We’ve all been there: you come home after a vacation and realize you’re down a pair of socks or an iPhone charger. Even after triple-checking the hotel room before heading out, it’s possible to let an item left under the bed or next to the sink slip through the cracks. Hotel staff members, especially those in housekeeping, are no stranger to uncovering these forgotten artifacts once their owners have flown the coop.
But sometimes, guests abandon more important and, shall we say, interesting oddities in the mad dash to catch their flights out. And whether these belongings were left behind by accident or with intention, it’s the hotel staff that’s left to deal with the mess — or, worst-case, the crime scene. To uncover some of the most bizarre things discovered in hotel rooms, we looked to the TalesFromTheFrontDesk subReddit to hear from hotel staff.
A Parrot and Chinchilla
In terms of harmless belongings to leave behind, a piece of clothing is pretty mild: they’re usually small, and they’re always motionless. Living, breathing animals, though, are another story — especially one as noisy as a parrot or as expensive (and adorable) as a chinchilla.
User GloomyDeal1909 commented:
Had someone leave behind their chinchilla. Those things are like 2k. They came back for it but we got to babysit for a day. Another time someone left a parrot. Loud f*cker.
100 Hotel Coffee Cups
Everybody loves free stuff, and complimentary coffee cups are a typical amenity in your average hotel lobby. But when you’re hoarding dozens of them in your own room like a doomsday prepper, one might question what the hell your intentions are — or how caffeinated you’re getting when you’re not chilling out on vacation.
User AliceJust commented:
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.
A 6-Foot-Long Boa Constrictor
Here we go again with the animals. Whether this guest brought their snake from home or picked one up while on vacation, it’s a shame they never came back to claim the boa. Poor snake.
User Prestigious_Coat_168 commented:
We are a pet friendly hotel so to date I have found; a live rabbit under the box spring, 4 cats in one room, a hamster in a tote and a 6 foot boa constrictor in a bathtub. None of the animals were ever claimed. Needless to say we have a great relationship with the local shelter.
A Massive Bag of Meth
Drugs are expensive — so why would someone leave their stash behind? Whatever the reason, we know the TSA wouldn’t take too kindly to a big ol’ bag of meth.
User bliss_point601 commented:
A massive bag of meth and a meth-dusted room—like every surface in that room had a weird film on it. The head housekeeper had to tell me what the smell was (meth’s never been my thing). That room was out of order for a long time. Don’t know where the bag o’ meth ended up, but no law enforcement was involved.
A Rotten Kangaroo Tail and Coconuts
Admittedly, the tail and bunch of coconuts were discovered on separate occasions, but that doesn’t diminish the absurdity of either.
User LongTallSalski commented
My co-worker once found a kangaroo tail covered in maggots in an oven. A few days ago someone left coconuts they’d collected under their bed wrapped in a towel, which was a little strange.
An XL Sex Toy
We can’t say we didn’t see this one coming. Trips can be for business or pleasure, or perhaps a little bit of both. The particularly unfortunate part of this discovery: a hotel guest found it before the staff did.
User ovieoftime commented:
12 inch double sided dildo left under the mattress that housekeeping didn’t find. The next guest did. Our laundry attendant went to get it and had it wrapped in a shirt carrying it down the hall at arm’s length, right from the middle so you could see it bounce as she walked.
Guns, a Body, and $60K in Cash
Some hotel rooms are left looking like metaphorical crime scenes, and some actually become crime scenes. That said, if the fast life is the one you choose, save the poor hotel staff the trauma of walking in on the aftermath of your nefarious activities.
User SylvanTerra commented:
Over the years, guests have left many things, although what counts as “interesting” might change as time goes on.
1. Guns – Multiple in one case
2. Bag with $60k – Drug sniffing dog alerted to bag when turned over to police
3. Body
Bear Mace
Bears don’t often come stumbling through a hotel lobby. Hell, even if they did, the chances of them making it into a guest’s room are pretty slim. Regardless, for those wary about intruders, regular mace ought to do the trick.
User MandaMaelstrom commented:
Bear mace. 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 the hell to properly dispose of bear mace.
The article The Weirdest Items Left Behind in Hotel Rooms, According to Reddit appeared first on VinePair.