Where would you find a life-size R2-D2 robot, a money tree bearing £50 notes to the value of £10,000, a William Shakespeare outfit & skull, a 6ft cuddly polar bear, a case of union jack face masks, a 60 year old marriage certificate, a stethoscope and an adorable Siberian Husky called Saskia - where else but Travelodge's lost and found office.

Today, the UK's first budget hotel brand, Travelodge, has revealed some of the interesting items left behind in its 563 hotels during the last 12 months. With millions of people annually staying in a Travelodge hotel across the length and breadth of the UK - detailed below are some of the other unusual treasures that have been left:

  • A 50 year old football sticker book belonging to a devoted Liverpool FC fan
  • A message in a bottle which was a wedding proposal
  • A Cartier engagement ring
  • A Suitcase full of board games
  • Keys to a new Bentley car
  • A DJI Inspire Drone
  • A personalised Hilti drill
  • A 60 year old marriage certificate
  • A valuable stamp collection
  • A MOVA metallic globe
  • Two first class tickets to the Maldives
  • A 3ft diffuser with Italian orange fragrance
  • A philosophy, politics and economics degree from Oxford university
  • A Swarovski wedding crown
  • A diary belonging to a nurse
  • A small army of 6ft tall Nutcracker soldiers
  • A 3ft Italian designer diffuser
  • A lucky pen

This year, as Travelodge kept some of its UK hotels open during both lockdowns to support key workers, local authorities and businesses that could travel for work, the Travelodge hotel teams which are located close to hospitals reported finding a range of interesting items left behind by customers in the medical profession. This has included a stethoscope being left behind by a doctor at High Wycombe Travelodge, a lab coat being left behind at Manchester Upper Brook Street Travelodge and a scrub set forgotten to be packed at London Central Kings Cross Travelodge.

The hotel team at Chelmsford Travelodge went the extra mile to reunite a customer who was a nurse with her precious diary that documented her professional career throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to date. Also a large box of Union Jack printed face masks were left behind at London Central Waterloo Travelodge Plus.

This year's audit also reveals that items associated with weddings still dominate the Travelodge lost and found bizarre inventory list. This includes a money tree bearing £50 notes to the value of £10,000 which was left behind by a forgettable bride's mother at Birmingham Central Bullring Travelodge. It is their family tradition for family members to attach £50 notes as a gift onto a miniature tree which is then presented to the bride and groom at their wedding ceremony.

One forgetful bridesmaid staying at Burford Cotswolds Travelodge forgot to take a 3ft Italian diffuser bottle to the wedding reception venue which had been especially imported over from Florence, Italy for its bespoke fragrance of lemon, orange flowers, rose, jasmine and wood. Luckily the hotel manager arranged for the diffuser to be safely transported to the venue ahead of the bride arriving.

A groom staying at Edinburgh Central Travelodge had to send a courier to pick up his wife's surprise wedding present that he had forgot to pack - a 6ft tall cuddly polar bear. Whilst the hotel manager from Gatwick Airport Central Travelodge PLUS had to literally jump queues, to reunite newlyweds with their first class tickets to the Maldives.

An elderly couple staying at Cardiff Atlantic Wharf Travelodge who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary forgot their framed marriage certificate, luckily they returned back to the hotel after their tour of Wales to collect it. (The couple had initially met in Wales and they wanted to relive their courtship which is why they took a tour of Wales).

A housekeeping team member at Leamington Spa Travelodge got quite the surprise when they found six life-size nutcracker soldiers standing to attention when she entered a room to clean it. An events coordinator who had been staying in the room had forgotten to take the soldiers for a Christmas themed wedding she was organising.

Forgetful business travellers have also left behind an array of expensive and interesting items. This includes keys to a brand new Bentley car being left behind at Chester Central Bridge Street Travelodge. A guest staying at London City Travelodge Plus forgot his bespoke MOVA metallic globe which highlighted his world-wide companies and sent his PA to collect it.

A stockbroker staying at London Central Bank Travelodge forgot a file which contained £500,000 share certificates whilst a construction boss was devastated when he left behind his lucky personalised Hilti drill at Solihull Travelodge.A CEO staying at Aberdeen Central Justice Mill Lane Travelodge missed his flight home as he had to return back to the hotel to pick up his lucky penny that he has been carrying around for 40 years

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: "With millions of customers annually staying at our 563 hotels across the length and breadth of the UK for thousands of different reasons, we do get a range of interesting items left behind. This year's audit includes: A R2-D2 robot, A William Shakespeare's outfit with skull, a money tree bearing £50 notes, a 60 year old marriage certificate, a 6ft cuddly polar bear and a message in a bottle wedding proposal."

"This year, as we kept some of our hotels open during both lockdowns to support local communities and provide accommodation for key workers, local authorities and for businesses that could travel for work we have seen a rise in items being left behind by medical professionals. This includes a stethoscope, scrubs, crocs and a nurse's personal diary documenting their experience of working through the pandemic plus lots of personalised face masks."

"When it comes to why so many of our customers forget their treasured items, it's basically due to us all being time poor, juggling multiple tasks and being in a hurry to get from A to B. In the rush, valuable possessions are easily forgotten."

Listed below are some of the bizarre items left behind at Travelodge's 563 UK hotels during the last 12 months

— Source: Travelodge— Source: Travelodge
— Source: Travelodge

About Travelodge

Founded in 1985, Travelodge is Britain's very first budget hotel chain and today is one of the largest budget hotel chains in the UK, with a portfolio of over 600 hotels and over 47,000 bedrooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain.

In Spain, Travelodge has an established profitable presence and as of April 2024, its portfolio doubled to 12 hotels, having recently acquired a further six properties. Travelodge has ambitious growth plans within this market and has identified the top 20 key locations where it would like to open additional hotels in Spain.

Welcoming over 22 million guests annually across the UK, Ireland and Spain, the majority of Travelodge hotels are located in major cities, towns and holiday hotspots as well as by airports and key business hubs. With 90% of its hotels rated 4* or above on TripAdvisor, Travelodge is proud to offer guests across its diverse customer base a good value experience – whether they are travelling for business or leisure. In 2023, approximately 50% of rooms were sold for less than £60.

Whether out celebrating a birthday, going to a concert or sporting event, visiting friends and family, taking a business trip, working away from home, or taking a short break, we help people to go and do their thing by Being the Brilliant Base.

Travelodge continues to invest in its ongoing hotel refit programme which is expected to see 50% of the Travelodge room estate upgraded to its new design by the end of 2024. The brand is also continually evolving its quality offering to deliver a better experience for its diverse mix of business and leisure guests such as its new look Bar Cafe design, 85 Bar Café, which has been rolled out to selected UK hotels as part of the refit programme.

Travelodge is focussing on its environmental and social impact, with sustainability integral to its business strategy. It's Better Future sustainability plan aims to build a more sustainable future for its customers, colleagues and the planet, and it is underpinned by three core pillars: Inclusive – ensuring we are accessible, inclusive and well-priced to our customers and colleagues; Caring – creating a caring and healthy environment for our colleagues and customers and ensuring their wellbeing; and Conscious – Travelodge is conscious of its impact on the planet, taking into account the waste it produces, the energy and other resources it consumes and the carbon emissions it generates.

For further information visit travelodge.co.uk or the Travelodge Hotels Limited LinkedIn page.

The Travelodge Press Office
+44 1844 35 8703
Travelodge