Left something at a hotel? What to do next
Published November 2026 • 4 min read • For guests of Australian hotels
Short answer
What should I do if I left something at a hotel?
Contact the hotel as soon as you can, by phone or email, with your name, check-out date, room number and a description of the item and where you left it. Ask whether they have it and whether they can post it. If you'd rather not chase them, Homebound can contact the hotel for you, and if they have it you pay for postage online.
Housekeeping usually turns a room around within hours of check-out, and anything they find goes into the hotel's lost property. The sooner you ask, the easier it is for the team to find.
1. Contact the hotel
Ring reception or email the hotel's main address. Email is often better: it gives the team something to forward to housekeeping, and you have a record of what you asked. Give them:
- the name the booking was under and your check-out date
- your room number, if you remember it
- what the item is, with the colour, brand and anything that sets it apart (a sticker, a scratch, the case it was in)
- where you think you left it: bedside drawer, bathroom, wardrobe safe, under the bed
- the best phone number and email to reach you
Hotels get a lot of black phone chargers and white earbuds. The more detail you give, the easier it is for them to tell yours apart.
2. Ask how they return items
If they have it, ask whether they can post it and how you pay for postage. Many hotels take a card number over the phone and post the item themselves. You can ask for a payment link instead, so your card details aren't written down at the front desk. If you live nearby, collecting it costs nothing.
Spare batteries, power banks, aerosols, perfume and lighters can't be posted. A phone, laptop or tablet with its battery inside is fine.
3. Or let us contact the hotel
If you can't get through, or you'd rather not chase it, tell us what you left. Pick the hotel from the list, add your check-out date and a description, and we take it from there:
- We check your report and email the hotel, usually within one working day.
- The hotel tells us whether they have it.
- If they do, we email you a link. You enter your delivery address and pay for postage through a secure checkout.
- A courier collects it from the hotel and you get tracking by email.
If the hotel can't find it, we tell you that too. Some hotels already use Homebound for their lost property. If yours does, the form takes you straight to the hotel's own lost report.
How long the hotel keeps it
Each state and territory has its own rules for how long a hotel must hold an item and what notice it must give before disposing of it. In most states, a low-value item can be disposed of about two to four weeks after the hotel contacts you. Hotels that can't reach you often have to wait longer. The details are in how long hotels keep lost property. Either way, don't wait: ask in the first few days.
Frequently asked questions
Will the hotel post my item to me?+
Most Australian hotels will post an item back if you pay for the postage. Some only hold items for collection. Ask when you first contact them, and ask how they take payment.
Who pays for postage?+
The guest does, in almost every hotel. The hotel is holding your item for you, so it doesn't have to cover the cost of sending it.
Should I give the hotel my card number over the phone?+
You can ask for a payment link instead. A link means nobody at the front desk writes your card number down. When Homebound contacts a hotel for you, you pay through a secure checkout and the hotel never sees your card.
What if I've already flown home overseas?+
Send the report anyway and say where you live in the description. Overseas returns are arranged by our team with a delivery partner, so they take longer than a return within Australia.
Does it cost anything to report a lost item through Homebound?+
No. Reporting is free. If the hotel has your item, we email you a link to pay for postage, and nothing is charged until you choose to pay it.
Can every item be posted?+
No. Spare batteries, power banks, aerosols, perfume and lighters can't go by courier. A phone or laptop with its battery inside is fine. If the hotel has something that can't be posted, we tell you how to collect it.
We can ask for you
Tell us what you left and where you stayed.
We contact the hotel, usually within one working day. If they have it, we email you a link to pay for postage. Nothing is charged until then.