Chances are if you’ve been to a great restaurant, bar or hotel, you’ve snagged a coaster, matchbook, napkin or card key. Mementoes like these are talismans that help us remember what a fun experience we had.

You may hesitate before you pocket the swag, wondering if doing so is OK. Worry not: Hospitality industry folks say they’re delighted when people feel compelled to take one of these as a keepsake. You might consider a return visit, they think, if you’ve got that little reminder of your good time.

“It’s nice to hold a physical object and feel transported to an experience that could have happened weeks or even years ago,” says Sean Wilkinson, principal and creative director at Might & Main, a studio in Portland, Maine, that works on branding for clients in the hospitality industry.

He says the sense of impermanence is important. “If it’s something we’d like people to take, it should look nice, but not too nice, so that you don’t feel bad taking it.”

Elaine Markoutsas, a design writer and editor in Chicago, came across cookie tins full of matchbooks and swizzle sticks while clearing out her mom’s house. They took her back to beloved family vacations and hotspots in the Windy City and Florida.

She also appreciated how much design went into these little sulfurous mementos, some of which dated to the 1930s and ’40s.

“Like old postcards, you could immediately spot the difference” between different eras, she said.

“The older covers featured beautiful, hand-colored line drawings with amazing detail. What struck me was the creative artistry of such small space designs. They were like mini posters.”

She’s got one from Mangam’s Chateau outside of Chicago, where legendary fan dancer Sally Rand performed. Another is from Math Igler’s Casino Restaurant, where a T-bone with mushrooms went for $5 in 1950. And there’s Chez Paree, a nightclub that feted the glamorous from the ’30s to the ’60s.

Wilkinson says a memorable design is no less important today.

“We’ve noticed items often show up in guests’ Instagram photos,” he says.