Originally Posted by points_maniac

I am probably the master of losing things on planes. I have lost an iPad, a MacBook, and Bose QC headsets. The most impressive loss was the MacBook, where I left it on the plane and went back onto the plane 10 minutes later while the cleaning crew was still there. It was gone for good.

My expectation is always that things left behind will not turn up, although I have had some occasions where they did.

In general I have noticed that airline, hotel, and rental car lost and found procedures are very poor. Once in a while you get a surprise, but it's an exception.