Pilot's licence and new wedding dress found in Stafford hotels
An artificial palm tree, a pilot's licence and a new wedding dress are among the unusual items found in two Stafford hotels over the past year.
Travelodge has revealed some of the interesting items left behind in its UK hotels during the last 12 months.
With nearly 19 million people annually staying in a Travelodge hotel - and half of customers being business travellers - some of the other unusual treasures left in Stafford were a suitcase full of Cadbury's chocolate and a crystal vase.
They were found at the Stafford Central and Stafford M6 Travelodges.
Other items found at Travelodges in Dudley include a donkey costume and a Pac Man Arcade machine.
The hotel chain has also seen a growing trend in forgetful pet owners.
One animal lover staying at Brighton Seafront Travelodge for a summer break left behind their Blue Eyed Cockatoo called Brexit, while the hotel team at Crewe Travelodge were delighted to find a brand new ice cream truck parked in their car park for a week.
Unfortunately the owner had lost the keys to his new truck and had to wait for a week for the replacement keys to be produced.
And a royal enthusiast from Houston had to skip their flight to return to the London City Travelodge she'd been staying at after realising at Heathrow she'd left her Meghan Markle replica wedding dress behind.
During the last 12 months, Travelodge hotel staff has also found a number of items belonging to forgetful performers. Joseph’s Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat was discovered at Bath City Centre Travelodge. Luckily the hotel manager danced to the actor’s rescue and personally took the coat to the theatre in time for the curtain call.
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge spokeswoman, said: “With nearly 19 million customers annually staying at our 557 UK hotels for a variety of reasons, we do get a range of fascinating items left behind.
"This year’s audit includes: a brand new ice-cream van, a jilted groom, an amazing Technicolour Dream Coat, a 5ft teddy bear made of popcorn. a blue eyed Cockatoo called Brexit and even a replica of Megan Markel’s wedding dress.
“Interestingly as we have more business customers staying with us than ever before, we have seen a rise this year in important business papers, valuable items and lucky charms being left behind in our hotels.
"This includes a chest of semi-precious jewels, a rare bottle of vintage champagne, a Coutts cheque book and a 21 year old lucky penny belonging to a CEO.
"When it comes to why so many customers forget their treasured items, there is one common theme, and that’s living in a fast and furious world. Where time is off the essence especially when getting from A to B and therefore valuable possessions are easily being forgotten.”
