I don't think it's an excuse at all. As somebody who ran the front desk of a courtyard for 3 years in New Orleans, it's not my business to know what you are doing in your room and who/what knows about it. You could have left a book behind because you were done with it, or a phone charger because it didn't work anymore. It's my job to give you a clean, working room and attentive service. I've seen it all from "college friends" saying goodbye at 3am in the lobby, to helping guests find a jeweler to get a new wedding band before they have to fly back home. Like most rules, this one is not for the 99% of people, it's at the 1% and I'm sure that Mr. Jones wouldn't want a message on his home answering machine that so and so from the hotel in San Francisco was returning his item, when he was supposed to be in Duluth.