Items guests left behind

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

Today's topic is something that probably most of us can relate to (the title says it!). 

A few years ago, I shared a topic asking all of you at the time whether you've had guests forgetting items. 

I received some lovely responses at the time and thought it'd be great to hear from you again as we as a community have grown so much and have welcomed many new members over the years (and perhaps more guests have forgotten items 😉 ).

I once had a guest forgetting a laptop! They departed early to the airport, but one of them came back to pick up the laptop after I gave them a quick call. 

Have you had any guests forgetting items?

I look forward to reading your stories!

Quincy

[Alexandra316]

@Sarah977  it's actually me with the underwear tongs... It's always men's underwear.

@Quincy 

Other than people's stinky ginch I've had chargers, the occasional piece of costume jewellery, and lots of food left behind. 

The only items people have ever asked to get their stuff back were a beloved dog toy (they turned right around and came back) and a very stinky and stained band t-shirt that apparently had a lot of sentimental value. I had to package it up and mail it back to them, but I think it could have crawled home on its own. 

[Sarah977]

@Alexandra316  It seems quite a few hosts have underwear tongs, because it was definitely Christine who I first heard make mention of it. 

I've so far never had a guest leave any undies.

[Alexandra316]

@Sarah977 nope it was definitely me. I believe it's when I met Christine.  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/The-Guests-You-Don-t-Want-Back/td-p/764971/page/3 

[Quincy]

Wow, sounds like you've had a hard time with this guest @Colleen253. 

I remember one of my guests leaving behind a bag of half-eaten apples and a bunch of half empty small yoghurts in the drawers (of all places). This guest stayed for about 5 days, so it wasn't a really nice surprise to find mouldy food in the drawers... 

[Colleen253]

@Quincy Yes that guest was an issue. They also started an bonfire on my driveway (I don’t have a fire pit), and gathered my antique dining room chairs around it (since -bad host- I also don’t provide campfire chairs😂). Thankfully I’ve only had a small handful of trouble guests! Most are amazing. 

[Nick]

My - longer than it needed to be - list:
Clothes
A suitcase
Clothes in the washing machine
Toys
Sex toys (actually just one)
Underwear
Cosmetics
Pair of shoes
A ticket
Keys

And I probably forget something (oh, the irony 😂) 

@Quincy @J-Renato0 

[Quincy]

That's a good ol' list @Nick 😂

[Nick]

there must be a prize after having to deal with a certain number of items left behind @Quincy 😂

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Quincy @Nick 

I don't think we've ever had any of our guests leave something behind by mistake...... but since most of our guests were long-term, they did tend to leave behind (a lot of) used products, half empty condiments and snacks they weren't able to finish during their stay, and weren't able to pack to take back home 😁

snacks that would not fit in the guest's luggage

our *used items* shelf - all left behind by former guests

[Quincy]

Wow! That's a nice collection you have there @Jessica-and-Henry0! 

[Nick]

Also had lot's of snacks left behind. Fruits and sweets too @Jessica-and-Henry0 

Agree with @Quincy that's a very nice collection 😀

[Max144]

All the usual suspects, clothes, socks, shoes, phone chargers, cosmetics, toiletries, food, wine, beer, underwear,toys,  still holding full suitcase for about 2 years and first guest i had was grandma with young grand child who left beautiful teddy bear which i still have and let her know straight away but never heard back. 

[Quincy]

A full suitcase @Max144?! What will you do with the items at one point? 

[Max144]

Thanks, to be honest haven't thought about yet, was also a separate lap top and two shopping bags of books, cosmetics,  etc. a single lady who returned to New Zealand and i thought she may be waiting for covid  but our borders are now open and still no contact what so ever, most strange.

Most probably hand it over to charity.

[Elena87]

@Quincy 

I had a guest who left behind a range of expensive knickers still drying on the radiator, hidden by the curtains.

She stayed in Moscow, so there is always a lot of traffic between there and here in SpB so she had a friend who was in the city travelling back, who was agreeable to collect and return the items.

We met at the railway station, had a solemn handover ceremony of the discreetly bagged items on the platform, before bursting into laughter for a minute or two.