We deliberately left phones and wallets behind

[Chicken]

We deliberately left phones and wallets behind in UK hotel rooms
This is what happened next…

This report is way worse than what I would expect.

OK, I don't think I have ever left things behind in a hotel, but the worst I have done was leaving my backpack on a bus in Sydney, and my whole bag was taken to Waverley bus depot. $150 was still inside my wallet, and the staff at the depot counted out the $150 in front of me to make sure that, well, I dunno, that no one stole my $150 cash?

I wonder if anyone here had left things behind at hotels?

 

[RooFlyer]

I've been thinking of starting a similar thread.

I've left things behind at hotels - nothing really valuable, (eg pair of glasses, power cords/charges (until I tied pink tape on all of them!) etc. )

The times I'm absolutely certain I left them in my room, calling within 24 hrs, I have a 90% rate of 'nothing found' by the hotel.

 

[kpc]

See this post of mine:

Post in thread 'Article: The “Idiot Check” I Do Before Leaving Any Hotel Room'

Jan 16, 2026

I'm paranoid about leaving something behind in the room when I checkout of a hotel room. I do multiple checks!

I once left my favourite work jacket in a hotel in Abu Dhabi. I only realised a few days later back in Sydney when I was looking for the jacket for work!

Thinking back, I then remembered hanging it in the hotel cupboard as the weather was too hot to wear. Rang the hotel, and housekeeping confirmed they had found it!

Put a post on a FB forum and a fellow traveller picked it up for me a month or 2 later!

Thanks again @Mickeyc747

• kpc

• 

 

[drron]

Same here. Fortunately nothing really valuable.
But I once left my wallet in a Sydney Taxi. Remarkable ride from SYD to IC Double Bay as he went the quickest way and less than a Uber quote -my son got that. As well he was Anglo. 5 minutes later we were still in the lobby and the taxi driver appeared with my wallet. Intact as well.

 

[Scarlett]

I was reunited with my laptop power cord earlier this week: left in a Brisbane hotel the week before.
Asked colleague checking out the next day to confirm if it had been handed to lost property and it hadn’t. The hotel would apparently contact me if it was found.
I rang the hotel two days later, still nothing and left another message. Rang again the next and it had been found.
Fortunately we had other staff staying there early this week and so they collected it for me.
The hotel never contacted me and I suspect they couldn’t have cared less.

For posterity and hoping others don’t make a similar mistake, I had it plugged in next to a lamp and the two black cords (one for the lamp and the other for the laptop) looked very similar, so when unplugged for the laptop it was easy to miss.

- - -

Next left behind item was on a transfer bus between parking and the terminal at MAN airport. Travelling on a two month RTW trip with the family including young child meant lots of bags. Left my backpack at the seat footwell. Passport, wallet, laptop etc inside. Noticed very soon after alighting but bus had continued on. Fortunately the bus does a loop. I spoke to the driver of the next bus along the loop and he radioed ahead to the driver of the bus I was on. Nothing found apparently.

So I waited the 20-30 minutes until the same bus reappeared and jumped on to check. Bag was not at the seat. For whatever reason I checked all the way down the bus and there was my backpack stashed at a back corner seat. Hmm, dodgy cough*. I may have said the same to the driver whilst getting off with my bag.

- - -

As for aeroplanes, have NEVER got anything back when left on an aircraft: Mstr Scarlett has left two things behind and Mrs Scarlett one.

 

[HMcM]

Same here. Fortunately nothing really valuable.
But I once left my wallet in a Sydney Taxi. Remarkable ride from SYD to IC Double Bay as he went the quickest way and less than a Uber quote -my son got that. As well he was Anglo. 5 minutes later we were still in the lobby and the taxi driver appeared with my wallet. Intact as well.

Also thankfully not left anything of note in a hotel (at least not since I left a teddy bear in a hotel when I was about 6), but that may be because I will check every nook and cranny before I dare to check out.

But the taxi reminded me of one circumstance where I left a phone in an uber. Back then I had a work phone and my personal phone (so happy to not have that anymore) and was headed to the airport on a work trip. I get out of the uber and cannot for the life of me find my personal phone. That it the phone that has the uber app on it, has my QANTAS app on it with all of my tickets and just about everything else of importance. I check every one of my way too many pockets when I travel and it wasn't there. Walk out to where the uber dropped me off and tried calling it with my work phone a couple of times and couldn't see it.

As I was standing there having a bit of a crisis figuring out how I was going to check in and do my work trip I heard the honking of a car horn from my amazing uber driver who had heard the phone vibrating and done the loop back up to departures at MEL to bring my phone back to me right away. I'm not usually one to tip uber drivers in Australia but he definitely got himself a nice tip after that.

 

[Chicken]

Wow, hotels seem really bad. I would actually have expected that of all places, hotels would be the 'safest' place to lose things. This is really disappointing

 

[kpro]

I left my iPad in the safe at a Hyatt Place in London. The one and only time I've left a device behind, and it was because the case colour blended in with the bottom of the safe so well.

I called the hotel as soon as I realised I had left it behind, and the Manager checked and said housekeeping had found it. The hotel was happy to package it up and hand it to a courier, but I had to pay and arrange the pickup. In the end, I was coming back through Heathrow with a 5 hour layover about a week later anyway, so I just hotfooted it through the train network and picked it up before heading straight back to the airport. I told the manager this beforehand and they had it ready for me.

 

[Beer_budget]

I left a favourite work shirt hanging in an Airbnb wardrobe once, and a neck pillow on a plane (I'm more annoyed about that because it was a tech stop and I went back to the same seat, but it was "gone" and no further discussion would be entered into). Certainly never managed to leave anything valuable, thankfully.

Conversely I've had to take an AC remote back to a hotel that my boss accidentally packed, so karma might be on my side?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Glad to see Travelodge rated well! I’ve always liked them and their staff are great.

 

[lovestotravel]

I've left Bose earbuds behind at two hotels and a travel adapter at another.

First two were small 5 star hotels and I received an email asking what to do with them, hold until I come back, dispose or send somewhere (at my expense). One I had posted to me in AU the other I said dispose.

The Park Hyatt Vienna found my travel adapter and used http://wwwfaundit.com/ to contact me, with a photo and options. As it was only worth about $20 AUD I said they could dispose of it.

 

[SYD]

and a travel adapter at another.

Euro? I hate those sockets. You stick your adaptor into the hole and then plug in a power supply but if you’re not careful, unplugging stuff the adopter stays snuggly in the socket…

It happened to me in HEL at the start of this trip but I realised just before leaving only for it to happen at the next hotel and not realise…

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Left my SUICA card on a train in Tokyo the other day, went back tracing my steps couldn't find it. Of course it had been handed in and was waiting for me at the gates at the station I had arrived at. Japan is so good at this stuff.

My other half left a suitcase on a shinkansen when getting off at Hiroshima the other day. Located at lost property at the terminus (Hakata). Couriered back to Tokyo for 3500 yen. Amazing

 

[luxury-lizard]

Mr LL left his backpack on a train in Switzerland when we had a tight connection - we went to Zermatt, the backpack travelled to Bern. Swiss Rail located it (he reported it an hour later) and sent it to Zermatt - took 2 days to arrive. We were so relieved we bought a bottle of Champagne - said backpack contained a laptop ++

 

[lovestotravel]

Euro? I hate those sockets. You stick your adaptor into the hole and then plug in a power supply but if you’re not careful, unplugging stuff the adopter stays snuggly in the socket…

It happened to me in HEL at the start of this trip but I realised just before leaving only for it to happen at the next hotel and not realise…

Yes, in a rush to leave and correct, the adapter was stuck !

Mr LL left his backpack on a train in Switzerland when we had a tight connection - we went to Zermatt, the backpack travelled to Bern. Swiss Rail located it (he reported it an hour later) and sent it to Zermatt - took 2 days to arrive. We were so relieved we bought a bottle of Champagne - said backpack contained a laptop ++

Ah the Swiss

 

[flyingsal]

As a small child in the 1970s, my brother deliberately left his teddy bear at every single place we stayed. Teddy was always posted home, and is still with my brother today.
Without fail, his argument was that Teddy deserved a holiday and adventure 'all of his own'.
I'm not sure being posted from motels in country Victoria to our home counts as a holiday and adventure, but I do appreciate the sentiment.