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

[Laura2592]

Most of our leave behinds are of a rather intimate nature lol. We have only once had a guest ask for us to mail their item. The rest go in the trash.

We did have someone leave a book under a bed called "The Ethical Sl*t" which made its way into our guest library. I can honestly say its the book pulled out of the shelf most often. The cleaners sometimes send pics of it and giggle. Its definitely an intriguing title and many of our guests seem interested in reading it during their stay. But the original owners never asked for it back.

[Dimitar27]

Pffff...

All kind of cosmetics, books, clothes, watches, even shoes.

[Mark116]

We only had one instance of guests leaving something they didn't intend, which was an apparently very expensive pair of eye glasses that the guest forgot and then was in a panic over due to not having for the rest of his US/Canadian trip.  Of course we mailed them to him and he was ecstatic.  

General items that are left are shampoo, conditioner, food items, books there is also a huge outlet mall near us so sometimes guests will leave their old shoes/jackets/wallet or even luggage.  If bottles are full we wipe them down and leave them for other guests.  Our holiday guests left a cute table top Christmas tree and some nice glass Tupperware, which they said they didn't want back, so we kept both.  We also once had a guest leave an entire bedding set...comforter, sheets, pillows, we had no idea why they were traveling with a 'bed in a bag' from a foreign country so we tossed it all. 

[Michelle1851]

@Quincy I have not had too many guests, but I am usually happy when my guests leave things behind, it means I get to message them again  and  thank them again for staying at our place.  The items have not been to personal or large and I can easily ship them inexpensively. Usually just a ski hat or glove, most guests  tell me to discard or donate. One man left drawer fulls of items, but he came and picked it up. Nothing exciting. 

I remember as a child my sister left her favorite stuffed animal on an airplane and my parents were frantic trying to replace it, she cried and cried.  If I ever have a child's item left behind,  I will make sure it is returned rapidly.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle1851  So many parents have gone through that- the stuffed animal or security blanket left behind with all the resultant drama and trauma. 

I actually discouraged my kids forming those kinds of "can't be without it" attachments to material things. Of course they had their stuffies and dolls, but it wasn't something they had to take with them everywhere and couldn't fall asleep without.

[Darin57]

We have been open less than two months, and so far we have:

1.  A pair of jean shorts

2. A tea cup

3. A ring (I offered to mail it, but never heard back)

[Emiel1]

Last week: a smart phone, left in the toilet(!)

Guest worked in my area and picked up the item end of the day.

2 weeks ago: a cooking pan, a vase, several socks and a lot of make -up stuff.

Few weeks ago: a bike. Guest assumed i could provide the bike to other guests to use. But i have 5 other orphan bikes in my shed !

[Quincy]

A smartphone?? How can you forget that? 😂 @Emiel1 

I find the bikes left behind also quite a strange one as they aren't that cheap I think? 

[Lorna170]

Yoga pants, jackets, socks, jewelry, unmentionables, etc.  Pretty mundane.  Then we had a guest call in a panic.  Did our housekeeper find the spider in a glass vial in the refrigerator?  Please mail it at once to X university.  The guest was a entomologist.

[Sarah977]

@Lorna170  I love the spider story- did you mail it? 

Thanks for the reminder- I should add entomologist to the list of guests I market towards. I should have been one myself, I love insects and find them fascinating. (Aside from cockroaches) And in the summer here, there are a plethora of them. 

I have a dead vinegaroon in a jar to show my guests, so they don't freak out if they see one. They are the scariest looking bug you'd ever hope (or not hope) to see, but aren't dangerous- they are quite shy, have no toxin and are good guys who eat other bugs, including scorpions. The ones around my place get as big as a dessert plate including the legs.

I've never had a guest leave anything behind other than tee shirts. Once hanging on the bathroom door knob, once wrapped up in the bedding. When I asked the one whether he wanted his Tampa Bay Buccaneers tee back, he said nah, chuck it, pass it on, or I could consider becoming a Buccaneers fan- that all other disappointments in life would pale in comparison. 🙂

[Lorna170]

@Sarah977 , @Quincy   Yes, we mailed the spider to him.  We still have no idea what was so special about it.

[Quincy]

A spider @Lorna170?!? I'd be slightly creeped out when finding that in the fridge! 

[Colleen253]

Underwear. That’s what guests leave me. Nice. Ginchies on the floor behind the bedroom curtains, not clean (!). Panties (clean) hanging to dry in the closet. Stray sock, stuffed behind the entryway table (?). Bra, left under the bed. Though one time a guest left a $100 bill behind the dining room curtain. Better than underwear, but that was unfortunately a one time thing. Not so with underwear. I didn’t return the bill, as I had to evict the guest for trying to throw a party. 

[Sarah977]

@Colleen253  The host Christine from Kansas City, who posts here fairly often, once mentioned she has "underwear tongs" she uses specifically for that purpose.

[Colleen253]

Haha yes, I use my ‘reacher’ 😂 @Sarah977