How do you manage the return of items left behind in hotel rooms?

9.5 million: the number number of items found in hotels every year. From cosmetics to banknotes and cheques, not to mention clothes, smartphones and jewelry left in the bathroom... The variety of items items left behind in accommodation establishments will never cease to amaze chambermaids ! Visit returning them to guests is quite a challenge for hotel managers. However, this impacts on their reputation and exposes them to legal reprisals. Solutions exist to optimize the management and transportation of lost and found in hotelscalled Lost and found in logistics. Let's take a closer look...

The constraints associated with forgotten objects in hotel establishments

Generally speaking, objects with little commercial value are thrown away. Occasionally, the hotel allows its employees to help themselves, or makes parcels to donate to charities. Occasionally, utilitarian items such as telephone chargers are kept and made available to guests. Valuable items, on the other hand, are carefully stored until their owners declare themselves.

The receptionist or housekeeper is often responsible for managing the lost and found. This task takes around 2 hours. The employee must :

• collecting finds ;
• note and classify ;
• receive the customer's call and take note of the information provided;
• search for the object in the dedicated stock ;
• collect return postage ;
• pack the item and send it by post;
• track the shipment.

This is a costly and time-consuming management task. Automating this process and/or calling in the services of professionals is one way of overcoming this long-term problem. That's what we'll explain below. But first, let's see what the French legislator has to say on the subject...

Restitution of items found in hotels under French law

French legislation does not directly require you to set up a process for managing items abandoned by your customers. However, it does oblige you to store them for 3 years. Article 2276 of the French Civil Code states that "anyone who has lost (...) a thing may claim it for three years from the day of its loss or theft against the person in whose hands it was found (...)".

In other words, the owner of a forgotten item has 3 years from the date of loss to report it. After this period, ownership of the item reverts to the house. Hotels are therefore obliged to set up a handling procedure for this purpose. This procedure generally comprises 4 stages.

1. Protect

An item forgotten by a guest must be placed in a plastic bag. A label is affixed to the bag, giving the following information:

• date ;
• name of the person who found the product ;
• room number or location of find;
• description.

2. Register

Lodging establishments are required to keep a manual or computerized record of items lost by their customers. The register comprises several columns:

• reference code ;
• customer's name and room number;
• place and date ;
• description ;
• name of the person who discovered the object.

3. Store

Discarded items must be stored in chronological order, indicating day, month and year. The storage area must be lockable and equipped with shelving. However, high-value items receive special treatment. They are stored in the hotel safe. This must be recorded in the register.

Identity papers should be handed in at the police station or embassy. Credit cards must be returned to the issuing bank within 48 hours.

4. Return

If a guest comes forward and asks for his money back, the hotel must send it to him by post. The date, name and signature of the employee who returned the item and the shipping address must appear on the register.

After the three-year period, the hotel is free to manage this stock as it sees fit. That said, unclaimed valuables revert to the person who found them.

Automating the management and transportation of lost and found in hotels

As you've already seen, and perhaps experienced, managing items forgotten by residents is a time-consuming and costly business. To optimize this process, some establishments use the dedicated function of their inventory management software (PMS). All the receptionist has to do is fill in the boxes with the necessary information and put the product away in the indicated location.

If this solution saves a lot of time in terms of storage, what about the return of the product claimed by its owner? Using D&fi Groupe allows you to relieve your hosting staff of the burden of shipping a forgotten item. All they have to do is enter the details of the item in question on our interface to signal a request for shipment. They then receive the necessary documents and the label to affix to the parcel.

A carrier will then come to your hotel to collect the goods to be delivered. We then take care of the entire logistics chain. A permanent, real-time control system is in place. This enables us to detect the slightest anomaly and react as quickly as possible. Our aim is to get the item to your customer as quickly as possible, and guarantee his satisfaction.

Last but not least, our customer service team will assist you with all your logistics and transport needs. We are aware that these problems distract your staff from their core business. And yet, they contribute to your company's brand image. Automating lost and found returns is a must, because there will always be distracted guests!