Strangest Items Left in Hotel Rooms: Surprising Findings from Hotels.com
Hotels.com has released a “Hotel Room Innsights Report” that reveals the most common and surprising items left behind by travelers.
The company, based in Dallas, Texas, gathered information from more than 400 of their partner hotels worldwide.
The report showcases some truly bizarre items guests have inadvertently left behind. Among the most extraordinary discoveries are a pet lizard, an unattended chicken, a stunning $6 million watch, and even a solitary car tire. These peculiar items, once nestled in the corners of transient lives, now serve as reminders of the strange tales that hotels can harbor.
Travel often invites moments of distraction, making it no surprise that high-worth possessions occasionally slip from travelers’ minds. Notably, the priciest items forgotten include a coveted Birkin bag and a luxurious Rolex watch, both emblematic of elegance and grandeur.
The report also highlights that ten percent of hotels reported guests leaving behind their dentures—a testament to the frantic pace of modern travel. “Despite efforts like ‘lost and found’ boxes, some hotel staff have gone to the extreme to reunite guests with their possessions,” the report states, illuminating the dedication and creativity found within hotel staff.
Hotels.com affectionately refers to these diligent workers as “hotel hero[es].” Illustrated by one staff member who drove 100 miles to return a forgotten passport, another ran several blocks to deliver misplaced items just before a cruise ship sailed. One even embarked on a quest to replace a lost teddy bear for a young traveler, showcasing the lengths to which hospitality workers will go in service of their guests.
The report also chronicles some of the strangest room service requests ever recorded. Guests have asked for an Evian-filled bathtub, a hefty four pounds of bananas, and even a caviar hot dog. Each request serves as a playful reminder: within the hotel industry, anything is possible.
“At Hotels.com, we know hotels inside and out – it’s in our name. By asking hotels to reveal the secrets behind their most memorable stays, we discovered that these ‘innsights’ have actually inspired services available to guests today,” said Melanie Fish, the vice president of global public relations at Hotels.com, while issuing the report.
Along with these unique stories, the company shared details about common items left behind across their hotels:
Most common items left behind by hotel guests
1. Chargers and power banks
2. Dirty laundry and clothes
3. Adapters
4. Makeup and toiletries
5. Underwear
In considering these findings, one can’t help but reflect on the ebb and flow of travel—a dance between chaos and enjoyment. Such moments remind us of the fleeting nature of experience, where its brilliance can be overshadowed by the simplest of human errors. The belongings we leave behind tell stories of lost moments, and often, in the grand scheme, emphasizing that every journey, however tangled, is part of a much larger tapestry of life.
