Handling of lost and found in hotel establishments

This article will deal with the usual situation that occurs in hotel establishments when objects are lost or forgotten, and found, and above all, the way to act from the legal point of view when customers forget a personal item, and the obligations and rights of hoteliers with respect to them.In this way, it is not acceptable to proceed immediately to its delivery as waste or garbage without further ado, but the current civil regulations establish a series of procedures and deadlines that must be observed, and that are regulated in our Civil Code, and more specifically in Article 615, although, we also allude, by way of complement, and as an example, the municipal legislation of Madrid, and more specifically its Regulation of deposit, custody and return of lost objects in the City of Madrid dated July 30, 2014.Thus, indicate that the finder of a lost object must follow the following guidelines of behavior, since in the first place, must bring it to the attention of its owner, if this were known.The regulations do not establish specific period to carry out this diligence, so that private entities usually establish are their own protocols of action, being the practice of the sector to set a period of 2 months in their custody, although it can be reduced or extended. After this period, if the owner does not pick it up, it will be sent to the Lost and Found Office, and if the owner is not known, the object must be immediately consigned to the Mayor of the town where it was found. As of today, this figure, as we have advanced, would be assimilated to the Lost and Found Office of the Town Hall of each locality.in this way, the Lost and Found Office will register, inventory and publish the objects handed in, although not all objects are admitted, since those that are unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or perishable, such as food, as well as chemical products, medicines, or those that contain any living organism or organic matter, are excluded. They will not be received those that due to their degree of deterioration make their custody impossible, or if the deterioration has made them lose their unity as a thing; nor those of illicit commercial traffic or under judicial or police custody. In the event that the movable objects cannot be kept without deterioration or without making expenses that notably diminish their value, they will be sold at public auction after eight days have passed since the second (second consecutive Sunday, according to the Civil Code) announcement without the owner having appeared, and their price will be deposited.After two years have passed, counting from the day of the second publication, without the owner having presented himself, the thing found, or its value, shall be awarded to the person who found it. (The established procedure will involve the delivery, to those who deposit goods in the Office of Lost Objects, of a receipt stating the date of entry in the office, date and place of the finding and description of the object delivered, and they will be informed of their expectation of the right to the ownership of the found object. Also, as for the cash, we must indicate that after a maximum period of three months from its delivery to the Office of Lost and Found, it will be deposited in the account of the City Council enabled for this purpose, until its return to the owner or finder, if applicable. In the case of foreign currencies, their value in euros shall be deposited. Once the two-year period has elapsed without the owner having collected the object, the finder, if any, will be notified of his status as owner of the object found, and will be granted a period of one month from the day following the notification to collect it.In the event that the notification could not be made for reasons beyond the control of the Administration, it will be notified by means of an announcement in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid and on the municipal Bulletin Board, granting a period of one month for the removal of the object. If the finder does not collect the object within the established period, it shall be understood that his right has been waived, and the object shall become municipal property. In the case of cash, it shall be deposited in the Municipal Treasury.

José Luis Valencia (Lawyer T&l)

Article published in the January edition of the monthly newspaper CEHAT