The stealing remotes / batteries line bugs me a lot more.
If I'm in a hotel room, and something has dead alkalines, I'll toss the batteries, and try to make it very obvious the batteries were removed so they can be replaced for the next guest. That's not theft. I really can't imagine anyone stealing batteries.
I've never taken a remote, but I do sometimes find a hotel keycard in my luggage when I get home. I stay at the same hotels, so I tend to return them, although sometimes a few months later. Small items like that tend to be misplaced or lost by absentminded guests (and possibly even employees). I can't imagine anyone taking a remote on purpose. What would be the point? Most are specific to a given TV model, and wouldn't even work with a TV back home.
There is natural shrinkage which happens everywhere (especially my sock drawer). If someone takes a mattress, coffee machine, or towel, that's theft. If someone tosses dead batteries or misplaces a small item, calling that theft just seems mean. It's attributing bad intentions to something which is just part of life.
> If I'm in a hotel room, and something has dead alkalines, I'll toss the batteries, and try to make it very obvious the batteries were removed so they can be replaced for the next guest. That's not theft.
I agree it’s not theft, but the correct thing to do is probably to ask the front desk if they could replace the batteries, like you would for a light bulb. That way, the batteries can (hopefully) be disposed of properly and you get a working remote control.
In my city, the current recommendation is to simply throw alkaline batteries in the garbage - no special disposal. Only rechargeable batteries require special disposal. This goes against what I was taught growing up, but then most recycling isn't as green as we were led to believe.
Well I remember a handyman who came to our room to fix an AC remote. He found that the batteries were dead and the brand the hotel does not use. He sort of shrugged and told me it happens all the time - guests just swap their used batteries for the hotel ones.
Remotes can fetch nice prices on eBay. If someone is desperate enough for that particular model of remote you can easily sell it for $20 used.
I know because I used to buy boxes full of them from the local thrift store hoping to fetch gold some day. I didn't but did earn nice money for a teenager.
If I'm in a hotel room, and something has dead alkalines, I'll toss the batteries, and try to make it very obvious the batteries were removed so they can be replaced for the next guest. That's not theft. I really can't imagine anyone stealing batteries.
I've never taken a remote, but I do sometimes find a hotel keycard in my luggage when I get home. I stay at the same hotels, so I tend to return them, although sometimes a few months later. Small items like that tend to be misplaced or lost by absentminded guests (and possibly even employees). I can't imagine anyone taking a remote on purpose. What would be the point? Most are specific to a given TV model, and wouldn't even work with a TV back home.
There is natural shrinkage which happens everywhere (especially my sock drawer). If someone takes a mattress, coffee machine, or towel, that's theft. If someone tosses dead batteries or misplaces a small item, calling that theft just seems mean. It's attributing bad intentions to something which is just part of life.