The Essential Guide to Lost and Found Procedure in Hotels

I learnt about the ‘lost and found procedure in hotels’ at college, but I understood it practically during my internship. In fact, it was the prime task to do every day while submitting the room cleaning report. 

Most of the time, it used to be clothes, food materials, or documents. However, on certain occasions we found guests’ jewelry, gadgets, credit cards, or other such expensive items. 

I’m sure you also must have experienced such situations at your property. But, are you dealing with it the right way? Do you discard the lost and found item properly? There are many such questions regarding lost and found in hotels which people often search on Google. 

So today, in this blog, I will be covering all the aspects and queries related to the lost and found procedure in hotels. But before that, let’s first understand…

What is Lost and Found in Hotels?

As the name suggests, lost and found items are guests’ belongings which have either gone missing or guests have left behind. It could be either during their stay at the hotel, attending any events, or visiting the restaurant for dining.

Some hotels have a separate lost and found department (as a part of the housekeeping operations) to tackle such cases. While others manage it  with the help of housekeeping managers. 

The lost and found policies and procedure of disposing of the items is almost similar across every hotel. 

Let me tell you how it is done step-by-step.

What is the Lost and Found Procedure in Hotels?

Whenever any guest belonging is found unattended in any part of the hotel, the housekeeping department is the first one to be informed. Once done, the particular item is handed over to the housekeeping supervisor/manager. 

The next step is categorising it. Now, there are 4 types of lost and found items:

1. Valuable (jewellery, electronic gadgets, official documents, cash, branded items and credit/debit cards)
2. Non-valuable (clothes and accessories, medicines, stationeries, cosmetics)
3. Perishable (food materials and soft beverages)
4. Liquor (alcoholic beverages)

After identification of the item, it is updated in the lost and found register. Although these days it is done using software, it’s better to maintain a manual register as well. Here’s the basic format of the lost and found report:

Once the details are recorded, the housekeeping supervisor contacts the front desk, in case they have received any communication from any guests pertaining to the missing item. If the response is affirmative, then the guest is informed about their belonging and it is delivered to them. It’s done in two ways:

1. The guests visit the property to collect their belongings
2. The item is couriered to the guests and the delivery charges are paid by them

This becomes easier if the item is found in the guests’ rooms. In such scenarios, tracking the owners is easy and the process gets expedited. However, if the belongings are located in the common areas, this becomes difficult. 

There are certain standardised ways used by hotels for this. Here are they:

1. The non-valuable items stay with the housekeeping department for a period of 3 months. After that, they are given to any staff member who is willing to take it.
2.  If the item is valuable, it is kept for a maximum of 6 months. Post that, it is put for auction by the hotel among their staff. 

Disposing of perishables is too easy. Consume them!!!

Note: Do this if the item is seal packed. If it is partially consumed, discard it in the waste. 

In case it’s a bottle of liquor, it is supposed to be handed to the property’s general manager. 

After returning or disposing of the lost and found items, it is important to enter the remark on how and when it was done. Moreover, this is done under the supervision of the housekeeping manager and security head. 

Before we move to the next point, let me share some interesting statistics with you. As per the survey conducted by G6 hospitality on items left behind by guests, it was found that,

• Around 40-42% of guests forget their clothes and electronic devices in hotels
• It may sound astonishing, but people do travel over 30 miles, just to reclaim their devices’ chargers

You can check this survey report for other such interesting facts. 

How to Make the Lost and Found Procedure in Hotels More Efficient?

I hope you are clear on the steps involved in the lost and found procedure so far. Let me tell you some more things that can help you make it more efficient. 

1. Create and maintain the lost and found report

First of all, ensure that you have recorded each and every detail of the incident. That’s because if the item is valuable, guests tend to file a police complaint on panicking.

If this happens, you should have all the details available with you. Hence, it’s important that you maintain a hard and soft copy of the lost and found report. 

In fact, record the communication you had with guests to avoid any complex situations. 

2. Install CCTV cameras at premises.

CCTV cameras prove useful if the guests’ belongings are found in any common area. First of all, it helps in identifying the person who left that particular item behind. 

Secondly, it’s proof that the item was found, not embezzled. This happens when you are stuck with a guest who is adamant on proving it as a case of theft in the hotel. Trust me, I’ve witnessed such incidents on my trips.

3. Check the room thoroughly before guests’ departure

The best way to avoid any lost and found situation is to check the room thoroughly before guests leave. Also, it’s important to check the safety lockers. 

Often guests keep their valuable items in the safety lockers and forget to take them in a hurry to catch a flight or train. And the locker stays unattended until any housekeeping staff visits the room to get it ready for a new check in. 

4. Sort the items as per category

It’s important to sort the lost and found items according to their category. 

Sometimes the staff members are unaware of certain brands. Hence, they end up listing certain branded items like clothes, shoes, and cosmetics, as non-valuables. 

So, before you sort any item into any category, cross-check the details on Google and proceed accordingly. 

5. Cross check with staff once

If you come across any lost and found items, check with the front desk and housekeeping staff members. Reason being, they are the ones having the majority of communication with the guests. 

In fact, the housekeeping staff has a better knowledge of this, because they come across guests’ belongings while cleaning the room. Hence, if you come across any lost and found items, check with your staff once. 

6. Use technology

It’s difficult to maintain and keep a track of lost and found items if they are in large numbers. That’s why it’s recommended to use software that has automated match making.

It means that guests can simply submit the details of the belongings they have lost. These software are AI based, and hence they try to match the recovered items with the details submitted by guests. 

If a suitable match is found, the owner of the item receives an email along with options of self-pickup or delivery. If the guests choose to get the item delivered, they receive details of shipping charges, courier services on behalf of the hotel.

Once payment is collected, the item is sent to its owner. In fact, the software keeps a track of the delivery and notifies both the parties about every update.