Here’s a familiar travel scenario: You just checked out of your hotel, but you have a while before your flight. That’s fine, because you have plenty of time to relax and explore the city before you leave. But just before you step out into the world for a fun afternoon as a tourist, you realize you have a problem: What do you do with your bags?
No one wants to carry around their bags all day, least of all the creator of LuggageHero. The service started in 2016 as a solution for the creator’s weariness for lugging around their luggage every time they traveled. While the initial vision began in Copenhagen, the business kept growing until today, where LuggageHero is supported in 171 cities across the world, according to its website. There’s a good chance, then, that LuggageHero supports the city you’re traveling to next.
LuggageHero doesn’t have you hand over your bags to just anyone, either. In order to participate, locations need to be vetted by the company first. These locations range from retail outlets to businesses to coffee shops, so they tend to be tied well to the communities they serve.
Here’s how it works: You go to LuggageHero’s website, or download the app to your smartphone, and choose your location. If LuggageHero is supported in your area, you’ll see a listing of available luggage drop-off points to choose from. Switch to the map view to see exactly where each locations is to determine how convenient they are for you based on your whereabouts.
Then, you tell LuggageHero how long you need this location to hold onto your bag for you, as well as how many bags you’ll drop off, and pick which payment system works for you. For shorter stints, pay-as-you-go makes the most sense. For example, I found a spot in Boston that charges $0.95 an hour for a single bag, the usual LuggageHero hourly rate. But if you were going to have the location hold onto your bag for longer than eight hours or so, you’d be better off with the flat rate, which comes out to $7.95 per day. There is an optional insurance that guarantees payback on lost goods for up to $3,000, but if you opt out, LuggageHero guarantees you up to $500.
When you drop off your bags, you start a timer on the app. Then, when your return, you stop the timer. You only pay for the time elapsed on that timer, so you won’t have to worry about a store running the clock on you.
If you only have a backpack on you, you probably don’t need a service like LuggageHero for the afternoon. But if you’re traveling with a suitcase, or multiple bags, it’s nice to have the option to drop them somewhere secure. You don’t want to be that guy in the coffee shop taking up an extra table with all their luggage.
You can download LuggageHero for free on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
