It is more than likely to recover lost or forgotten things from a hotel, though it is not a sure thing. Here's how to ensure the best possible chance of getting it back.
First of all, don't feel bad. Checkouts are stressful, and they are even more stressful if there's some major event or you have a very early morning flight out. It is only likely the more that you travel, the more likely incidents may happen along the way.
Recently, we've been running around so much that we lost a slew of things — a jacket, an entire makeup bag, a toiletry bag, and almost even our passport. Some of it was at a hotel, and in those cases, the recovery rate was about 50% (it beats zero percent; consider buying travel insurance).
Sometimes, it comes down to pure chance and integrity. Sometimes, as well, it's a lesson in learning how to let go, somewhat literally.
Contact the hotel as soon as possible.
Sometimes the checkout process can be rushed. (Rhema Kallianpur / Unsplash)
The quicker you act, the more likely you are to get it back. In the case with the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, as soon as we noticed it—which is almost always immediately—we called the hotel and were transferred to lost and found.
Do provide the room number and a description of the products. It took less than five minutes for the hotel to confirm our belongings were there.
Then, we provided our phone number and email, and were told that the head manager would call us back to coordinate shipping. However, this tactic did not work so well when we stayed at in Berlin, Germany, despite losing hundreds of dollars in makeup.
If you think that was the end of the story, read on...
Be persistent and check back if you don’t hear back.
Be persistent. Half of the battle is just checking in.
In our case, we followed up with the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa about ten days later, despite their promises to follow up.
It was great that we did: The security staff had noted our belonging as "discarded" in the system. After digging further, he discovered that they hadn't been discarded at all.
The hotel retains a policy where certain items were automatically discarded after 30 days, but because we kept following up, we were able to ensure our items got back to us.
For our lost belongings in Berlin, despite showing up a
If the contents are found, be prepared to pay for shipping.
It’s your fault, no? In any case, it is more than fair.
In our case, we had to register the lost item with Chargerback, a service typically used by airports and hospitality staff to register misplaced items.
The hotel was able to confirm the toiletries had been found, and we were able to provide our shipping address, alongside credit card information for delivery.
In all, it cost us $22.70 for shipping. For us, it was far cheaper than replacing the contents, some also $150+ in toiletries (don’t judge!). Le Labo, you are an obsession.
