There used to be very few choices for travelers who are between hotels but have heavy bags to deal with—except to hope that airports and train stations had “left luggage” storage facilities. But for security reasons, many public places strictly limited those old storage options. That left travelers in a bad situation, with no obvious spots to drop their stuff for a while.
The rise of luggage storage apps has changed that. If you have a smartphone and a credit card, you find a place to put your stuff for a few hours in thousands of staffed locations around the world.
How luggage storage apps work
Functioning a bit like Airbnb for luggage, these apps connect you with hotels, convenience stores, shops, and cafés, that, for a small fee, have agreed to store luggage safely for the day.
Luggage storage apps all work in a similar way: You download the app, then choose a business where you’d like to leave your bags from a list that’s usually arranged in geographic order. Then you’ll choose your times for drop off and pick up. (Overnight storage is not offered at all locations.) After paying via the app (no cash is accepted), you drop your bag off at the location and pick it up again later that day.
It works in the exact same way as it would when you leave your luggage at a hotel for the day after you’ve checked out. The Stasher app, for instance, sends you an email confirmation once you’ve booked and paid for your luggage storage. When you arrive at the location, you show the staff your confirmation and they’ll attach paper tags to your bags, giving you a corresponding receipt with your luggage’s claim number on it.
When you pick your bags up, you simply hand over your part of the claim tag to staff, they retrieve your bag, and you’re on your way.
Comparing the major luggage storage apps
The main difference between the apps is the countries and cities in which they operate. There’s very little difference even in the fees, so which app you choose will probably come down to whether it has drop-off locations where you need them.
Bounce (Bounce.com) starts at $6 a day per item, depending on the location, and Bounce operates worldwide in major cities.
Luggage Hero (LuggageHero.com) charges $1 an hour in more than 200 cities, with a strong presence in the U.S.
For Asia, Luglockers (LugLockers.com) offers the broader choice of locations.
Nannybag (Nannybag.com) is $6.50 for the day, and it also operates worldwide.
Radical Storage (RadicalStorage.com) charges $6 a day and claims more than 8,000 international locations, and its strongest list is for Spain.
Stasher (Stasher.com) costs about $6.90 for the day and has global coverage, but the strongest presence in Western Europe and in Latin America, where it absorbed the former Airkeep service.
There are more apps besides those, often with more localized coverage, including Toronto-based BagsAway (BagsAway.ca) and Vertoe (Vertoe.com), which is based in New York City.
Most of the apps will, for an extra fee, also insure your bags for breakage, loss, and robbery for up to US $1000, though Nannybag goes a little further and covers bags for up to $1,500; Radical Storage and Luggage Hero insure bags for up to $3,000.
There are still some cities around the world not covered by any of the apps, but that list is getting smaller.
If only our suitcases were, too.