Travelodge refusing to return DC’s soft toy that was left in room

[Flyflylikeakite]

The hotel have told me that DD’s soft toy has been found but have said they can’t post it back to me. I’ve even offered to pay postage and they still say no. It was a Travelodge in London, we live up north in Cheshire so can’t even drive back for it. AIBU to think this is poor customer service from Travelodge? Is there anyway I can try to get this toy back for DD? I’ve been dealing with the hotel directly by phone and email but getting no where.

I don't see any need for the expectation that the hotel should have to pay for the postage themselves - so easy nowadays for somebody to pay by card over the phone - nor that they should send back everything, even a generic, unsentimental everyday item that can easily be replaced for a few quid....

But (and I realise I will be called ridiculous for this by some), I would actually question the humanity and basic decency of an adult who could find a well-loved teddy suddenly in their possession, knowing that a small child somewhere will be thoroughly distraught at having been separated from it and maybe even struggle to sleep without it, and just shrug and say "Tough" as they leave it on a shelf or toss it into a bin, when they could so easily help to reunite them.

What a nice MNer @SueDCreme to sort this for OP.

I've left things behind in hotels and sometimes they've been easily found and posted back.

as @WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll I'd question the humanity of an adult keeping or binning a child's soft toy. I had a small teddy bear as a child which I once left at home at a rare sleepover at my nana's. Someone (either nana's DH or my DM) had to drive through London (same side) as I was 7 or 8 but wouldn't go to sleep without it!

i faced this situation once with a Four Seasons Hotel. They wouldn’t send it back so I went to the press with it and within 2 days I had the Four Seasons press office reaching out to me and offering to post it back, we did eventually get it back

It is so lovely to see Mumsnetters pulling together to sort this out for op.

When my DW left some things behind at an independent pub-with-rooms (The Prince of Wales in Marlow) they were quickly returned with no hassle!

That'd lovely.. SM at its best 👌 hope gets sorted

@maddiemookins16mum

I still agree that it’s poor service but as a PP said, if someone is looking to book a hotel that meets specific needs (cost, location, availability etc), I doubt they’re going to say ‘oh we’re not booking that because I read a thread on MN about a soft toy not being returned to someone once’.

Where there's a Travelodge there's a Premier Inn. All things being equal (and let's face it, with these two budget hotels, they usually are) I would definitely opt for the Premier over the Travelodge because of this post. It tells me there's a difference between customer service. One doesn't give a fuck and the other does, even if it's just all BS to make it look like it "cares" about its customers. They don't care. They want your money. It's unlikely I would ever need to try and get something left behind back but Premier have indeed come out better in my opinion of hotels.

So while I appreciate all the offers of help on here from some lovely Mumsnetters 🥰 in the end it turned out one of my friends was passing through Heathrow today so she offered to help. I can confirm that she has just collected teddy from the hotel and is now driving home to her house (she’s from near us) and will bring it to our house for DD tomorrow 🥰

Glad to hear it, OP!

It’s my right to post a thread about my experience with Travelodge and them refusing to return the teddy. That being said, if Travelodge want to defend their reputation against this thread then they could always reach out to Mumsnet with a statement and ask MNHQ to post it in this thread

Fantastic.

Ive lost count of the number of times where I’ve had a choice between a Travelodge and a Premier Inn & chosen Premier due to hearing about poor customer service at Travelodge. The most recent occasion being last month, had the choice of both in Leicester, chose Premier. Same earlier in the year in London.

We use them several times a year. I also am in charge of booking them fir work purposes, stays of up to a few months at a time. I always go for Premier.

Wonderful news, OP. Safe journey home, Teddy

Imaging your life being so rubbish that you are too miserable to have empathy for a mother who accidentally left their kids soft toy at a hotel. Bearing in mind that the hotel is Heathrow so they've probably been on holiday and are dealing with all the entails and maybe jet lag on top. Additionally a pp who actually works for said hotel has stated it is their policy to return lost property. I can only imagine either @WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps is dealing with some serious issues in their life, or is maybe the receptionist who (incorrectly) refused to return the toy

Fantastic news op!

Glad Teddy is on the way back.

glad youre getting it back id still go on twitter and tell everyone how shit they were

I’m in ex hotel manager and would have definitely posted it back!

i drew the line when someone left their dildo though 🤮

They aren't. I left a phone case at one recently in the bedroom. They sent it back free of charge.

Poor service from Travelodge especially if you send SAE.

I'm really surprised by this; we had a wonderful experience when we stayed at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas.
Our son had a habit of pushing his cuddly toy down by his feet when he was sleeping. Unfortunately when housekeeping came in to change the beds it got scooped up with all the dirty linen. He was distraught when he realised it was missing. When I contacted them they said that their laundry gets sent off site and it was probably very unlikely we would get it back but they would try.
In the meantime the concierge had sent up a plate of cakes and biscuits decorated with colours of his favourite football team (they managed to find that out!) and generally made a big fuss of him. I think it took a couple of days but they did manage to track it down and he was reunited with his beloved Wolfie (who has recently survived university with him!). ❤

@bettytaghetti we had this too at a hotel in Spain. DD (then about 5) had tucked up Albert the Bear in bed before we headed out for the day. He got swept up with the sheets and sent to their offsite laundrette about 20 miles away.

Our amazing hotel rep spent 3 days hunting him down while DD was distraught. They even bought her a new bear which was lovely but ya know , it wasn't Albert Bear!

She found him though and he was returned to us all clean and soft and smelling lovely 😂.

Love it when these stories have a happy ending 🥰 I'll never forget DDs face when she got him back.

We had something returned from a hotel IN GERMANY free of charge this year. It was a better hotel that a Travelodge but their attitude sucks….

Hello,
Laura from Travelodge here. I am really sorry to her this. Please can you get in touch through this link: travelodgesdo.force.com/support/s/contact-us just so we can get your booking details and make sure we get this sorted for you?
Thank you

Hi @LauraTL , can you just confirm if you still want me to get in touch please? I’ve had the toy collected from the hotel by a friend now. Happy to still get in touch if you need but can you let me know please. Thank you so much in advance

also tell them that competitor chain Premier inn happily post lost items back to customers - my DD left her airpods in a london premier inn and we were on the train home before we realised. They asked me to send them a stamped addressed bubble envelope with postage attached for the correct size and weight and they sent them back through the post- whole process took about 10 days. If you have offered to pay postage then that’s shocking customer service

Yay for teddy's return journey! 😄This sort of stuff really matters to parents (and kids obvs).