I’ve been in this industry for a few decades now and stayed in countless hotels. In that time, I’ve lost countless “stuff.”
Correction: I have left behind more items than I could recount in this blog post. Because I figure it’s not technically lost because the hotel knows its rightful owner.
Can you guess how many times I’ve had a hotel contact me to let me know that I left something in the room after I checked out? I’ll make it a multiple choice question:
a) More than 10 times.
b) Nine or fewer times.
c) Zero (as in never) times.
Correct answer? “c”
It doesn’t matter how many stars a hotel boasts. It doesn’t matter the location – domestic or international; developed country or impoverished country. I have never had a hotel contact me about returning an item.
Sometimes it’s weeks or months before I realize I’m missing something. The I retrace my travels to try to recall, “Hey, whatever happened to that cotton floral skirt?” Sometimes it’s the next day. Or, as happened last month when I left a charger with two batteries from my brand-new GoPro camera in a hotel room in Belgium, I contacted the hotel the very same day. The answer is always the same, “No, we didn’t find anything.”
I thought, “Maybe this is a Murphy’s Law thing,” that only happens to me. So I asked my employees and some well-traveled colleagues if they’d ever had a hotel return an item.
Gabriel Haigazian, my VP and one of the most well-respected people in our industry reported, “No, sadly – never.” Another colleague reported, “In my 30+ years traveling for business in the incentive travel industry, I’ve been able to recover only a couple of items in all that time…and it was entirely as a result of my reaching out to them. But never have I ever received a phone call from a hotel or resort alerting me to the discovery of one of my lost items (of which there have been quite a few).”
Whitney had forgotten two designer dresses in a closet when she checked out of a luxury resort in southern California. Recognizing this a few days later she phoned the property to be told, “Oh, yes, we have your dresses here.” Which begs the question: was anybody going to bother to contact her? Or just play wait-and-see-if-the-customer-ever calls? And who was going to take those dresses home if she’d never realized that she’d left them behind?
The single positive story I heard was from one traveler who reported having had some items returned – proactively – by a Best Western in northern California. Interesting enough, there is a website with Standard Operating Procedures for Lost and Found Items for Best Western. Nothing showed up in a google search from any other hotel chain.
It’s interesting to think about all the money hotels invest in better mattresses, higher thread counts, butler service, fancier spas and restaurants . . . when all they have to do to earn massive customer goodwill and loyalty is simply return their customers’ lost items to them!
And it’s not just hotels. A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in seat 10A on AA#2435 from MIA to LAX. My laptop was on the tray table as I made notes and drafted emails relative to the Cuba journey I had just completed. Periodically I referred to notes and comments I had diligently recorded in a spiral-bound notebook that I had used as my “bible” throughout the journey. At one point the notebook slipped off my lap. It would have taken a contortionist to retrieve it while jammed into the seat, so I made a mental note to retrieve it when I deplaned in Los Angeles.
You know the rest of that story. I forgot about it and left it on the plane that night.
The following morning, I realized what had happened. Went to AA website where they have a user-friendly form which I completed in detail. To date, I have received 22 identical “Courtesy Notices” from AA (obviously a computer glitch . . . because I’m certain nobody is looking that hard – if at all).
To date, I’ve received 22 of these notices!
And then there’s the heart-warming YouTube video from KLM, one of my favorite airlines, which has a beagle named Sherlock to help reunite lost items with their owners before leaving the terminal building. (Great P.R. – but turns out not to be true.)
Cute idea … but just a marketing stunt.
Japan has some amazing traditions, not the least of which is an amazing “Lost & found” culture.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Lost and Found Center has a warehouse filled with missing objects – all neat labeled and cataloged. “On any given day, about 800,000 items pack the four-story warehouse, with 5,000 new ones trucked in every morning for an annual haul of 220,000 articles of clothing, 30,000 mobile phones, 18,000 eyeglasses and 17,000 wallets.”
So that must be what I’m doing wrong – I haven’t been forgetting things in Japanese hotel rooms!
I, for one, would happily pay a reward to a staff person who turned in something to lost-and-found. But I suspect the problem isn’t with the housekeeper or aircraft cleaner . . . it’s obviously a systemic issue for which the culpibility rests with management. Otherwise, there would be at least some happy endings.
The benefits are obvious (at least to me – or am I the only one?):
I’d be very interested to hear replies from travelers: What have you left behind? Has anything ever been returned to you?
And hoteliers – what’s your take on this issue?
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9 Comments
Ann November 13, 2015 at 3:32pm
The Japanese lost and found photo reminds me of a trip I made by myself, from U.S. to Scotland. I took only one small bag with me, which suits me just fine… Don’t remember which country I went through first, before arriving in Scotland.. But when I was returning home, I was told that I could not have my bag AND my purse, I was only allowed ONE ITEM to get on board the flight.. I sat down in a remote area, and frantically shoved the contents of my purse (just barely) into the bag. I then took my flattened out purse and hung it over my shoulder under a wool jacket I was wearing…. and waited for a bunch of people who were traveling together, and mixed in with them and got through to the other side.. which was FULL of beautiful Scottish umbrellas and walking sticks that had been left behind…
Jim Gerwick November 13, 2015 at 4:01pm
Strangely, a fine hotel in Lisbon actually retrieved my cane and had it brought to my room( I had left it in
the restaurant). Of course, we were still guests at the time. Other than that, the answer is no.
Joyce Walters November 13, 2015 at 4:10pm
The worst “lost items” story, which still galls me to this day, happened in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Kings Courtyard Inn. Don left his shaving kit in our room and we realized it the same day when we checked into another hotel in a city a day’s drive away. The person at the desk acknowledged: “…yes, we have your shaving kit…what would you like us to do with it?” We told them we would appreciate it if they would mail it to our home…postage due. We would be happy to reimburse them for whatever expenses they incurred in mailing it. Okay, great! They would mail it “tomorrow.”
Tomorrow turned up into next week…we called and they told us they got too busy but would mail it “today.”
This went on for about a month. We finally gave up in disgust when the last person we spoke to said: “No, we never found the shaving kit…someone gave you bad information!”
Jane Halsey November 13, 2015 at 4:40pm
I had an inexpensive camera case that I had not even missed sent to me from a hotel in London and SAS somehow retrieved and got to us a nice backgammon set we had left on a flight to LA. I was really impressed! I asked this same question many years ago about why the guest are not called to the hotel I worked for at the time and it turns out it is a liability issue because the item may have been left behind by a previous person and not found by housekeeping (I know that begs the issue of housekeeping) and that the hotels have to wait for the person to call in, ask for and identify the item before they can return it. We do return things but you have no idea how many people never call. I left a favorite hand woven scarf in my room at a luxury hotel in Santa Barbara and they never found it even though I called the next day. Some hotels are better at this than others and I agree it is a great way to deliver care to the customer. It is just those legal minds that make it harder.
Joann November 13, 2015 at 4:48pm
I have had 3 returned item stories. My 18 mo old son left his stuffed dog Tyrone at the terminal in Oahu. He needs this precious dog for everything. We called airlines & they said they will look for him. The next day Tyrone arrived special delivery to our hotel after riding in the pilot’s cockpit. Now that was awesome! And 2 very raggedgy grateful parents were very happy. The 2nd time was in northern California where an employee called my husband about a hair dryer that was left. Didn’t even know I had one. It was mailed to me. The last one involved a really swanky hotel in Santa Monica where a hotel employee kindly called to inform me that I had left a panty in the bed covers & asked me how I would like to retrieve it. Hummm…much embarassed… just throw it away. Now, since your post, I have this picture of a beagle running after me with my panties dangling from his mouth! Oh, the horror!
Maureen Hoyt November 13, 2015 at 6:10pm
On a recent trip to Hawaii, I left an item of great sentimental value in the car I returned. I didn’t notice it until just a few days ago, and I planned to call Budget to see if it had been turned in to their “lost and found.” The phone rang yesterday afternoon at my office, and the following conversation ensued: “This is Budget at the Hilo, Hawaii Airport. Did you leave an item in your rental car? I replied, “yes, I left my calling card holder.” “Oh good, if you give me a credit card number, we will send it back to you.” So, there you go. Another company calling to notify me of a left item to add to your list of great companies to deal with!
Bob Ricks November 13, 2015 at 7:55pm
Many years ago we landed at ORD from Europe and walked off the plane. Halfway to customs I realized I had left an important package in the overhead. I reversed my steps, ran up the down escalator past departing passengers and re-entered our empty plane to the surprise of the crew. I pointed out my seat and described the package. They let me get it and depart. Today: I would have been shot on the escalator. Betty was amazed when I returned with the package.
I have left a few things in hotels over the many years of travel. Still waiting for call #1.
Dale Hamakawa November 14, 2015 at 11:01pm
Good and bad stories to relate regarding forgotten items in my hotel rooms. Last year I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. When leaving I always make a sweep of my room to make sure I don’t leave anything. I left my favorite sunglasses on the desk. Since we were already on the road to the airport, I called the hotel to see if they could retrieve and the possibly send them to me. They called back quite quickly to inform me that the sunglasses were not in the room or in lost and found. My take, the housekeeper has them. Years ago, I left my laptop charger at Caesar’s Palace and didn’t even know it. While at the airport, I got a phone call from the hotel saying they had found my charger in the room and would be sending it to me. I agree with the previous commenters that you never know which hotels/airlines will be good enough to step-up and return your forgotten goods. But I think it says a lot about the culture of the hotel when guests are not even notified about their forgotten items.
susan seats November 20, 2015 at 9:43pm
I left a really good cell phone on the united flight. I called the next day and they let me go through a box full of phones, keys, and wallets. I was surprised at the many phones but mine was not among them.
At hotels why can’t they put items left in a room in a bag and list the room number and give it to the front desk to call the previous hotel guests before putting it in a lost and found box.
I also have lost a fair amount of items on trains, buses and planes as well as a precious memory laden journal.