Wallet Left Behind: Case Sheraton Buganvilias Puerto Vallarta

How often do you mistakenly leave things behind, and what, when staying at hotels?

I have to say that I rarely, if ever, leave anything of value behind because I don’t spread my things around, and I rarely (less than a handful of times a year) use the in-room safe.

When I was at the airline lounge at the Mexico City airport this past Sunday, I realized that something was missing inside my computer bag (I can take stuff that I need from that bag even my eyes closed), and figured that I had left my wallet inside the in-room safe at the Sheraton hotel in Puerto Vallarta.

Note that this post is published after I have picked up the wallet, but it was written before. I will have a follow-up tomorrow.

When I realized that the wallet was left inside the safe, I fired an email to three Sheraton team members at the hotel with whom I had communicated with. I didn’t get a reply in half an hour and decided to check if the chat function within the Marriott Bonvoy app was working, and it was.

I did get a confirmation that their security had opened the safe (this usually takes about a second using the device they have), and the item was recorded with their Lost and Found.

My goal was to get it sent to the Thompson hotel, but apparently, none of the couriers in Mexico accept wallets with cards and cash to be sent using their services.

Please be informed that as soon as DHL quoted the cost to ship your wallet we will let you know and you will be receiving your wallet in the next 3 business days.

Please be informed that the Courier companies such as DHL they do not allowed to send Credit Cards.

So, what I ended up doing? Booking a flight to PVR to pick it up.

Conclusion

What have you left behind in a hotel, where, when, and how did you get it back?

I rarely use the in-room safes and have my Gucci wallet with some random cash from 10+ countries (Euros and USD usually too), credit cards that I rarely use, frequent flyer cards, and my driver’s license. Having these replaced would have been a major PITA, and flying back to PVR was far more straightforward.

The cards themselves, inside the wallet, were at least from five different countries, and getting the license replaced would have been an issue, although I rarely rent cars nowadays.

Let’s see what is left of the wallet and the content inside. At least none of the cards inside have been swiped yet (based on online activity). Most would need to enter a PIN. Using them for online purchases is probably impossible because of two-factor authentication and address issues (I have different addresses for different cards).

Why don’t I always use the safe? Considering that I stay 300+ nights per year at hotels, how many times would I need to open and close it every year? And there is always a possibility to leave it behind like what happened here.

Housekeeping team members occasionally help themselves for the notes, like what took place in Bogota late last year. I think that the amount taken was roughly a $100 USD and some Euros.

And no, I didn’t buy that Gucci wallet. It was a gift from a friend who worked for the company at the time (and probably got it for free or at a very high discount). It is suitable for excess cash and cards. For daily needs, I normally keep a small wallet on me with cards that I frequently swipe and some local money.