Lost AirPods should disallow pairing with new device if they are in "Lost Mode"

I lost my AirPods after I left them in my hotel room after checking out. When I realized this, I returned back to get them, but it was an hour later and housekeeping "didn't find anything". Obviously, I'm disappointed in myself for leaving the AirPods, disappointed in the housekeeper who took them, but also disappointed in Apple.

I found out that I can only connect to them if you are next to a previously paired device. While this is great if you lost them in your house, but does not help if it happens of your house or they were stolen. The idea that you have a smart device like the AirPods, that is really only useful when connected to another device that typically has an internet connection, cannot report their location or disable themselves is a disappointment.

The real value of staying in the Apple ecosystem should be to help when things like this happen. I'm sure Apple has considered adding a "Lost Mode" feature to the AirPods. Why not do it?