefts vs. Over-the-Top Countermeasures
Of course, theft does occur, sometimes on a staggering scale. Wickers recounts anecdotes of a man attempting to steal a grand piano from an Italian hotel and reports from five-star establishments of guests dropping expensive mattresses out of windows for collection. Chandeliers and even bathroom sinks have been known to vanish.
However, Wickers believes the countermeasures deployed to prevent such extreme acts poison the atmosphere for everyone. She cites coat hangers that cannot be removed, hairdryers bolted to walls, and shampoo bottles screwed to tiles as fostering a 'hostile, prison-like atmosphere'. She recalls finding ornaments glued to shelves in a Greek boutique hotel and the disillusionment of spotting a security camera monitoring an 'honesty' bar.
The Checkout Inquisition
The breakdown of trust culminates at departure, Wickers explains. The morning knock to audit the minibar or the awkward delay at checkout while a receptionist secretly confirms you took nothing transforms a simple transaction into an ordeal. 'Your word is at stake. It's as though you're on trial,' she observes.
Even well-intentioned gestures can backfire. She mentions a Sussex hotel that left a half-bottle of port with an invitation to sample it, only to undermine the kindness with 'bossy small print' requesting guests leave enough for the next visitor, inducing guilt over a second glass.
A Model of Generosity to Follow
Wickers offers a shining counter-example: a hotel in Hong Kong that actively encouraged guests to take toiletries home. A bathroom sign reading, 'Take it all home. You've paid us, and you deserve it,' was designed to raise a smile and, in her view, represented a refreshingly truthful and trusting attitude.
Her plea to hoteliers is clear: the current overzealous security and pervasive reminders are a blight on the hospitality industry. By treating the vast majority of trustworthy guests with suspicion, they are eroding the very foundation of a welcoming stay. It is a call to restore balance and, above all, to restore trust.
