Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

Gulf Today Report

There are cases every now and then where a traveller or tourist gets shortchanged or given a raw deal by a hotel. But some smart customers know how to get the better of the hotel management. As happened with a man from Montana whose appeal for a refund by a hotel was rejected after he was refused check-in over ID issues.

The tourist had recently renewed his driving licence and passport, but he did not have the original documents. He had only a temporary paper version of the driving licence, and was waiting for the new one; ditto for the passport.

He had only travelled domestically within the US, so could fly without a passport, but was turned away from his pre-booked hotel despite showing his temporary driving licence, his expired driving licence, his expired passport and a credit card in his name.

To make matters worse, the hotel — which has not been named — said they wouldn’t offer a refund for the pre-paid room.

The customer was utterly disappointed with the hotel’s attitude and got a room in some other hotel. The next day, he went back to the first hotel, where he was again refused a refund. It was then that he devised a stunt that would put the hotel to shame.

He went to a supermarket and “purchased a large poster board and a Sharpie Marker”, writing on the board a question around whether the hotel had bedbugs. The man stood on the pavement near the hotel, beside a six-lane road, holding up the sign, according to the Independent.

“I did this at 2.45pm, just before regular check-in time. On a very busy summer travel day,” he said.

Barely a minute passed when motorists started slowing down, some blaring their horns, looking at his huge poster and pulling into the hotel’s parking lot. Some even totally stopped in front of the hotel, asking questions like ‘Does that hotel actually have bed bugs?’,”

Within 15 minutes, a woman described as “no refund lady” came outside and talked to him. After a short while she left, before three police cars reportedly showed up. After an hour they also departed, but the man stayed outside for another hour. Then an officer came to him with a cheque, refunding his (almost) stay.

He’s not the only traveller to take such ‘creative’ action to exact revenge.

In April, an Airbnb owner was left with a $1,570 bill after a couple took revenge when they were unable to cancel their booking. They left the gas on and the taps running before they left for Seoul, South Korea, from China for a 25-day trip.