12th January 2017

Where would you find a Sikh ceremonial helmet, a British Blue Shorthair cat called Yoda, an antique stained glass window, a necklace made from £50 notes, a trio of prosthetic legs each wearing a designer shoe, wedding vows from the 1950s and a brass octagonal gramophone - where else but Travelodge’s Lost & Found office.

Today, one of the UK’s largest independent hotel chains, Travelodge, has revealed some of the more interesting items left behind in its 525 UK hotels during the last 12 months.

With over 18 million people annually staying in a Travelodge hotel, some of the other booty that has been left behind includes

·       Keys to a haveli (which is a mansion) in Delhi, India  

·       A Barrister’s forensic wig and gown

·       A monkey puzzle tree

·       A Swarovski encrusted waving cat

·       A gold portrait of Elvis Presley

·       A pair of 4ft pillars covered in fresh white roses

·       A large vintage cuckoo clock

·       A pair of round the world cruise tickets

·       Film footage from a TV documentary programme

·       A suitcase full of rupees

·       A forty year old teddy bear belonging to a Chief Executive 

·       A three piece Tom Ford suit

In addition to the examples listed above one customer staying at Harrogate Travelodge forgot to pack their beloved Shih Tzu called Harold - and only realised after driving for 40 minutes down the M62.

The housekeeper at Dundee Strathmore Travelodge got a pleasant surprise when she opened the door to room 14 at the hotel and found a family of three generations of gnomes – chilling out in the roo

One fashion conscious customer left behind a trio of prosthetic legs at Manchester Piccadilly Travelodge. Each leg wore a different designer shoe. (This included a Valentino, Gucci and Mui Mui shoe)   

Interestingly, during 2016 quite a few business travellers have been very forgetful and some of the more unusual left behinds have included: keys to a haveli (a mansion) in Deli, India. A Swarovski encrusted waving cat, a lucky charm in the Chinese culture which attracts good luck and fortune. The businessman was so distraught about leaving his lucky cat behind that he arranged for a special overnight courier to collect it and bring it back to him.          

One business customer staying at Bank Travelodge left behind his annual company accounts and one CEO was in such a hurry to get to his meeting that he forgot his teddy bear, which has been his companion for forty years.

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: “With over 18 million customers annually staying across our 525 UK Travelodge hotels for a variety of reasons we do get some interesting and precious items being left behind such as a cat called Yoda, a necklace made of £50 notes and wedding vows from the 1950’s.

“As more business customers are now staying with Travelodge than ever before, this year’s inventory list includes some interesting business related items such as: a set of annual corporate accounts, a suitcase of invoices, new Mercedes AMG car, a Swarovski encrusted waving lucky cat charm belonging to a successful businessman and a forty year old teddy bear whose owner is a CE

“Our customers tell us that the pace of modern life is fast and furious and time is off the essence especially when getting from A to B therefore valuable possessions are easily being forgotten.”

Listed below are some of the bizarre items left behind at Travelodge hotels in 

 

Hotel

 

 

Item

 

Coventry

 

Sikh ceremonial helmet and shield 

 

Cardiff

 

British Blue Shorthair cat called Yoda

 

Canterbury

 

Antique stained glass window

 

Bradford

 

Necklace made from £50 notes

 

Huddersfield

 

Brass octagonal gramophone which had just been repaired to its full glory

 

 

London Covent Garden

 

Barrister’s wig & gown

 

Harrogate

 

Shih Tzu called Harold

 

Heathrow Terminal 5

 

Keys to a haveli (mansion) in Delhi, India  

 

Chester Central

 

A large vintage cuckoo clock

 

Bicester

 

Swarovski encrusted waving cat – good luck charm 

 

London Aldgate East

 

Gold portrait of Elvis Presley 

 

Edinburgh Central

 

A forty year old teddy bear belonging to a CEO

 

Oxford Abingdon Road

 

Mercedes AMG car

 

London Bank

 

Annual set of company accounts

 

Cambridge Central

 

Littmann stethoscope

 

Newcastle

 

3ft Cheetah ornament

 

Birmingham Newhall Street

 

Suitcase of rupees

 

Portsmouth

 

Monkey puzzle tree 

 

Leeds

 

Film footage from a documentary TV programme

 

Dundee Strathmore

 

A family of three generations of garden gnomes

 

London Docklands

 

Three piece Tom Ford suit

 

Manchester Piccadilly

 

Three prosthetic legs

(Each leg wore a different designer shoe. This included a Valentino, Gucci and Mui Mui shoe) 
  

 

Liverpool Strand

 

Wedding cake in the design of a Disney castle 

 

Burford, Cotswolds

 

A pair of 4ft pillars covered in fresh white roses

 

Blackpool South Shore

 

4ft stick of rock

 

Bath

 

Wedding vows from the 1950s

 

Manchester Central

 

Scrapbook of Coronation Street memorabilia  

 

Portishead

 

Suitcase of invoices that need to be posted out to customers    

 

Southampton Central

 

Round the world cruise ticket

 

Listed below are the top ten most popular items left behind in Travelodge hotels during 2016:

·         Chargers for  mobile phones and electronic devices such as laptops

·         Tablets

·         Mobile phones

·         Business papers / notepads / presentations   

·         Teddy Bears

·         Toiletry bags with contents

·         Sat nav

·         Pyjamas

·         Socks and ties

·         Books

All items left behind in Travelodge hotels which have not been claimed within three months, are donated to local charity shops. 

Ends

For further information, please contact:

 

Travelodge Press Office on 01844 358 703 or email: pressoffice@travelodge.co.uk