What to do with items left behind?

I would not mind people leaving good skigear behind.
There is a huge market for stuff like that, easy to sell.

Just make some pictures, go on facebook, enter a local used stuff group, and put it up for sale.
Sell it at $5 or $10 per item and it will be gone within a day. There are a lot of people that do not have a lot of money, and looking for this stuff.

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I do not drink, and guest leave loads of alcohol. Beer, spirits, wine, I just leave them for the next guests.

The problem is, I donā€™t live in the resort - I travel 90 minutes each way between bookings, often with a crew. My vehicle will not hold all of these leftover items along with cleaning supplies and often extra people.

Iā€™m really not looking to make money from the leftovers (plus I donā€™t have time to go to that trouble) - I would gladly donate it all, help the Sally Ann and be rid of itā€¦ but it is such a hassle and takes someone away from the cleaning.[quote=ā€œCanadianHost, post:13, topic:10870ā€]
And itā€™s not just dropping them off on my way home. To take them to the local place for re-homing would take someone about an hour plus gas round-trip.
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@CanadianHost. There are people everywhere who have simple eBay and similar businesses. Trust me, they would be happy to come, take the stuff, and give you 20% of the proceeds. What I know about ski resort areas is that there are a huge number of people who are barely holding on financially in the area to provide the services that the wealthy skiers require. Though they have some job during the season, many of them are holding multiple jobs and trying to run small businesses on the side. If you can find a couple of these folks, you would make it possible for them to eek out a few more bucks to support their family, and the back of you car wouldnā€™t be needed for the stuff.

Just a thoughtā€¦

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I agreeā€¦ I have added this to our Check-out list. Iā€™ve noted that they should remove all personal items and clothing and gave instructions on where to take them to.

If they are unable to remove all of their belongings they should leave them in bags along with $20 for the first bag and $5 for each additional bag that we need to take care of for them.

At least the time and gas costs to deal with this will be covered, although itā€™s still a pain to deal with it.

I appreciate the input!

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If I could find someone like this it would be a God-send! I will do a quick search and see if there is such a person in the area. They would need to be available during that 5-hour period, though, to come and pick up the stuff so itā€™s not sitting there when new guests arrive.

I would pass along the money left to cover the removal to them for coming around to pick it up so they can make a little extra on both ends (picking it up and selling it). And Iā€™m quite happy for them to keep all the proceeds.

Thanks for this idea.

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@CanadianHost Not that you asked for more advice, but I would collect the names of about three to five people who say they are willing. Your first call, after doing this for a few times, would be to the person who arrived within that 5-hour window 100% of the time, then if they couldnā€™t come, the next call would be the person who responded 70% of the time, etc. I admit, it will take a few times to figure out who is really running a business and who is lazy and non-responsive, but it could be a good relationship.

To find these folks, I would ask the cashiers at the market, folks at a General Store [if there is such a thing], or the clerks at the Post Office. These are the year-rounders who really know each others business [one of the many reasons I donā€™t live in a smaller town!] If you have cleaning folks who are local, they might have some ideas as well.

I realize that this isnā€™t ideal of course, but it is a way to deal with something that appears to be a somewhat consistent irritant for you and your turnovers.

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I really do appreciate the adviceā€¦ thank you! Iā€™ll try just that!

Being a resort town means that a lot of the population is transient but Iā€™m sure there must be year-rounders that could use extra cash, and if this is a part-time business for them Iā€™m very happy to help their endeavors.

Yea. When I lived in Vermont near a bunch of ski resorts, there were tons of transients, but there were townies as well. The townies worked like dogs to afford to stay where their families had been for generations. In my small town, it was the general store and our plumber who knew who to contact for this type of thing.

There is supply store (equipment & tool rentals, propane, etc) that tourists wouldnā€™t even know about that we frequently go to. It usually has long-term people working there and Iā€™m sure theyā€™ll be a good place to start. Iā€™ve asked them for references in the past for tradesmen and they always seem to know who is good.

Iā€™m going to start there!

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I live in a ā€œresortā€. Actually over here we do not have resorts, but just a lot of small villages with their own ski area.

But as you said, we have a lot of workers, mainly eastern european, that would be happy to pick up this stuff.

Like I said go on a facebook (sales/give away)group, make a post, and it will be picked up within minutes.
I got rid of a lot of stuff like that, stuff that would have been very expensive to get rid of like sofaā€™s, beds, fridges, etc etc. They have all been picked up for free through facebook.

I thought I was pretty computer-savvy but I cannot get my head around this. Although I have a Facebook account people complain Iā€™m never on itā€¦ sorry to be a pest but can you give more info on this, or is there a YouTube video that might explain it? Wouldnā€™t just my ā€œfriendsā€ see it??

I started off reading this thread with my eyes rolling. What next will hosts find to complain about? But then I began to remember all the crap that guests have left behind for me to deal with and I realised that yes, my time has a price. I live quite close to some charity/thrift shops so itā€™s not a huge deal to drop it off. But it still takes up my time. The worst one was a guest who purported to collect ā€œantiquesā€ but actually just picked up junk. At the end of her stay she realised that the collection of large cracked ugly dishes sheā€™d bought was no good to man or beast so left it all behind. I wish I could revise my review of her now.

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Yeah, I know if I posted on one of our local freecycle pages that I had a big bag of free ski clothes, I could put it on the porch and itā€™d be gone in minutes! I understand the OP doesnā€™t have the time or desire to deal with it, but man, that stuff could fetch a fortune on geartrade.com!

Maybe just me, but I can totally understand why the guests thought they were doing you a favor, especially in a resort town!

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Personally, I donā€™t think thatā€™s enough to cause anyone who is about to toss hundreds of dollars of gear away.

I think $50 the first bag and $20 for each bag thereafter.

Freecycle posts are hilarious! ā€œI have a 12 inch piece of yarn, a wire hanger, and a box of 12 oz. Kraft macaroni cheese to give away. Please let me know why you need these items and I will announce who I am giving them to.ā€ - LOL!

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No joke! I just saw a post from someone with a bag full of ā€œused, carefully de-taped and foldedā€ Christmas wrapping paper. "Great for crafters, teachers, and scrapbookers! :slight_smile: "

SIGN ME UP!

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I just saw one on our local page:

ā€˜Free fridge/freezer. No longer works and the seal is broken. May be an easy fixā€™

More like they just found out how expensive it is to dispose of fridges around hereā€¦

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Hilarious! I have never heard of them before but I just googled them to learn more. Theyā€™re available at my home but not at the resort. :unamused:

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Aw, donā€™t diss freecycle! Itā€™s a great idea and a fantastic way to get free uplift of all your unwanted items :wink:

Iā€™m about to post a broken TV. Somebody will take it, Iā€™m sure. Possibly those local hoarders who take anything and everything. Damn, Iā€™m feeling a bit bad about feeding their habit now.