Getting lost items back from some of the UK's largest hotel chains can be a frustrating experience, according to a recent investigation by consumer group Which?. The study found that less than half of guests surveyed in a separate poll (46 percent) were reunited with belongings they had left behind in hotel rooms over the past five years, with common items including phones, tablets, clothing, and cosmetics.
To test hotel procedures, Which? investigators intentionally left an iPhone equipped with Apple's Find My tracking and a wallet containing £30 and a slim tracker in rooms at seven major hotel chains. The goal was to see if the hotels would proactively contact the guest or if the items would be returned.
The results were largely disappointing. Out of the seven establishments tested, only one hotel contacted the guest about the found item. In one instance, an iPhone left at the Britannia Hampstead Hotel in London was tracked to the hotel for several days before its location was lost. The owner had to contact the hotel four times before being informed the phone had not been found. It has not been returned.
A spokesperson for Britannia Hotels stated, "We are disappointed to hear about this experience, which falls short of the standard of service we aim to provide our guests. We take all reports of lost property seriously and are reviewing the circumstances of this case, along with our internal lost property procedures, to ensure items are handled consistently and every reasonable effort is made to reunite guests with their belongings."
Another hotel, Holiday Inn Express Wandsworth, also showed poor performance. After a guest called twice about a lost wallet, they were told it could not be found. However, the tracker confirmed its presence at the hotel. When the researcher visited in person, the wallet was located in the lost property box.
The only hotel that proactively contacted the guest about a found item was Travelodge in London Battersea.
Policies for returning items also vary among hotels. Holiday Inn Express requires guests to arrange and pay for a £10 courier service, while Travelodge London City offered to post an iPhone back for free. VisitBritain guidelines state that hotels may charge for returning items, but the fee must be reasonable and limited to actual costs. The guidelines also emphasize that hotels should make every effort to contact guests about found property rather than simply storing it.
