What should host do if guests leave something behind

[Sarojini0]

One of my guests left behind a T-shirt. I messaged her to find out what she wanted done. She replied that if I could post it and she will pay for the postage. So I posted it which was $10.20

i told her that I had posted the parcel and let me know if she’s received it or not. I haven’t had any response from her till now. It’s not the money I’m concerned about, just wanted to know if she had received the parcel or not.

What I would like to know that if guests leave things what should I do.

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

If the guest wants something they left behind I would have them pre-pay for shipping before ever sending them the item. It is guests responsibility to check before leaving that they don't leave anything behind 🙂

[Sharon493]

This happened to me in the summer. a guest from Belgium left his wife's entire week's outfits in my wardrobe!. It took him days to respond to my messages and his suggestion was to ship them all back to him in Belgium (I am in the South of France) with no mention of recompense. I contacted CS who agreed but advised me to get proof of posting in case they needed to intervene. I decided against this course of action. His next idea was that I should deliver this considerable bundle to an address 30 miles away. I again declined. After 2 weeks he arranged for a courier to collect the items from me. I live in fear of this ever happening again.

[Sarah977]

I've had guests leave things behind and I mesage to see if they want them back. Sometimes they say, no, just passit on or use as a rag. One woman left a tee-shirt that she did want back, and I just asked the following guest , who lived in the same country as the first, if she could post it when she returned. I gave her $5 for the postage- (it was a tiny package) because the guest who had left it had actually left before her stay was over (nothing to do with my place, it was the first time she'd travelled outside her own country and said she was homesick) and didn't expect or ask for any refund. I even offered, but she declined.

But if a guest expected me to mail something back, I would normally expect them to send me enough $ to cover the postage. 

[Colleen253]

@Sarojini0  Its a lot of extra work and expense to deal with left behind items. After I'd dealt with a few, I added a note on the check out page to 'please check and double check you have all your belongings'. I also put the same note on the door...can't miss it when leaving. I haven't had anyone forget anything since. 

[Michelle53]

In the US, one can get Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes from the Post Office. Small, Medium, Large.  I keep a supply of those, just in case, and I can tell the guest right away how much shipping would cost.  Up to 70lbs ships for the same rate.    I always charge the guest the fee first, through the Resolution Center, and ship once payment has been received.  I send them a copy of the tracking receipt through the message center. 

[Emilia42]

I've mailed a few things back to guests. It is a lot of extra time and work to coordinate info with the guest, package the item and get it to the post office. Especially, since many guests ask for an estimated shipping cost to decide if mailing the item is worth it. Once it is in the postal service hands, I consider myself done with it and I don't worry about it any further. 

[Susan1404]

@Sarojini0- I don't contact guests if they leave something.  I do store them for about 30 to 60 days and if the guest contacts me and is willing to pay the postage up front before I ship, then I will return it.  If I don't hear from them, I eventually give them to a charity or throw it away. 

[Emilia42]

@Susan1404, I used to work at a hotel and that was the policy. We would hold the item and the guest would have to contact us if they thought they had left it. We had full wallets with driver's licenses, credit cards and actual cash sitting in the safe and no one ever called to claim them. 

[Colleen253]

@Emilia42  What would they eventually do with the wallets that were never claimed? As a host, that is something I would be loathe to have to deal with. Much different than a tatty old t shirt!

[Susan1404]

@Emilia42- I have heard several times that hotels operate in this manner and that is why I decided to do the same.  Like @Colleen253 , I would be curious to know what happened to people's wallets.  That's definitely not a throwaway or something to donate to charity (except may be the cash).

[Sarojini0]

Thank you all for your advice. You’ve all been very helpful