Items left in hotel and Housekeeping "knows nothing" - what would you do?
 

I have been traveling ALOT over the past month. 3 trips to CA, 1 to NJ, 1 to Dallas, all since the last week of April.

My most recent trip to NJ I was in an "overflow" hotel from where the meeting that I was assisting with was being held. The last day of the sessions I had to get back to the over-flow hotel and pack, then drag all of my luggage back to the host hotel. I was on a time crunch and in my hast I forgot to empty a drawer that had about 8 shirts and some other items.

As soon as I got home and unpacked I realized that the items were missing then remembered that I forgot to empty the drawer.

I immediately emailed the hotel (it was late at night on a sunday). I did not receive a call back or a response. I then called, every day for 3 days and could not get "the right" person to talk to.

Finally, I was able to talk to the manager of the hotel who said they talked to their housekeeping manager who said there were no items left in the room.

The clothing is nowhere to be found - I KNOW that I left them in the hotel. I have emailed the hotel's corporate email address with no response.

Does anyone have a recommendation or do I just have to take the loss?

I', really sorry for the loss of your clothing, but the hotel cannot possibly be responsible for the loss of your items, even if they're stolen.
I believe it even says that on your reciept and on the post on the back of your hotel door.
Always take the time to check the room just one more time before you leave, including closets and drawers.

You may try being a pest to the manager he might eventually come up with something to get you to leave him alone. Or did you happen to have trip insurance or pay with a credit card.

I understand it's not their fault, and that I am responsible for my own belonging, I'm just hoping someone has been in a similar situation and was able to somehow get it resolved.

My husband recently had this happen to him and he eventually found the "right" person and they had found his left item (cell phone charger). I'd keep calling - it can't hurt. I can't imagine that someone would really want used clothing. I'd say you'd have less of a chance if it was something like a camera.

E-mail to a corporate office won't do any good. A certified letter may help. But most likely they will forward it to that same hotel asking to take care of it, you will get a call that nothing was found. Sorry.

And what a contrast - just 2 months ago a cleaning lady ran out of the room shouting to stop our tour bus - somebody left an old umbrella, and she thought he forgot it!

Hi cfntmpn, I had the exact same thing happen in Italy. Long story but I had food poisoning all night. The morning of our noon flight I managed to pack. Got home and didn't have any of my valuable items, expensive belts, some jewelry, a beautiful Italian leather purse etc. A friend in Italy who knows the hotel manager went to the hotel for us. He was told and later we were told via a letter from the hotel "that nothing was found in the room or the drawer".
I was sick about the loss, especially since the items had all been purchasd in Italy for me by my husband so besides the financial loss there was the sentimental loss. But a lesson well learned..always check every drawer, shelf etc. Best wishes.

This just happened to me too. I left a twin set hanging in the closet, I don't know how I left it, but took everything else, but I did. We left the hotel on Saturday, got home late Saturday night and I called on Sunday morning. I talked to someone in their "lost and found" department who took my name, phone number, room number and description of the item. He said he'd call me back. After two weeks, I began to get a little annoyed. Yes, it's my own stupid fault that I left my stuff there, and I didn't really expect to get it back. But, when someone tells me they'll get back to me, and they don't I get a bit put out. So I called the general manager and talked to his assistant, who got the "lost and found" person to call me back later in the day. Of course, they hadn't found my twinset and he was "waiting for the laundry to come back in case it was in there". Don't use the laundry in that hotel, it takes over two weeks!

We had had a lovely stay and had no complaints at all. While I know it's my own fault, I think it's sad that people are so dishonest.

I would definitely keep calling. I used to work in a hotel and we had a lost and found. Good luck, but I would definitely call corporate.

The problem is you don;t really know what happened to the stuff. Yes - the staff is supposed to clean out the room between guests - but how often do you think they really check every drawer? (I've found some things in drawers that make it apparent that no one had looked into them for several days at least - and at 5* hotels.)

So a maid may have found your stuff. Or the next guest may have it. Really the only chance to get anything back is to call the hotel before the room is cleaned and get someone in authority to go get your items. After that - there's no way of telling what happened to it.

What about your homeowner's insurance? Or - if it's a business trip that was ill-planned by the company perhaps they would step up and help out.

If we leave something in a hotel, I consider it gone forever.

Our son left his wallet on a table in a hotel in Wyoming last summer. Called hotel and they "checked with housekeeping" - no wallet. We were 100% sure it was there, but our son considered it a consequence of his own stupidity. He cancelled credit cards, etc. and then realized he needed photo ID to fly home.

More phone calls to hotel, asking them to check again. Left our phone number. Four days later they called and said they had miraculously found it - we drove 200 miles to pick it up - all cash was gone from wallet. Did not mention it to hotel or make a deal out of it - what was the point, since it was there word versus ours.

So you did all I think it is reasonable to do - call. If they deny having it, end of story. I do think hotel could have been more responsive, but in the end, I think you would get the same unhappy answer.

Just to give the other side of the story; a couple of months ago I left my leather jacket in the closet of a hotel room in Montana. I called the hotel when I realized it that evening (and 400 miles away). Not only did I get it shipped to me at home but also our atlas book and my boyfriend's sweater, which neither of us had noticed we left behind. Of course, I had to give them my credit card number for the FedEx shipment.

cfntmpn, you should make a point of talking directly to Housekeeping. Eight is alot of shirts! If they were found, somebody will remember. I'd think this kind of stuff is often below the GM's radar, but housekeeping may know about it (and be very specific: "men's dress shirts" or "ladies knit tops" would be better than just "shirts").

Best of luck.

I thought I learned the lesson years ago to never but anything in a hotel room drawer, but I did it on a recent trip to Spain and now I'm waiting for its return.

Never again. I hope.

Homeowners policy..covers theft of personal property over your HO deductible. Turn in claims for theft of personal property and you will find in most cases your insurance company will not renew your HO policy or only will with a maximum deductible.

And items missing from your vacated hotel room is not considered theft but mysterious dissaperance..which is not covered unless the item(s) is covered under a personal property (Inland Marine) policy.

Again, unless someone honest discovers the items you forgot in your hotel room and turns it into the hotel just consider it a "loss" and forget about it..except to make sure in the future you try to check every nook and cranny before vacating a hotel room.

I once left a cell phone charger in a hotel room in LA. A month or two later I was at the hotel again and thought to asked about it. I remembered my room number and they returned it.
It never hurts to keep trying.

I have left a necklace and my son left a ball cap, we never received either. Both times I called within a matter of a few hours of checking out. To me it comes down to honest and dishonest people. I also think the hotels should be responsible to a certain point. I would even pay alittle extra for it...

There are some great housekeeping staff folk out there too. I once left a notebook in which I had been writing notes and making lists for a business project. As soon as I got home I realized I had left it there, called housekeeping in the hotel, and would you believe they had it and overnighted it to me no charge? I was truly impressed. It was the Hyatt in Washington DC.

I work for a hotel in Arizona and I know at our hotel when inspections are done after the room has been cleaned we check everything including all drawers. But I can see it possible for people to not inspect the rooms and trust the housekeepers and then the next guest gets the shirts.

As a general rule hotels will keep lost items for 1 or 2 months before sending it to goodwill or trashing it. At least my hotel and the hotels around me do.

i once left a phone charger at a hotel in munich. this was returned to me on my next visit...however, if i was unsuccessful with one try, i would have given up.

like nyt, i also opened a drawer in a very nice hotel to find some clothing (quite expensive) from a previous guest. it's probably fair to say that many people would take it under these circumstances. i left a note for the maid who may have turned it in, donated it or kept it.

you've tried and if they had it in their lost and found box you would have been told this by now. now it's time to forget about it.