Best Way to Return Left Behind Items?

Question

Hi all,

Does anyone have a go-to method for returning lost items? I currently have a retainer and a set of car keys and want to get them back to their owners as easily as possible.

Would love any tips or suggestions—thank you in advance!

Lisa Graesser · Answer

If a guest leaves an item that they would like returned, my cleaner will charge $25 + the cost of shipping and send it to them. The guest will send me the payment and I will send to the cleaner.

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Diana Mulvihill, this is always something that happens each year. Not to often in our case but I have done the following:

I actually drove the items over to them on the way home from the house.

In one instance the grandmother lived close so I dropped off stuff there.

I have mailed items back to guests on my dime.

All of these things cost very little (never had a guest leave and anvil or something) and it helps with reviews as well!

Mike Grudzien · Answer

We check over property right after check out.I immediately call the guest. (they might still be in town)I text them a picture.I ask if they want it mailed back.(many folks are willing to skip returning a phone charger.  I now have a collection)They text me the best mailing address.Mail it.  Done.Everyone is happy.:-)

John Underwood · Answer

I send them via USPS with delivery confirmation.

I usually cover the costs, but you could ask to be reimbursed or send you money ahead of time to cover shipping.

Diana Mulvihill · Answer

@Christina B. and @Lisa Graesser

oh my gosh, I have such a collection of fancy beer now! People always leave alcohol. I am not much of a drinker, so I am always saying 'Do you want some fancy beer or wine? I have a garage full of it.' Ha ha ... always trying to give it away to friends ... Thank you for the tip: It's helpful to have different methods shared. I typically put things in a lost and found (also in my garage) unless they are looking for it. With the car keys and the retainer, unsurprisingly, they contacted me right away looking for them. For smaller items like this, I might use @John Underwood 's simple method: For bigger items or if things start being left and requested back more frequently, I may indeed need to both charge for shipping and maybe loop the person who cleans in on it ~ She'd likely appreciate a bit of extra, relatively simple work. Thank you!

Diana Mulvihill · Answer

@Alessandro Di Luciano Apology maybe I was unclear: These are items that the owners have reached out about because they need them and want them returned.

Christina B. · Answer

We do what @Lisa Graesser does and charge cost of shipping along with our cleaner's time (she quotes us). Once I have approval from the guest and payment, our cleaner texts me a photo of the tracking info which I pass along to the owner. One thing to be aware of is that if you do this on the same platform the guest booked on (e.g. VRBO), VRBO still charges both a VRBO commission fee and a payment processing fee. Those fees were irritating as even though I should have known better, our cleaner charged $50 for both postage and her time (heavier items) and while I still had to pay her $50, I actually only received $46 from VRBO as a result of those fees. Great question. I do recommend checking with the guest what their preference is as we've had guests pass on having things such as glasses (!) returned to them. (Someone should start a post here on the funny things guests leave behind, some deliberately because they don't want to cart home beer, mead, etc.!)

Andrew Steffens · Answer

We charge for shipping and an hour labor cost to collect and ship the item.

Recently I stayed at a Hyatt in Denver and left a pair of shorts.  They had a seemingly automated system through ileftmystuff.com where I got an email and cost quotes for shipping.

Alessandro Di Luciano · Answer

Unless you have their contact info and are comfortable reaching out, Honestly handing them off to the local police station is probably your best bet.

take pictures, and record any communications with the authorities to cover your butt. Maybe send an email to the authorities first so you have a paper trail to refer back to.

Best Way to Return Left Behind Items?

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