Many hotels have a storage room filled with lost and forgotten items, in addition to areas like the reception, kitchen, and entertainment areas.
Image: Japan Station
Tammy Geist Long, a former manager at a luxury hotel in Vermont, revealed why hotels don’t call to inform guests about their forgotten belongings.
“One of the unwritten rules at the hotel where I worked was to never inform guests about items left behind after their stay. We would never interfere in anything related to the personal lives of our guests,” Tammy explained.
She gave an example to illustrate the point: “Imagine Mr. Smith leaves behind a gold necklace. The hotel calls his home to inform him. Mrs. Smith answers the phone and, surprised, asks, ‘Wasn’t my husband supposed to be at a conference in Spain? How could he have left something in a hotel in the US?'”
“It was an expensive lesson that we never wanted to repeat,” Tammy added.
If a guest is still at the front desk during checkout, the housekeeping staff will call them to double-check.
Image: Hoteljob
For guests who realize their mistake after leaving the hotel, they can retrieve their belongings if they proactively contact the hotel. Otherwise, all unclaimed items are sent to the lost and found and become unowned.
Tammy also mentioned that items like phone chargers, jewelry, and even cameras are among the most commonly left-behind items by guests.
Hotel procedures for handling guests’ forgotten items, according to Hoteljob:
– Valuable lost items such as money, jewelry, and phones are placed in the hotel safe under the supervision of security staff and carefully recorded.
– If a lost item is a credit card, it must be kept securely for 24 hours before notifying the issuing organization or bank.
– For lost items of lesser value, if unclaimed after 90 days, they will be given to the finder.
– For lost items of significant value, if unclaimed after 180 days, the hotel manager’s approval is required to give the item to the finder. The recipient must keep the recorded information as proof to take the item out of the hotel.
– Perishable items like food, canned goods, and drinks are kept for three days before being given to the finder.
– Easily spoiled items like vegetables and fruits are kept for one day before being given to the finder.
According to VNN
The Ultimate Guide to Hotel Wi-Fi: Spot the Red Flags and Stay Safe Online
This is a warning sign in the room that there may be hidden cameras or listening devices. You should thoroughly check the room before deciding whether to stay or not.
