20-year-old woman demands full refund from hotel over teddy bear, 'I'm CONVINCED it was stolen.' AITA?

"AITA for wanting a full refund after my teddy bear went missing from my hotel room?"

I (20F) am on vacation and brought a stuffed animal with me, a Jellycat teddy bear that my stepdad got me ages ago. It’s really sentimental, and while I usually sleep with a different stuffed animal at home, I always bring this bear when I travel because I can’t sleep without one. It’s my “travel bear.”

I left the hotel (update: it’s a mega corporation) for the day and made sure my bear was in the bed. When I got back, housekeeping had come through, made the bed… and the bear was gone. I immediately started searching, checked the sheets, under the bed, my suitcase, every corner of the room, twice. Then twice again! Nothing.

I went to the front desk and told them what happened. But no one found anything. And supposedly the cleaner left for the day. I’m convinced it was stolen or accidentally thrown away, and I feel devastated because this bear isn’t just some random toy! It has deep sentimental value.

I feel like the hotel should take responsibility for this. I don’t feel comfortable staying somewhere my belongings aren’t safe, and I want a full refund for my stay. Some of my friends think I’m overreacting, but I don’t know I’m down about it. AITA for wanting my money back?

Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:

SciFiChickie said:

For future hotel stays always put the DND sign on the door when you have stuff you don’t want to lose in your room. Most hotels have a visible warning about not being responsible for any lost or stolen items.

ayykalaam said:

NAH. I don’t think you’re entitled to a full refund of your entire stay because of a missing teddy bear, but you’re entitled to be upset about it, raise a fuss, and make them look for it thoroughly.

Friendly-Push627 said:

NTA but that is exactly why I always leave the do not disturb on my door till I check out because I don't want any of my stuff to go missing or be looked through.

jrm1102 said:

NTA - I do think you’re overreacting, but maybe some compensation is nice. An entire free stay seems like a bit much. But if it's a giant mega corporation hotel chain, who cares - demand what you want.

Otherwise_Degree_729 said:

NTA. Probably got tangled in the old sheets and is somewhere on the many laundry bags. If the hotels does it’s own laundry they might find it, if they ship it to a large industrial laundry place chances are lower.

TurtleToast2 said:

YTA for wanting a full refund over a stuffed animal. I understand it's upsetting, but you can't expect to be compensated for sentimental value. I'd be surprised if the hotel didn't have a "not responsible for lost or stolen items" policy that you signed off on at check-in. As a good rule of thumb, never take irreplaceable items along when you go away.