Smart Trick! Mumbai Hotel Uses Mismatched Pair Slippers to Prevent Theft

Mumbai, 3rd February 2025: Many of us find it hard to resist taking home complimentary toiletries and other freebies from hotels. While it may not be outright theft, some guests unknowingly overstep the line, assuming that everything in the room is theirs to keep. To tackle this habit in a humorous yet effective way, a Mumbai hotel devised a clever trick to prevent guests from taking bathroom slippers.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) recently shared a photo of this creative hotel hack, showing a mismatched pair of flip-flops—one olive green and the other an orangish-brown—placed neatly outside a bathroom door. The hotel’s strategy ensures that while guests can use the slippers during their stay, they won’t be inclined to take them home. The caption humorously noted, “This Bombay hotel provides bathroom slippers. But to prevent guests from taking them, they offer mismatched pairs.”

The post quickly went viral, sparking amusing reactions online. While some users praised the idea, others joked that even the mismatched slippers had their charm. One commenter quipped, “I’d still take these. They don’t look that mismatched,” while another added, “My father always said—when you lend a pen, never give the cap.”

Another user pointed out that determined guests might still take them, saying, “Those who want to take them will do so, mismatched or not.” Meanwhile, someone else applauded the creativity, calling it “reverse psychology at its finest!”

One user shared a similar strategy used by a Japanese hotel to prevent pen theft. “A hotel in Japan noticed guests frequently taking their fancy pens. Instead of stopping them, they switched to pens with their website printed on them. Now, every ‘stolen’ pen became free advertising! Smart businesses turn problems into opportunities!”

Another commenter recalled how a company in Jamshedpur tackled a similar issue with safety shoes. “Workers were given high-quality safety shoes, but they often sold them and wore unsafe ones instead. The company responded by issuing mismatched shoes, which effectively put an end to the resale issue.”

The user who posted the viral tweet, however, chose not to disclose the name of the hotel.