I collect them as a ritual and have since I was very young. I use the first set left in the room, and then hide those when the maid comes. I don't complain if additional sets are left, however.
We just returned from 8 days on the road and collected sets from Westin, JW Marriott, Doubletree, and Hyatt. I really like the Hyatt amenities, as they are convenient to take to the gym (tubes of shampoo and conditioner). I like the Westin soap the best, as it is very mild and isn't overly perfumed.
Having read the thread, I haven't found a good reason not to continue to my stupid hobby.

My Rules Are:
I don't take from the cart (even if it is in parked in the way
I always leave the robe and towels
I always tip the maid

OK, I don't get the connection between taking the amenities and tipping the maid.

At the Peabody in Memphis they put a little soap shaped like a duck in the rooms. Very cute and yes I did take.

At Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone they gave little soaps in the shape of little blue bears. I still have four of them tucked in my underwear drawer.

I would assume that hotels factor in a certain amount of soap, shampoo, etc. they will go through in a month - "overhead" as one poster put it. If you take the samples every day then you are contributing to the future increase of the cost of the hotel room. Personally, I don't think you should take more than one full unused set per trip.

I have never worked in the hotel business, but I did run a good-sized business for over 20 years. It's going to be hard to convince me that soap, shampoo, and other amenities, while obviously a part of overhead, represent a significant percentage. I mean, you're paying somewhere between $100-$400 a night, how much of that is for the soap and shampoo?

And we aren't even talking about the totals, we're talking about the difference between "normal usage" and what people take as extras. I have to think that costs connected to labor and energy must be the major reasons hotel prices go up, not the fact that everyone takes home the little soaps. Get real.

While growing up & traveling with my parents, which is when I got the love of travel, I collected the samples of soap, shampoo, & conditioner, with the goal of using them during my 4 - 5 years of college, to keep the costs down for those kind of things. Those samples lasted me through my 5 years of college & into my first year after college, when struggling to get on my feet. Now I am collecting for my son who will be going to college in about 1 1/2 years. While it may not save much, in the long run it adds up, & I tell my son would you rather pay for all that stuff out of your money or spend that money on needed school supplies, or books, or even a pizza once in awhile. I think of those thinks also as non-reuseable for other hotel guests & as part of what we are paying for. Similar thoughts to when airlines all offered sometype of food, although not so much anymore, as included as part of your ticket. The food is there, you paid for it as part of your ticket, & you could choose to use it of not. Also, could those samples be part of the hotels' advertising budget, whether it is for the hotel or the company that supplies the soap?

Of course. We put all of it away each day so it gets replaced. We pay for it in the room rate so as far as we are concerned it is ours. We do leave the towels and robes behind however!!!!!

I figure if the hotel didn't want me to take home some extras, the soap wrapper would say Dial not Venetian. Why would they pay for advertising if they didn't expect you to take it outside the hotel?

I've wondered about this myself. I'm usually allergic to the products but I have (very guility) brought home the shampoo and conditioner bottles from some hotels (ex: Hard Rock) as they are perfect for travel. You can't, even if you want to, buy such good travel containers.

Looks like I dont have to feel guilty anymore

In Dallas at Mansion on Turtle Creek, you get Lady Primrose products which smell so nice. However, the products are put into containers next to a price list. You are welcome to use while there but if you take the container, they will put the cost on your bill.

wsoxrebel, I assume these containers are larger than the usual amenities?

Actually, from an environmental, land-fill perspective, it would be a great blessing if all hotels adopted this practice of larger, refillable containers.

I always take the soap, shampoo, etc. but I leave everything else.

Marilyn asked about the connection between the tip and the shampoos - on my first business trip ever I stayed in a hotel in Crystal City and left a nice tip. When I returned to my room that night, the maid had left three of everything!!

Now, that has never happened again, but it does go through my mind when I leave my tip each day...I never know when I will hit jackpot again!

last summer my granddaughter worked at one of a well known hotels and when I asked her about taking vs. not taking soaps and shampoos she told me if you won't take this stuff a maid who cleans your room will take it home. It is your decission.
No to bathrobes or towels

My only question now is all the people who say they take the small bottles of shampoo for travel. Where do they go where they don't get more samples provided automatically? Or do they take ones they've collected from say a Hilton to use at a Hyatt, then take the Hyatt ones with them to use later at a Marriott? Just curious how that works.

And about the tissues. My mother worked for a short time at a motel at the front desk. Lots of people came in asking for tissues because there were only a few in the dispenser in the bathroom. It seemed the maids were instructed to only put a few in each box, as whenever they put full boxes of tissues in the dispensers they all disappeared with each guest. So yes, apparently people do take the entire box of tissues. And she also mentioned that even one nighters would somehow "use up" a full roll of toilet paper on the roll plus two extra "spare" rolls. Obviously a lot of people rely on motels to supply their homes with tissues and toilet paper.

Tell me, when in a restaurant, do you also take the packets of sugar? How about at McDonalds, a handful of straws?
What about making lemonade out of a glass of water and a lemon slice? How different is that from grabbing up all the amenities in your hotel room. All and all IMHO it adds up to "Cheesy"

Puhleeeez, SusieQQ. Tempest in a teapot. Putting shampoo samples in the guest bath is not cheesy; it's mighty convenient. We have out of town company all the time--like at least every other weekend. They LOVE the guest soaps in my bathroom because they know they don't have to pack them. Every time they come they get a fresh bar of soap and a fresh bottle of shampoo, etc. Believe me, we could afford to buy this each time, but they love the hotel stuff. They also love the fresh flowers and homemade breakfast they get, but I guess that's a little over the top for your taste. It is a fun touch, not to be taken as a statement of our income or a statement of our coolness vs cheese factor.

Relax a little, girlfriend!

...and yes, I keep makeup samples in the guest bath too (unused ones of course). My nieces love to play with them when they visit!

I agree with bamakelly. Guests enjoy access to a choice of soaps, shampoos, etc. Nothing cheesy about it.

And...by the way, after a spa getaway where the only "treat" was our homemade lemonade with the sliced lemons provided and the Equal packets on the table I did develop a taste for slightly sweetened lemon water. Funny you should mention that! But, my version of lemon water is NOT an attempt to save $$$.

The high end hotels I've frequented with REALLY great products tend to put new supplies in every day - without asking or stashing or swiping. Hmmmm....funny...does that make places like the Ritz and Four Seasons "cheesy"? I think neither the 4S on the Big Island NOR their L'Occataine products cheesy in any way.