The Strangest Items Hotel Guests Leave Behind

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

What is the strangest thing you've ever left in a hotel room? If your answer is something along the lines of "socks, toothpaste, and a half-consumed bottle of water," you're not too different from the average hotel guest. But if you've left behind costumes, dolls, or something alive, you've probably stood out to the hotel staff. According to a 2024 study by Hotels.com, it's not uncommon for travelers to forget to pack personal items. Results show that 25% of hotel stays culminate in something being left behind. That said, some of the belongings that end up in a hotel's lost and found are more common than others, and we took the time to identify which ones are truly unique.

To get to the bottom of this mystery, our team spoke to three hotel experts from three different countries. The first is Eric Mendez, who works as a Guest Ambassador at Alaia Belize. The rest wish to remain anonymous, but it should be noted that our second expert spent two years working at a hostel in Portugal, while the third was employed for two years at a major hotel chain in Spain. All three of these individuals have seen some strange things go down in the hotel world — no thanks to some of the more unusual belongings left behind by guests. Interestingly, an intensive Reddit search found that many other hotel employees from around the world share our sources' experiences.

It's not always easy to verify you have packed everything you need for a big trip, and many travelers know it. Whether you are learning how to pack light or simply trying not to forget anything, making the perfect packing list can pose a challenge. What many hotel guests don't realize, however, is that preparing your bags to go home is just as tricky as getting them ready for the trip in the first place. If you don't remember to put everything back into your suitcase, the hotel staff is guaranteed to find what you left behind.

Naturally, this can lead to awkward situations, especially if you forgot something less usual than, say, a sole sock. Speaking to Mendez, we found out that some travelers leave behind some incredibly strange things. "Some of the most unusual items left behind have included a glass eye, a wig, female adult toys, small wooden dolls, crystal rocks, and dental retainers," Mendez dished. Interestingly, Mendez was not the only one to find tooth care items in hotel rooms. According to our source from the Portuguese hostel, retainers were actually one of the most common things that people left behind.

Unfortunately, some of the strangest items that hotel guests leave behind are not just unusual; oftentimes, they actively break the rules of the establishment. According to our source in Spain, people sometimes left cigarettes in the rooms despite the hotel's no-smoking policy. She even told us that she once found "cigarettes all over the floor and an awful smell of tobacco ... around the room." Our insider from the Portuguese hostel reported a similar series of incidents, explaining, "It was usual for us when we had the change of the bedsheets and stuff to find, like, hidden cigarettes under the pillows or the blankets. Or vapes, as well, which were also banned."

Although it can be difficult to stop guests from breaking hotel rules in the moment, it does not mean that it's impossible to prevent them from doing so in the future. Per our Spanish insider, "Hotels have a black list with names of people who have their entry forbidden because they left the room in very bad conditions, they didn't pay, or they had an [improper] behavior." While this may sound extreme, it's actually common practice in hotels around the world. Our hostel source confirmed this, stating, "We definitely had also a blacklist. So, it was definitely easier for us to say, 'No, we are busy,' to someone with bad behavior the last time than getting them kicked out last-minute." Many hotels also charge guests fines for smoking.

Some hotel guests, sadly, break more than hotel rules. Many actually go so far as to break the law and bring illicit or illegal substances into rooms. This can cause quite a bit of stress for hotel staff, who oftentimes discover these strange items when travelers leave them behind. Our Spanish source told us of an unfortunate incident when a hotel guest actually left cocaine in their room. "The room was a complete disaster," she recalled. "Everything was on the floor, dirty, and cocaine was all over the furniture ... Dirty in the bathroom. The bed linen on the floor."

Although this incident may not sound particularly unusual, multiple hotel employees report similar experiences. Our source, who worked in Portugal, told us that the hostel where he was employed was located near a lot of bars and nightclubs. Apparently, many of the guests who stayed at the establishment were involved in the illegal side of the party scene. As our insider put it, "A lot of times, there would be reckless behavior. And not only a mess, but a lot of times, we would hear that they were making a lot of noise at night. And, then, the next day during the cleaning, we would find the drugs." This inevitably made for an extra difficult clean-up that only complicated things for the hotel staff.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Most of what people leave behind in hotel rooms is not particularly pricey. As our source from the Portuguese hostel explained, "Personal hygiene [items] — soap, shampoo, and food items, as well" were the usual culprits. The Spanish hotel insider also added that "Underwear was a common thing." That being said, there were many times when people would leave more expensive items like cellphones or AirPods in their hotel rooms. On one occasion, a guest felt so anxious about a missing wristwatch that they began accusing the staff of theft.

Describing this horrific situation, our Portugal-based source recalled, "We had a really unfortunate incident ... once someone claimed to have left an expensive watch ... We looked for it in the entire place but we couldn't find the watch there." Before long, the guest in question began doling out accusations, causing tensions in the hostel to rise. Ultimately, the watch was found — just not in the place that the traveler was expecting.

"After a few days of pushing for that narrative, the person eventually found the watch [in their own belongings]. But those were really tense days where we were just trying our best. But being accused of something that you didn't do is really unpleasant." This story stands as a reminder that it costs nothing to be kind. Hotel staff members have made a profession of supporting guests in their travels. To treat them poorly, in turn, is incredibly disrespectful.

Most hotels and hostels provide guests with towels that they can use to take a shower or a bath during their stay. While the vast majority of visitors use the towels provided by their accommodations, not everybody is so keen. As our source from the Portuguese hostel told us, "One of the weirdest things that we found is [that] one of our guests stayed there for two weeks, and we were surprised to find when they checked out ... a clean towel." At the time of their stay, it was summer. The hostel staff privately wondered if the guest simply did not shower for the entire time of their stay.

It is possible that the guest in question brought their own towel to the hostel. After all, we consider this household item the one thing you should always pack for a trip. That said, seeing a perfectly clean set of towels in someone's room was very strange for the hostel's employees, as it was impossible to determine why they hadn't been used once, over the course of a fortnight. 

Ordering room service can be a luxury experience, but not all hotels offer this service to guests. Because of this, one would think that not all hotel employees unlock a room to find a half-eaten meal on the desk. This assumption, however, would be wrong. Our source from the Portuguese hostel told us that his former place of employment did not offer any kind of meal delivery service. In spite of this, he would often step inside a room to find abandoned food items. "Sometimes we would have the pleasure of finding half-eaten meals over someone's bed, and this someone had already checked out," he said.

Like many other European hostels, the one where our insider was employed actually offered a kitchen space to guests who wished to cook during their stay. This led to many travelers leaving food items in this common space. "They would leave [food] in the common cabinets or mostly in the fridge. That's why we would have to routinely go [through] the cabinets and the fridge to make sure we didn't have any expired products in there," he recalled. With this in mind, we recommend that travelers be extra careful to throw away their food items before traveling home. If you are staying in a hostel, please do a sweep of the kitchen before you head out the door, as this creates less work for hotel employees. 

Hotels are famous for offering complimentary items, ranging from the buffet breakfast to coffee capsules to little plastic cups. While none of these perks may seem especially valuable in the grand scheme of things, some hotel guests have been known to bring loads of them up to their hotel rooms. Naturally, though, these guests don't want to travel with the aforementioned items and end up leaving them behind at the end of their stays.

Reflecting on an instance where this occurred, one hotel employee took to the r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk subreddit on Reddit. "[I found] Like 100 coffee cups from the lobby. They were still wrapped in plastic, but the guest had apparently taken some every day of their stay and been hoarding them in the room," they wrote. Interestingly, it seems that coffee cups are not the only complimentary item that ever goes missing. The same Redditor went on to note, "They do the same with bottles of water. Ask for 2 every time they walk by the desk, then have 35 full, unopened bottles of water left in the room by the time they leave." 

There are tons of strange things that guests leave behind in their hotel rooms, but none is as shocking as an actual human. Unfortunately, however, one hotel employee faced a scenario where this happened at their place of work. Recalling the situation in the r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk subreddit on Reddit, "It was a case of each parent thinking the other had the child and they didn't leave the property before they realized, but yeah. Dad came to the desk to ask for the keys back because the baby was still in the room. I don't know why he would admit it, but it's my favorite story from the desk."

As horrifying as this scenario might sound, it is important for all new parents to be prepared when traveling with a little one. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to avoid unnecessary stress when traveling with a baby. If you are planning to stay at a hotel with a little one, you can often request that the establishment set up a crib for you. You can also try packing toddler road trip essentials to keep your child entertained on the road. Most importantly, though, you should keep an eye on your baby at all times to ensure that they are adequately cared for — no matter where in the world you are planning to take them.

Since leaving items behind at a hotel is a fairly common experience, it is recommended that guests reach out to the business for assistance. Guest ambassador Mendez explained that travelers need to be as proactive as possible about recovering lost items. "As soon as guests realize they've left something behind, they should reach out to the resort team with their name, stay dates, room number if possible, a description of the item, and contact information," he explained. This information can help hotel staff identify your item in its lost and found bin. 

Once hotel workers know who a specific item belongs to, they are able to send it back to the person by post. Yes, hotels can mail the items you left behind. It's actually one of the secret things you can ask for from a hotel. If you never reach out about your lost belongings, they will likely be donated or even repurposed. While clothes tend to make it into the donation box, other items are kept on-site so other guests can use them. As Mendez shared, "some surprisingly great books [are kept] at the front desk for future guests to borrow."

Although hotel employees do their best to return missing belongings to the rightful owner, there are cases where this is simply impossible. Some items are simply too strange to send back, and some are not welcome by the postal service. Writing in the r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk subreddit on Reddit, one hotel employee remembered a time when a guest left bear mace in their room. "The best part was when the guest later called and asked us to mail it back to them in a blatant attempt to make transporting it across state lines be our responsibility. We declined. And then had to figure out how ... to properly dispose of bear mace," they wrote. 

Contraband items aren't the only impossible things to transport. Some guests leave behind belongings that are extremely expensive, creating an unnecessarily difficult situation for the hotel to navigate. As a second hotel employee shared in Reddit's r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk subreddit, "A guest once left their makeup bag which was massive and weighed at least 10lbs, she wanted next day shipping which came to about $230 which was almost $100 more than the cost of her stay." These sorts of requests add a unique burden to hotel employees, who want to provide good customer service but also can't run their employer out of business. To avoid this kind of sticky situation, it's best not to leave anything behind in the first place.

If you'd like to avoid all the drama that goes along with forgetting to pack your belongings, the best thing you can do is make sure that everything makes it inside your bags. To do this, you can consult your packing list and check off items one by one as you add them to your bag. Afterward, you can go around your hotel room and double-check that you didn't leave anything behind. As Mendez told us, "We recommend that all guests do one final sweep of their room before checking out. This includes checking the safe, all drawers, closets, under the bed, and even the balcony."

Mendez also suggests verifying you have all of your valuables — like IDs and credit cards — before you leave the hotel premises. "Be sure to double-check for important documents like passports. Think of it as your own 'pre-flight checklist,' just like pilots do before takeoff," he added. You can even try this simple hack to avoid leaving items in the hotel safe. Not only will following these suggestions allow you to enjoy a smoother travel experience, but it will also make things easier for hotel employees.