Where would you find a life-size R2-D2 robot, a money tree bearing £50 notes to the value of £10k a William Shakespeare outfit & skull, a 6ft cuddly polar bear, a case of union jack face masks, a 60 year old marriage certificate, a stethoscope and an adorable Siberian Husky called Saskia – where else but Travelodge’s lost and found office.
Today, Travelodge has revealed some of the interesting items left behind in its 563 hotels during the last 12 months. With millions of people annually staying in a Travelodge hotel across the length and breadth of the UK - detailed below are some of the other unusual treasures that have been left:
· A 50-year-old football sticker book belonging to a devoted Liverpool FC fan
· A message in a bottle which was a wedding proposal
· A Cartier engagement ring
· A suitcase full of board games
· Keys to a new Bentley car
· A DJI Inspire Drone
· A personalised Hilti drill
· A 60 year old marriage certificate
· A valuable stamp collection
· A MOVA metallic globe
· Two first class tickets to the Maldives
· A 3ft diffuser with Italian orange fragrance
· A philosophy, politics and economics degree from Oxford university
· A Swarovski wedding crown
· A diary belonging to a nurse
· A small army of 6ft tall Nutcracker soldiers
· A lucky penny
This year, as Travelodge kept some of its UK hotels open during both lockdowns to support key workers, local authorities and businesses that could travel for work, the Travelodge hotel teams which are located close to hospitals reported finding a range of interesting items left behind by customers in the medical profession.
This has included a stethoscope being left behind by a doctor at High Wycombe Travelodge, a lab coat being left behind at Manchester Upper Brook Street Travelodge and a scrub set forgotten to be packed at London Central Kings Cross Travelodge.
The hotel team at Chelmsford Travelodge went the extra mile to reunite a customer who was a nurse with her precious diary that documented her professional career throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to date. Also a large box of Union Jack printed face masks were left behind at London Central Waterloo Travelodge Plus.
This year’s audit also reveals that items associated with weddings still dominate the Travelodge lost and found bizarre inventory list. This includes a money tree bearing £50 notes to the value of £10k which was left behind by a forgettable bride’s mother at Birmingham Central Bullring Travelodge. It is their family tradition for family members to attach £50 notes as a gift onto a miniature tree which is then presented to the bride and groom at their wedding ceremony.
One forgetful bridesmaid staying at Burford Cotswolds Travelodge forgot to take a 3ft Italian diffuser bottle to the wedding reception venue which had been especially imported over from Florence, Italy for its bespoke fragrance of lemon, orange flowers, rose, jasmine and wood. Luckily the hotel manager arranged for the diffuser to be safely transported to the venue ahead of the bride arriving.
A groom staying at Edinburgh Central Travelodge had to send a courier to pick up his wife’s surprise wedding present that he had forgotten to pack – a 6ft tall cuddly polar bear. Whilst the hotel manager from Gatwick Airport Central Travelodge PLUS had to literally jump queues, to reunite newlyweds with their first class tickets to the Maldives.
An elderly couple staying at Cardiff Atlantic Wharf Travelodge who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary forgot their framed marriage certificate, luckily they returned back to the hotel after their tour of Wales to collect it. (The couple had initially met in Wales and they wanted to relive their courtship which is why they took a tour of Wales).
A housekeeping team member at Leamington Spa Travelodge got quite the surprise when they found six life-size nutcracker soldiers standing to attention when she entered a room to clean it. An events coordinator who had been staying in the room had forgotten to take the soldiers for a Christmas themed wedding she was organising.
Forgetful business travellers have also left behind an array of expensive and interesting items. This includes keys to a brand new Bentley car being left behind at Chester Central Bridge Street Travelodge. A guest staying at London City Travelodge Plus forgot his bespoke MOVA metallic globe which highlighted his world-wide companies and sent his PA to collect it.
A stockbroker staying at London Central Bank Travelodge forgot a file which contained £500k share certificates whilst a construction boss was devastated when he left behind his lucky personalised Hilti drill at Solihull Travelodge. A CEO staying at Aberdeen Travelodge missed his flight home as he had to return back to the hotel to pick up his lucky penny that he has been carrying around for 40 years.
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge spokeswoman, said, “With millions of customers annually staying at our 563 hotels across the length and breadth of the UK for thousands of different reasons, we do get a range of interesting items left behind. This year’s audit includes: A R2-D2 robot, A William Shakespeare’s outfit with skull, a money tree bearing £50 notes, a 60 year old marriage certificate, a 6ft cuddly polar bear and a message in a bottle wedding proposal.”
“This year, as we kept some of our hotels open during both lockdowns to support local communities and provide accommodation for key workers, local authorities and for businesses that could travel for work we have seen a rise in items being left behind by medical professionals. This includes a stethoscope, scrubs, crocs and a nurse’s personal diary documenting their experience of working through the pandemic plus lots of personalised face masks.
When it comes to why so many of our customers forget their treasured items, it’s basically due to us all being time poor, juggling multiple tasks and being in a hurry to get from A to B. In the rush, valuable possessions are easily forgotten.”