I once read that you can learn a lot about a person by the way they handle three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve remembered it always, and thought this would be the perfect way to share a little more about myself with you. So, in part two of three, here’s an inside look at my approach to lost luggage.
“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”
If you’ve ever seen my list of favorite travel apps, you know that, technically speaking, I rarely actually lose my luggage. After a lifetime of travel with children, photography gear, and scuba equipment, I’ve learned these essential rules of thumb that, when combined, have proven effective time and time again–no matter what.
NEVER CHECK ANYTHING YOU CAN’T REPLACE OR BE WITHOUT
While I’m generally and advocate of traveling light, we all know that sometimes, this just isn’t feasible, i.e. a family dive trip or a Paris girls trip. But no matter the destination, I follow our personal carryon policy, which is, never check anything you can’t easily replace, or be without. This list is one part personal, two parts practical–emergency medical kits, expensive electronics, camera equipment, scuba regulators, clean underwear, peanut butter m&m’s … you name it. But we’ve learned (the hard way) that following this practice can be the difference between a heartbreaking, stressful, or uncomfortable trip, and a minor inconvenience.
LOCK AND LABEL EVERYTHING
This may go without saying for checked bags, but when traveling abroad, it’s a good idea to do this with your carryon, too. Many modern cases have locks built in, and there are so many great TSA approved locks you can purchase in stores and online. Also, adding a custom luggage tag with current contact info will help the airline contact you if necessary. Consider both cheap insurance.
MAKE YOUR BAGS EASILY RECOGNIZABLE WITH UNIQUE ACCESSORIES
This could be a unique luggage tag, or something more easily visible from across a busy airport, like flamboyant ribbon. For scuba trips, we have a little fun with this and like to attach aquatic Beanie Babies to the outside of our bags. This helps us identify them at baggage claim, and also amongst ourselves at the resort (since we all have the same ScubaPro bag, but each have our Beanie Baby).
USE TILE TRACKER PROS TO KEEP TABS ON YOUR BAGS
I received my first tile tracker in an office white elephant exchange and it’s still one of the best gifts I’ve ever snagged. Now, I not only use tile trackers to keep track of our car keys, daughter, and pets, but when traveling, I put one in every carryon and every bag we’re forced to check. They’ve helped us locate luggage flown to the opposite side of the country (even before the airline could), and bags removed from baggage claim at the airport and held in storage without notice.
FEEL MORE SECURE WITH TRAVEL INSURANCE
As anyone who travels frequently knows, unexpected things are bound to happen, and we’ve traveled enough to know that travel insurance is a reassurance that’s nice to have just in case. We’re careful to manage risk with comprehensive travel insurance when it makes sense.
When following these practices, I find that lost luggage either doesn’t happen, or just isn’t that big of deal. And as a bonus, many airlines even offer discount vouchers as a courtesy to apologize for late arrivals or lost bags, which actually does make us feel better.
