9 Items Most Often Left Behind at Hotels

Chargers

Chargers, most commonly cell-phone chargers, top hotels' lists of left-behind items. It's easy to see why: They're total wallflowers, and you really only think of them when your phone's battery warning flashes. Yet they're vital to a functional phone, so it's worth taking the extra time to remember the unsung hero of your connectivity.

Tip to Remember: The last time you use your charger before departing, make sure to set your plugged-in phone on top of something else you won't forget, say, a purse or day bag. Clustering items makes them less likely to be left behind, and the tethered effect of picking up a plugged-in phone will likely remind you what it's attached to.

Clothes

When it comes to clothing in hotel rooms, the problem is often out of sight, out of mind. Stowing items in closets or drawers keeps things organized during your stay but can backfire when you're packing in a hurry. The bathroom can be another hiding place for clothes attempting to defect from your suitcase.

Tip to Remember: Make it a habit to do a last scan of the room—one that includes looking in the bathroom (as well as behind the bathroom door on any hooks), in closets, and under the bed.

Glasses

It's charming when you can't find your glasses because they're on top of your head, but less so when it's because you left them behind at the hotel. You can miss much of the magic of travel when you're struggling to see, so glasses really are a vital travel companion.

Tip to Remember: When you're finished with your glasses, pop them in your bag instead of setting them down somewhere. Since the stakes are higher when you're on a trip, it's worthwhile to make the extra effort to keep your glasses accounted for.

Dentures and Hearing Aids

Do people really leave their teeth and ears behind? Dentures and hearing aids made enough hotels' lists that it really does seem to be a bona fide trend. We're going to blame automatic checkout for this one, since we assume that hotel guests who check out in person would notice if they suddenly couldn't form consonants crisply or hear what the clerk was saying.

Tip to Remember: Before heading out, give yourself a 10-second pep talk in the mirror. Does anything look amiss? Does your winning smile look convincing? Can you hear yourself? Then congratulations, you haven't forgotten anything.

Toiletries

Travel-sized toiletries are small, and they tend to hide out in unassuming locations like showers, counter corners, and bedside tables. But since basic hygiene quickly crumbles without them, it's worth taking the time to make sure you've rounded them all up, stowed them in a kit, and tucked them in your suitcase.

Tip to Remember: During your stay, try to keep your toiletries in one place instead of spreading them around the bathroom (or room). During that last scan of the room, be sure to check the shower.

Car Keys and House Keys

Keys are incredibly useful … until you're nowhere near the thing they unlock. After all, who wants to lug unnecessary keys around a new city? In the course of rearranging baggage and day bags, keys can find their way into the open air of a hotel room and, if you're not careful, not make it back home.

Tip to Remember: If you're at a hotel, you don't need your house keys. Zip them safely into your bag and leave them there.

Laptops

As mobile offices and an easy way to stay connected, laptops work hard and play hard. But they're also often left behind when we lock the door to our hotel room. Sometimes that's because, in the interest of security, we've tucked them somewhere out of sight—under a pillow, say, or in a desk drawer. But it can also happen when we're using the laptop for a last-minute necessity such as flight check-in, and we simply forget to close and stow it before running out the door.

Tip to Remember: Stop yourself from forgetting that laptop (or any other item you worry you'll leave behind) by sticking a reminder post-it to the inside of the door or wedging a note (written on hotel stationery) into some part of the lock you'll have to touch to leave the room.

Jewelry

Worn with the right outfit, jewelry may make a bold statement, but at the end of the night it gets downright shy—slipping behind nightstands or slithering off bathroom vanities into forgotten corners. In hotel rooms, where there's not always a special spot to stow jewelry, it's particularly easy to misplace—and leave without—your favorite baubles.

Tip to Remember: When you take jewelry off, put it somewhere safe. Consider a small pouch that you set aside specifically for earring and the like, so it always has a home away from home.

Reading Material

Books (and e-readers) may be full of words, but they can't utter a syllable to remind you to pack them. As one of the most-forgotten items at many hotels, we can only assume they make the lost and found a far more cultured place.

Tip to Remember: Keep all your reading materials in one place—for instance, stacked on a side table or chair. That way, you'll only need to look in one spot when it comes time to pack. And if you regularly leave books or other items behind in hotel rooms, consider creating a reverse packing list, where you check off the items you arrived with as you repack them safely in your bags.

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