Tip: When you forget your charger, borrow one from the hotel lost and found.

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Anthony Melchiorre, whose Travel Channel TV show Hotel Impossible kicks off its fourth season in January. He mentioned that one of his favorite hotel tips is this: When you’ve forgotten a device charger, ask the hotel if they have one in their lost and found. I had already been well aware of this trick, but something happened later that day to broaden its value.

I met colleagues for an after-work drink in New York’s Algonquin Hotel lobby bar (where coincidentally, Melchiorre was once general manager). One friend was in a panic because her train ticket home was on her iPhone app, yet the phone’s battery was dead. With Anthony’s tip top-of-mind, we flagged down the maitre d’. Several minutes later he delivered an iPhone charger. A happy ending: One glass of wine later, the phone was recharged, the train ticket was restored and we all went on our merry ways.

Hotels these days have a plethora of left-behind devices, cables and chargers. See if you can hook into their storehouse before you panic when you leave yours behind. And the lesson I learned from this episode is that you don’t need to be a guest of a hotel: The lost-and-found stash holds true for bars and restaurants, too, especially in hotels.