Harry Potter & Fifty Shades of Grey books most left behind in B&Bs

When you go away, be it a holiday or a work trip do you take a book? What happens if you finish it while you're in your hotel room?

A poll of B&B owners has shown which books are most likely to be left behind by guests at the end of their stay.

The most prominent fiction books were Paula Hawkins' 'The Girl on the Train', Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code', Stephen King's 'The Stand' and EL James' 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. One owner said that he had tried to take left-behind copies of the Da Vinci Code and Fifty Shades of Grey to a local charity bookshop several months ago but that the shop had a "No Shades and no Code, thanks" sign in the window, reminiscent of the 'No Stairway' sign in the guitar shop window in Wayne's World, the survey was carried out by eviivo, the online booking specialists.

Autobiographies left behind suggest that holidaymakers chose the company of Les Dennis, Wayne Rooney, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, Paul O'Grady and Michael McIntyre, but while they're happy to spend their holidays with them, they don't want to take them home.

Feedback from owners also gives an insight into the specialist subjects of some guests.  Instruction manuals and guide books included the Kama Sutra, 'Zonas Erroneas', Saucy Places in Blackpool and a maintenance manual for a 1998 Skoda Octavia. Other rarities included a French version of Sleeping Beauty, a folder of back-issues of the TV Times and a copy of 'Knitting with Dog Hair'.

"It's an interesting insight into the escapist fantasies of Bed and Breakfast guests," said Tom Messett from eviivo. "It's good to see romantic fiction doing so well and the odd thriller. The more obscure and specialist books are a bit of a surprise, but I guess a stay in one of Britain's great B&Bs is all about getting away from it all and letting your hair down, even if that means wading through the maintenance regime for an old Skoda."

The most common classics left behind were by Rudyard Kipling, Jane Austen and Mary Shelley.  Agatha Christie novels were also a common accidental bequest.

Children's leave behinds were rare, but JK Rowling's Harry Potter books took pole position.  David Walliams' books also featured highly.

Tom Messett added: "One owner remarked that she'd only ever seen romantic novels left behind, which she said felt as good as a good review, because it suggested that guests were in a great mood during their stay. Eviivo's job is to connect guests with B&B's and smaller independent hotels and it's great to see that romance is mostly in minds of guests."