Melbourne start-up sends forgotten hotel belongings overseas

International returns now live as hotel network tops 300 properties

Melbourne start-up Dashback has begun shipping hotel guests' lost property to international addresses, a move that Andy Brain, who founded the company in 2022, said was designed to remove from front-desk teams the logistics workload involved in handling lost-and-found operations and arranging returns for hotel guests.^[1] Dashback also confirmed that it plans to enter the New Zealand market early in 2027 by using Pack and Send's global network for the expansion.^[1]

Dashback works with more than 300 hotels and handles more than 1,000 returns each month, with its network doubling year on year, according to company-reported figures.^[1] The company-reported numbers have not been independently verified by an outside party.

How it works: guest pays, hotel prints a label

Once a hotel confirms that it has found an item belonging to a guest, the guest arranges the return shipment and pays for it through an online booking process.^[2] Hotel staff then print the courier label for the return, so they do not have to identify, package, address and manually track parcels, tasks that have traditionally absorbed front-desk time and generated guest complaints.

In a testimonial on a Queensland Hotels Association page promoting the service, Sam, Guest Services Manager at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, said the hotel uses Dashback within its lost property solution and that using the platform had reduced the overall cost of the hotel's logistics operation while continuing to keep guests satisfied with the timeframes for returning their items.^[4]

Meriton deal closed after three years, Avis Budget and Europcar follow

All 24 Meriton properties came on board after three years of discussions, and Dashback holds national partnerships with both Avis Budget and Europcar.^[3] Brain said of the Meriton negotiations: "Some doors take longer to open than others."^[3]

The car rental partnerships extend the platform beyond hotels and into the fleet and vehicle return locations operated by rental companies, where misplaced items create a similar pattern of administrative burden for staff and dissatisfaction for guests.^[4] Traditional workflows require front-desk teams to identify, package, label and post items, then manually track shipments throughout the return process, often across state lines, generating operational friction that Dashback aims to eliminate.^[4]

New Zealand entry set for early 2027

Dashback's planned New Zealand launch, targeting early 2027 through Pack and Send's established network, would be its first move outside Australia since Brain established the company four years ago.^[1] The international shipping capability now available in Australia provides the operational foundation that Dashback plans to use when it carries out the planned expansion into New Zealand.