KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Malaysian students may be below par in global education benchmarks, but the country’s travellers beat the average when it came to helping themselves to items from hotel rooms, according to a new TripAdvisor survey.

In the “TripBarometer Truth in Travel” poll conducted online by independent market research firm Edelman Berland in June and July 2013, 69 per cent of Malaysian respondents admitted to taking at least one item from hotel rooms in which they were guests.

This was above the 65 per cent average recorded by the 19,692 respondents of the survey. It is unclear where Malaysians stood in comparison to respondents of other nationalities as their results were not disclosed in the survey.

“Three in five (59 per cent) global hoteliers report that their guests often take a variety of items when they leave. The TripBarometer Truth in Travel survey reveals several discrepancies between what travellers say they take, compared to what hoteliers report missing from hotel rooms once guests depart,” the travel website said in an accompanying statement.

The survey also revealed an affinity for toiletries such as shampoos, soaps and conditioners from hotel rooms, with 45 per cent of respondents confessing to pilfering these on their way to the check out desk.

Next most popular were tea and coffee, followed by stationery.

But despite the “truth” in the survey’s names, respondents did not appear to be completely upfront with their answers. While just 7 per cent of guests admitted to taking home towels as “souvenirs”, 12 per cent of hoteliers named the fluffy item as among those most commonly found missing from hotel rooms after guests check out.

Another frequently stolen item reported by hotel operators but not among the confession lists of guests was the clothes hanger, with 10 per cent of hotels saying this went missing after guests leave but only 2 per cent of respondents admitted to taking.

Respondents also appeared ready to help themselves to anything they can fit in their luggage, taking ashtrays, light bulbs and even batteries from remote controllers as they left.

Respondents were from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK and US.

Aside from guests over 18 who took at least one trip abroad over the last year, the survey also polled 10,469 accommodation business owners.