Published on : 22 January 20214 min reading time
In today’s small world, travel is a constant. Meetings in distant towns and cities even in different countries are no longer surprising or unusual, but it does leave a pressing problem: what to do with one’s luggage. A bag drop storage site can be the ideal answer and you can save your hands and shoulders from strain as you travel and explore the world, if you book your luggage storage online with Nannybag before you even leave home.
How Left Luggage Began
In times gone by, when travel was slow and leisurely by necessity, there were plenty of left luggage areas where travellers could leave their belongings for a while as they explored a new town or city, or simply took a break from the rigours of travel. With the advent of faster travel, such as steam trains, travellers could often get to their destination in a straight run, and trains, of course, were like travelling hotels, so one’s suitcases could be left locked inside a cabin or in the luggage car, if necessary.
But left luggage stations remained for many years, allowing people to get to train stations or airports early, find out where they needed to be for embarkation and then go off and have a meal or do a little sight-seeing while they waited for their train or flight. These were often paid services, in which the suitcases were locked into a small storage unit with a token or key required to unlock it at the right time. This was tremendously convenient for a number of reasons.
Benefits of Bag Drops
Often, when one is travelling for work with an overnight stay and a packed agenda, there is little time to spare. Often traveling long distances means arriving in new places very early in the morning. With most hotels having check-out time run until about 10am, there can be long periods when travellers must keep heavy and bulky suitcases with them – and sometimes these periods can coincide with meetings, interviews or even exploration of landmarks and sights. Carrying a big suitcase is tiring and inconvenient and looks unprofessional besides. In these cases, a luggage storage site is a most welcome sight to many a weary traveller.
Another type of traveller can also make good use of a bag drop. A student traveller or backpacker, travelling informally and working odd jobs here and there often needs a place to leave their belongings for a while, but do not have fixed accommodation in that place. Being able to leave bulky backpacks for a short time can allow them to enjoy a nice meal in a high-class restaurant, watch a movie, or even attend an interview.
The final class of traveller who might make good usage of a left luggage locker are international travellers who need to travel from their home town to a major city. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, they often travel to the airport city a day or many hours in advance. Not wanting to spend more hours than necessary sitting around the airport, the chance to drop off their luggage and head off to explore or just go and enjoy a peaceful meal is often seized with alacrity.
The Downfall of Traditional Luggage Stores
Despite the tremendous convenience of left luggage stations, the rise of terrorism rendered them overly vulnerable. Most historic left luggage stations were open to the public and did not require any proof of travel in order to be used, but the luggage itself was carried through into the airport or train station building for safe-keeping. Surprisingly, the first such attack was recorded in London in 1884, but it was the uptick in terror threats of the 1990s that sealed the fate of vulnerable left luggage sites inside transport terminals and depots, and they were all mostly closed down.
The Resurgence
Accommodation sharing websites and the rise of the informal traveller, those who book an open plane ticket and head off with only the vaguest plans as to their itinerary – have joined the ranks of those needing a temporary place to leave their luggage and the industry has rebounded. Today, luggage storing options can be found in many cities making ingenious use of otherwise unwanted space. This ensures that every traveller can find respite from their heavy and bulky luggage, whether it is for a day or two or merely an hour or two.
