Marilyn Lester never understood why someone had an electric meat grinder in their hotel room.
The housekeeping manager at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles understands even less how they could forget it.
An electric meat grinder is just one of the odd items she and other local hotel employees say guests have accidentally left behind in their rooms after checking out.
“It’s amazing the stuff that gets left here and people don’t call back for,” said Lester.
“One time an employee found a set of dentures in Room 29, but they never called for them.
“How far can you go without your teeth?”
Forks Motel Manager Steve Strid thinks he had at least one pretty paranoid guest stay in his hotel based on what he once found in a room.
“We had someone leave their gun under the pillow,” said Strid.
“They ended up coming back for that.”
Most guests, however, never return or call after forgetting their belongings.
“Most people say the heck with it and leave it behind,” said June Colby of the Dew Drop Inn in Forks.
“We usually hold onto items for 30 to 60 days.
“If no one claims it, the maids or whoever found it can take it, or we just throw it out.”
Some items, most hotel employees agree, go straight to the trash bin after they’re found.
That includes food items, used shampoos and old wrappings, said Janette Cole of the Sportsmen Motel in Port Angeles.
At the Red Lion, Lester said she was once close to throwing away a pair of tattered tennis shoes, full of holes and scratches, that she found in a room.
“I was going to toss them out, but I thought twice and put them in the lost and found bin,” she said.
“The next day the guy calls asking for them.
“It turns out they were his favorite shoes and that he never went anywhere without them.”
Most of the time, employees say guests leave behind everyday objects like cell phone chargers, books, reading glasses, underwear, belts, unpaired socks and watches.
Debbie Bourquin, manager of the Red Ranch Inn in Sequim, says that besides the routine items, they sometimes come across unusual objects.
“I actually found an Australian dime — it’s about as thick as a quarter,” she said.
“That was unique.”
Sometimes the finds can be dangerous.
“A lot of people, including drug users, leave behind needles,” said Strid at the Forks Motel.
“That’s a big issue and why, anytime I hire anyone to clean the rooms, they aren’t allowed to push the garbage down with their hands.
“In this day and age, it can get a little on the scary side.”
Remember to check
To reduce the chances of forgetting your belongings, you should always double-check under the bed and in the dresser before leaving, said Dorothy Hoffman of the Palace Hotel in Port Townsend.
“Those are the two most common places people forget their things,” she said.
She added that the tendency is for men leave behind things more often than women.