Why don't you just call up a hotel, explain what you want to do, and ask for permission? If it violates a fair use of utilities clause, it is stealing. Theft is theft. Doesn't matter if it's a candy bar or a truck load of flat screen tv's. The dollar amount isn't what I have a problem with. The moral compass of the person who is willing to do it without permission is what I have the problem with. Slippery slope people.
Ok, so how is plugging in your laptop, phone, or toothbrush (as suggested above) not stealing? A hair dryer can use upwards of 2000w. A hotel guest could use anywhere from $0.01 to $1.00 in electricity fairly easily. Would taking 6 showers and blow drying my hair each time for 1 hour in one day be theft? No, you'd just be considered a weirdo.
Why is mining viewed differently? Where do you draw the line on energy consumption? Unless a hotel establishes a rule on maximum power consumption, what is the definition of stealing? One could make the argument that you can max out the breaker on the room for the entire time you have the room booked. As also noted above, many asian hotels only turn on the lights when you insert your room card by the door thereby establishing what acceptable energy use is: when you're in the room.
That doesn't establish what acceptable energy use is. If you want to know the answer to that question, ask the hotel chain. The entire idea is a bad idea for many other reasons that have been brought up already.
What about people who take soaps and shampoo and robes , and have multiple long hot showers, are they stealing too? Hotels expect some people to do this, its factored into the price of the room. What if two women were getting ready to go out, both using hair dryers at same time or boiling a kettle and doing their hair. Has anyone in history ever overloaded a hotel room circuit? I dont think it happens because its extra effort for the hotel to stop what theyre doing and fix your power or call for maintenance. A kettle would use around 2400w and 2000-2400w (240v) for a decent hair dryer. Thats 4400- 4800w you could use to run your rigs on just 2 outlets, even if it means disconnecting the tv.
I'm not a cheap ass, so I don't steal their shitty soap and shampoo. I actually take my own when I go to a hotel, because I like the brand of soap, shampoo, and lotion that I use. Lol. Stealing a robe from an expensive hotel in the United States would probably end up in them charging your credit card for it. Maybe not, I don't know, because I've never taken one. When they started banning smoking in hotel rooms in the United States, Marriott was charging a $300 cleaning fee to your credit card, if they had evidence that you smoked in their room.