Key points
- The guest wants to know, quickly, whether the item has been found.
- Write the process down so whoever answers guests can run it without you.
- The prices above are examples; check the current rates with your carrier.
On this page
"I think I left my charger in the bedroom" arrives an hour after checkout, often from an airport, sometimes from another country. The item is usually small. The guest is usually anxious. And the apartment is usually being cleaned right now, or already has the next guest in it. A lost item is one of the few guest situations where the clock runs against you, because every hour the item is more likely to be moved, binned or mixed into the next guest's stay. This page gives you the process to settle once, replies you can paste, and the handling that gets the item home.
What the guest actually wants
The guest wants to know, quickly, whether the item has been found. Everything else, shipping, cost, timing, comes second. A reply within the hour that says "the cleaner is there now, I have asked her to look" calms almost everyone. "Found it" the next day is good news delivered late, after a night of worrying.
The second thing they want is a realistic path to getting it back. Most will pay for shipping. What they cannot accept is silence, or a cleaner who says "nothing here" when the item is under the bed.
Listen for the value. A passport, medication or a child's toy deserves a phone call to the cleaner, not a message.
Questions to answer for yourself first
Write the process down so whoever answers guests can run it without you.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who checks the apartment? | The cleaner is usually there first. Can you reach her on LINE in minutes? Does she know to look before she bags the laundry? |
| Where do found items go? | A labelled box in the apartment, a drawer at reception, your office. One place, always the same. |
| How long do you keep items? | Many hosts keep 30 days, then donate. Decide and tell the guest. |
| How do you ship? | Thailand Post, Kerry, a Grab driver for same city. Who packs it, who pays, how the guest pays you. |
| What will you not ship? | Liquids, batteries, food, anything over a size. Say so early. |
| Who pays? | Most hosts: guest pays shipping, host does not charge for the time. Decide before the first case. |
The important rule: the cleaner needs to know that "look for a black charger in the bedroom" is a task that arrives during the clean, not after. If the cleaning brief does not carry it, it is lost twice.
Three replies you can paste
Sorry to hear that. The cleaner is in the apartment this morning, I have asked her to look for a black phone charger in the bedroom and by the sofa. I will let you know what she finds within a couple of hours.
Good news, the cleaner found your charger behind the bedside table. I can send it to you by Thailand Post, about 60 THB inside Thailand or around 600 THB registered to Germany, which you can pay me through the booking platform. Or if you have a friend in Bangkok, they can collect it from the building reception any day before 6 PM. Let me know which you prefer and the address.
The cleaner has checked the bedroom, the bathroom, under the bed and the laundry basket and has not found it, I am sorry. I will ask her to look once more during the next clean and let you know if it turns up. It may be worth checking with the taxi company or the airport lost and found, as chargers often fall out in a car.
The prices above are examples; check the current rates with your carrier. Never promise a delivery date you do not control.
Mistakes hosts make
Replying tomorrow. By tomorrow the laundry has gone, the bin has gone and a new guest is in. Reply within the hour, even if the reply is "checking".
Asking the cleaner after the clean. The cleaner's natural job is to clear the room, and a charger in a drawer looks like clutter. Tell her before or during the clean, and tell her where to look.
Saying "nothing found" too soon. Under the bed, behind the headboard, in the washing machine, inside the sofa cushions, the safe. Give the cleaner a list. Most "lost" items are in one of those six places.
Promising to ship without a plan. "Sure, I will send it" followed by three weeks of nothing is worse than a clear no. Give the method, the rough cost and the next step in the same message.
No box. Found items that live "somewhere" are lost again. One labelled box per building, and the cleaner knows where it is.
How Tokay handles it
Tokay is an AI front desk. A lost item message is one of the ones Pam, the front desk agent, recognises straight away: it replies to the guest in their own language with the "checking" reply, from your lost item process, and the request comes to you at the same time so you see it before anything is promised. Pam never promises a found item, a shipping date or a cost you have not confirmed.
Sam, the operations agent, is the part that matters here. Sam writes tomorrow's cleaning brief every night and updates it when plans change, and cleaners are reached on LINE, which is where cleaners in Thailand already are. When a lost item comes in, the search goes to the cleaner as part of the brief for that apartment, with what to look for and where, so the cleaner looks during the clean and not after.
Once you know the answer, you tell Pam "found, Thailand Post, guest pays" in a tap, and Pam writes the reply. A guest who is upset, a passport or anything valuable, always comes to you first.
Questions hosts ask
Should I charge the guest for shipping a lost item?
Most hosts charge the actual shipping cost and nothing for their time. Say the cost once, in the "found" message, and let the guest choose between shipping and collection. For something very small and cheap, some hosts just post it; a 30 THB stamp that earns a thank you in the review is a good trade.
How long should I keep lost items?
Thirty days is common. Say it in the "found" message ("I will keep it at reception until 8 November") so the guest has a deadline. After that, donate or discard, and note it in case the guest asks later.
The guest says they left something valuable and we did not find it. What now?
Reply calmly with exactly what was checked and by whom, offer one more search at the next clean, and suggest the other places it could be (taxi, airport, previous hotel). Do not speculate about theft and do not accuse the cleaner. If the guest raises it with the platform, your written record of a fast reply and a thorough search is what matters. See also guests asking for refunds or discounts if the conversation turns that way.