I left my Bose headphones at the hotel… and they found them!

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: July 7, 2012

46 comments

I consider travel to be an absolute black hole when it comes to losing stuff. If I leave something in a hotel or on a plane, I fully expect to never see it again.

The good news is that I’m relatively organized, and despite spending half of my time in hotels and in the air, I don’t remember the last time I lost anything (other than my sanity). I have a very specific place I put everything in my laptop bag, and as a result if something is missing it’s very easy for me to tell. Even when I’m at home all that stuff stays in my laptop bag, since I rarely unpack, and it’s the only way I’ll know where everything is.

On Thursday shortly after takeoff on my Boston to Miami flight I had one of those “oh crap” moments, as I reached into my laptop bag and saw that my Bose headphones were missing. I wasn’t actually sure the last time I had seen the headphones. I hadn’t taken them out on my Aer Lingus flight so I assumed they had to be at the InterContinental Boston (where I spent the night), though I also feared they could be back in Ireland.

So when I landed in Miami I called the hotel and they connected me to security. Security sent someone up to the room to search for the headphones, though didn’t find them. I figured as much.

A couple of hours later I got a call from the same person in security saying that the housekeeper had finally turned the headphones in, and that she did so at the end of her shift instead of after cleaning the room. I found that strange (does anyone know what the procedure is for housekeepers when they find something — are they supposed to turn it in right away or at the end of their shift?), though I was thrilled and shocked at the same time that the headphones were found.

The guy at security took my credit card information so they could be sent via Fedex the following morning.

So maybe I’m unnecessarily pessimistic when it comes to recovering things from hotels or planes. If you’ve left something behind at a hotel or on a plane, have you had luck recovering it?

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Kathy Guest

April 5, 2014, 8:05 am

I left a brown leather coat and suit jacket in the hotel closet this past week. Called the hotel and they say it's not there. They talked to the housekeeper and she said nothing was left! I am so bummed...what can I do?

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Conney Guest

August 14, 2013, 6:53 pm

I'm also guilty for leaving things behind. Once an antique watch was left at St.Regis NYC and security called me even before I realized it was missing. They arranged to ship it to me at no cost. Very pleased with them, good guys there. My husband found our son's Ipod through "find my iphone "app and a good samaritan shipped it back to us using our account refusing our reward at the same time. He admitted having the thought of keeping it for a second but thought about the same happening to his own son and did the right thing. A less fortunate experience happened on a major cruiseline, lost a diamond philipstein bracelet. ctcd them as I knew exactly where I left it. I guessed as much, no one turned it in.

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Meaghan Guest

July 28, 2013, 7:07 am

One of my friends is the head of housekeeping at a Marriott, and he said that he's made it protocol at his hotel for the maids to write a note of which room they found anything of value in and to return the notes and items after their shift. Because so many people leave stuff, it's just easier for them to take the item, write down the room they found it in, and carry on instead of taking the time to find your manager, turn in the item, and go back to work, only to find another lost belonging 5 rooms later

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Katrina Guest

December 3, 2012, 10:12 am

Well, unfortunately I stayed on at Disney in Florida. I left 3 bags approximately $220 worth of items purchased at Disney as souveiners. I called less than 5 minutes after our shuttle was on the way to the airport. They returned the call in a few minutes said they had them took my information and never sent them back. I called numerous times a day until the "head of security for my particular hotel" called back and said he had never received a report until the day I spoke to him. I sent in my receipts and still nothing. My plan was to go every four years until my son was 12 or 16. I will never go to Disney again.

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PlowJockey Guest

July 14, 2012, 2:32 am

I'm a little late, but have two stories... although I can't possibly beat the Bangkok gym clothes tale! I left four items in the seatback pocket of an AA flight from London: two hardback books, an iPhone & a nice set of Shure headphones. I realized it only after clearing customs & heading back through security for my connection. Frantic messages to AA, TSA, and DFW security generated silence and buck-passing. AA recovered the iPhone & ONE of the books within 24 hours and mailed them back free. Second story: I left my entire bag of electronics at security in Beijing because they re-ran them along with my pack & I was flustered. Still there 25 minutes later when I returned. I was... thrilled!

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