Chargerback hopes to make a business out of hotel’s lost-and-found

Lost and found is the hot potato that nobody at a hotel really wants to deal with…A company called Chargerback has developed a Web-based system — now used by 30 hotels — that provides a standard method for hotels to manage found items, initiate or reply to e-mail inquiries, print out shipping labels and send items back to guests in an orderly manner.

With just 30 hotels signed up, Chargerback has been shipping 600 to 1,000 items back to guests each month…Hotels do not pay Chargerback. Customers pay shipping costs…Chargerback’s revenue comes from a percentage of the shipping fees.

The company…has plans to extend into systems for airlines and airports, car rental companies and other places where travelers forget things.