Hotel: Break It, Pay For It?

[tartempion]

Stayed at Sima Thani, Khorat a few nights ago.

Stupid how things happen:

Slippery bath tub, non-removable shower head.

Gf decides to shampoo her hair on her knees in the bath tub using a drinking glass from the bathroom amenities.

Sure she broke the glass hitting it with the water tap.

We check out, I forgot to mention the broken glass, ask where to find the breakfast restaurant.

15 minutes later an upset employee finds us with an invoice: 100 baht to pay for the broken glass.

OK, what the heck, I could have argued a few things wrong with the hotel, I pay, but why does a hotel bother to alarm some people, find the customer to hassle him to have a 10 baht glass refunded and bill the 10 bath item for 100 baht?

Does this happen in LOS only?

As a business consultant I took 100 planes/year and spent 100 nights/year in hotels during 30 years.

Never broke anything, this is a first.

I know hotel guests steal lots of things: ash trays, towels, hair dryers etc and these must be a problem to hotels profit margings, but chasing a customer for a broken glass? Sounds poor customer practice to me.

[orchis]

A One hotel is one of those hotels that try to make you pay for everthing it s like another source of revenue for them,

I once had a client break a glass there: 200 thb, we went to buy one ourselves 17 thb.

[Norrad]

That's not so bad and I would generally expect that guests would be responsible for damages to the rooms or their contents. Many hotels actually have a checklist of room contents at the reception area with replacement prices on it.

I had a similar experience but I didn't get off so lightly, my wife managed to break the toilet in a hotel in Bangkok (The toilet was just placed in the bathroom, not even glued to the floor). The wife went to complain to management as she could have been injured, management apologised and moved us to a new room. When we checked out, they hit us with a 10,000 Baht fee for the replacement. The manager who apologised was suddenly unavailable.

[robbiecia]

Think its a class issue

In some of the nicer hotels.......i dont think they would have chased you down over a broken glass.

I would say some of the cheaper hotels want every single baht out of you

[PhilHarries]

Interesting point this. There is a fine line between accidental breakages and malicious/drunken rampage damage.

Breaking a glass is a pure accident and even so it is so far down the Richter scale as to be irrelevant. How many glasses get broken in the kitchen or dining room by staff?

Hurling a bottle of Pinot Grigio through the TV screen in a fit of pique because HBO are showing Happy Feet for the 54th time that week is irresponsible and deserves to be charged for. Anyhow anybody being seen dead with a bottle of Pinot Grigio deserves what they get.

Seriously though hotels must take a fair amount of collateral damage from guests both the responsible and irresponsible types and obviously there are occasions where they must feel obliged to recoup some or all of the costs plus an amin charge. But to stoop to charging for what was obviously a minor accident sets the establishment apart from the rest.

As for Norrad's experience, hel_l if that happened in a UK hotel the lawyers would be round before you could utter the word "sue".

[Moonrakers]

I was once stayed in a Phuket hotel for about 3 months. Posted around the hotel were notices saying that should the air-con unit break down whilst the guest was renting the room, then the guest had to pay for it.

I bought a fan!

Edited September 12, 2008 by globalj

[robbiecia]

I was once stayed in a Phuket hotel for about 3 months. Posted around the hotel were notices saying that should the air-con unit break down whilst the guest was renting the room, then the guest had to pay for it.

I bought a fan!

Haha....ive heard about that too!!!!!!!!!

Like to see them try that one on me

[onethailand]

That's not so bad and I would generally expect that guests would be responsible for damages to the rooms or their contents. Many hotels actually have a checklist of room contents at the reception area with replacement prices on it.

I had a similar experience but I didn't get off so lightly, my wife managed to break the toilet in a hotel in Bangkok (The toilet was just placed in the bathroom, not even glued to the floor). The wife went to complain to management as she could have been injured, management apologised and moved us to a new room. When we checked out, they hit us with a 10,000 Baht fee for the replacement. The manager who apologised was suddenly unavailable.

LOL, I hope you didn't pay for it...

In most hotels in Thailand, especially those not part of international chains, you pay for everything you break. There is often a list in the desk somewhere as well (though somehow I doubt the price of a toilet would've been listed!)

As for staff... they have to pay for everything they break as well. This is also common in a lot of restaurants and bars.

As long as the price is not unreasonable, I'd probably pay it if it was my fault.

[doctormann]

Do Thailand hotels not have insurance cover for breakages? Standard practice in UK, at least in the more reputable establishments, and they would certainly have liability cover for someone falling off the crapper and knackering themselves!

[Mossfinn]

At the Asia Hotel I overheard a young traveller checking out and he had broken the tiny plastic tag on the key of a safe deposit box, they were telling him to pay 100b the look of incredulity on his face was a picture, 10 minutes later I had left and they were still arguing cost efficacy/cost efficientcy?

Good Luck

Moss

[dumball]

At the Asia Hotel I overheard a young traveller checking out and he had broken the tiny plastic tag on the key of a safe deposit box, they were telling him to pay 100b the look of incredulity on his face was a picture, 10 minutes later I had left and they were still arguing cost efficacy/cost efficientcy?

Good Luck

Moss

I once had a hotel tell me i owed for a light bulb that had blown in the refridgerator , i politely told the i had rented the room with a working fridge which included the light bulb to allow me to see the contents , they were adament i pay . I agreed , provided they agreed to pay me for for the inconvenience of having to use a fridge in which i could not view the contents in a normal manner , i would settle for B1,000 or my soliciter would be in touch , apologies all round .

[dingdongrb]

Many of times my company put me up in a very upscale hotel in Lad Phrao area of BKK. While not naming the hotel it is connected at the parking lot of Central Plaza mall. Staying in there as many times as I did I was eventually introduced to the French General Manager by a BKK business man whom I met years before. Anyway during one stay I returned from shopping/eating to find a note under my door saying how I managed to crack the glass coffee table and I would have to pay for it. Looking at the crack in the coffee table I noticed that a heavy glass ashtray was located near the crack. My wife (gf at the time) and I always smoked either in the bathroom or at the sitting table but not on the sofa where the coffee table was located. Anyway, even before I decided to go to the front desk to see the Shift manager about the charges I queried the wife just to be sure we didn't cause the damage and she replied, 'no, she didn't'.

So I went to the front desk with the note and the Shift manager was called to see me. I informed him that I have stayed there many times before, we did not cause the crack in the table, and how much were they going to charge me. He replied that the cost would be 700 baht. I felt that this was pretty cheap for a thick glass coffee table top. But adamantly I told him I was refusing to pay since we did not cause the damage. I mentioned that I would take the issue up with the General manager if they were going to pursue that I pay. I also informed him that we smoked at the sitting table and never had the ashtray near the coffee table. I even suggested that perhaps the housekeeper caused the damage when she was cleaning.

Needless to say, the Shift manager called my room about 1/2 later apologizing and said that the matter had been taken care of and I would not have to pay.

[Wrong Turn]

Stayed at Sima Thani, Khorat a few nights ago.

Stupid how things happen:

Slippery bath tub, non-removable shower head.

Gf decides to shampoo her hair on her knees in the bath tub using a drinking glass from the bathroom amenities.

Sure she broke the glass hitting it with the water tap.

We check out, I forgot to mention the broken glass, ask where to find the breakfast restaurant.

15 minutes later an upset employee finds us with an invoice: 100 baht to pay for the broken glass.

OK, what the heck, I could have argued a few things wrong with the hotel, I pay, but why does a hotel bother to alarm some people, find the customer to hassle him to have a 10 baht glass refunded and bill the 10 bath item for 100 baht?

Does this happen in LOS only?

As a business consultant I took 100 planes/year and spent 100 nights/year in hotels during 30 years.

Never broke anything, this is a first.

I know hotel guests steal lots of things: ash trays, towels, hair dryers etc and these must be a problem to hotels profit margings, but chasing a customer for a broken glass? Sounds poor customer practice to me.

Did you note that the shower head problem made it necessary for your partner to use a wine glass to wash her hair?

Anyway, sounds like bad accomodation if true, and bad customer service, and also bad communication. The latter is on you.

Not that they would have cared....

[dumball]

Stayed at Sima Thani, Khorat a few nights ago.

Stupid how things happen:

Slippery bath tub, non-removable shower head.

Gf decides to shampoo her hair on her knees in the bath tub using a drinking glass from the bathroom amenities.

Sure she broke the glass hitting it with the water tap.

We check out, I forgot to mention the broken glass, ask where to find the breakfast restaurant.

15 minutes later an upset employee finds us with an invoice: 100 baht to pay for the broken glass.

OK, what the heck, I could have argued a few things wrong with the hotel, I pay, but why does a hotel bother to alarm some people, find the customer to hassle him to have a 10 baht glass refunded and bill the 10 bath item for 100 baht?

Does this happen in LOS only?

As a business consultant I took 100 planes/year and spent 100 nights/year in hotels during 30 years.

Never broke anything, this is a first.

I know hotel guests steal lots of things: ash trays, towels, hair dryers etc and these must be a problem to hotels profit margings, but chasing a customer for a broken glass? Sounds poor customer practice to me.

Did you note that the shower head problem made it necessary for your partner to use a wine glass to wash her hair?

Anyway, sounds like bad accomodation if true, and bad customer service, and also bad communication. The latter is on you.

Not that they would have cared....

I do not think the shower head had anything to do with the problem , Thai ladies (some) i have assocciated with persist in washing under the tap to shower/shampoo and stand on the toilet to pee , long time habits are hard to break , however , being asked to pay an exorbitant fee for a wine glass would have gotten my dander up also .They would also have been informed that my next visit would be most noticeable by my absence and that the internet is a huge way to spread the news , thank you for a pleasant experience at your esteemed hotel , may it sink into the hole of depravity where it most certainly has a right to belong .

[stephaniee]

stand on the toilet to pee?

[hanno]

stand on the toilet to pee?

Can't talk about Thailand, but here in Vietnam seeing footprints on the toilet seat is normal

Anyway, back to topic: I am with Phil on this one. I run a 4-star hotel and would never charge for a broken glass. If, however, I have the feeling that something was damaged on purpose, i would certainly ask for payment. And no, insurance does not cover that sort of breakage.

Having said that, if it is some guest house, I can understand if they charge as their margins are pretty low.

Edited September 13, 2008 by hanno

[way2muchcoffee]

If someone is paying for a room that runs around 1500 bt or less per night then they should expect to pay for everything they break. If they are paying 3500 bt/night or higher then the rate should cover incidental breakages.

[Norrad]

No, she was reaching for the 'Bum Gun' and so the centre of gravity was shifted, that was all that was needed for the toilet to slip out from under her. Lucky she is used to squatting toilets, so she wasn't sitting completely. If it was me, I would have gone down with the toilet and probably had some nasty cuts.

I did end up paying as they pretty much held our luggage hostage until I settled the bill.

[Mattchu9999]

Anyone here ever see "Fear and loathing in Las Vegas" ??? The Hunter S. Thompson movie made from the book ??

Those are the kind of savage burns I'd pull on any hotel that tried to screw me over paying for a broken glass. Yeah. they'd have to call the fire department just to break down the door to the room since I screwed all the furniture to the door.

And of course add other touches like doing a "top shelf"

[way2muchcoffee]

Anyone here ever see "Fear and loathing in Las Vegas" ??? The Hunter S. Thompson movie made from the book ??

Those are the kind of savage burns I'd pull on any hotel that tried to screw me over paying for a broken glass. Yeah. they'd have to call the fire department just to break down the door to the room since I screwed all the furniture to the door.

And of course add other touches like doing a "top shelf"

Obviously you are destined to spend out your days institutionalized or incarcerated.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Anyone here ever see "Fear and loathing in Las Vegas" ??? The Hunter S. Thompson movie made from the book ??

Those are the kind of savage burns I'd pull on any hotel that tried to screw me over paying for a broken glass. Yeah. they'd have to call the fire department just to break down the door to the room since I screwed all the furniture to the door.

And of course add other touches like doing a "top shelf"

That'd give you real jail time in most countries.

[soundman]

I was once stayed in a Phuket hotel for about 3 months. Posted around the hotel were notices saying that should the air-con unit break down whilst the guest was renting the room, then the guest had to pay for it.

I bought a fan!

Haha....ive heard about that too!!!!!!!!!

Like to see them try that one on me

In a Krabi hotel they have a notice in the rooms telling you not to leave the air on all day otherwise it will break.

[h90]

Stayed at Sima Thani, Khorat a few nights ago.

Stupid how things happen:

Slippery bath tub, non-removable shower head.

Gf decides to shampoo her hair on her knees in the bath tub using a drinking glass from the bathroom amenities.

Sure she broke the glass hitting it with the water tap.

We check out, I forgot to mention the broken glass, ask where to find the breakfast restaurant.

15 minutes later an upset employee finds us with an invoice: 100 baht to pay for the broken glass.

OK, what the heck, I could have argued a few things wrong with the hotel, I pay, but why does a hotel bother to alarm some people, find the customer to hassle him to have a 10 baht glass refunded and bill the 10 bath item for 100 baht?

Does this happen in LOS only?

As a business consultant I took 100 planes/year and spent 100 nights/year in hotels during 30 years.

Never broke anything, this is a first.

I know hotel guests steal lots of things: ash trays, towels, hair dryers etc and these must be a problem to hotels profit margings, but chasing a customer for a broken glass? Sounds poor customer practice to me.

Your gf has hair on her knees? "her hair on her knees"???

I would say if I brake something I have to pay for it --common sense--

But from a more expensive hotel I would expect that they don't really charge for it. Maybe they had the feeling that you want to hide it and were angry about that.

But still no reason to make troubles for the customer....not worth to do unless it was a 500 Baht/night hotel.

[Wrong Turn]

....being asked to pay an exorbitant fee for a wine glass would have gotten my dander up also .....

Gouging. Money going into someone's pockets. And is a new wine glass purchased? Or is one of the spare glasses in the storage room used?

[chuang]

In many gift-shops the boss has this signboard that says..'I break I cry you break you buy"

[dave111223]

No, she was reaching for the 'Bum Gun' and so the centre of gravity was shifted, that was all that was needed for the toilet to slip out from under her. Lucky she is used to squatting toilets, so she wasn't sitting completely. If it was me, I would have gone down with the toilet and probably had some nasty cuts.

I did end up paying as they pretty much held our luggage hostage until I settled the bill.

You ended up paying 10,000 extra for the toilet? For that kind of money i probably would have called the police in to arbitrate.

[soundman]

No, she was reaching for the 'Bum Gun' and so the centre of gravity was shifted, that was all that was needed for the toilet to slip out from under her. Lucky she is used to squatting toilets, so she wasn't sitting completely. If it was me, I would have gone down with the toilet and probably had some nasty cuts.

I did end up paying as they pretty much held our luggage hostage until I settled the bill.

You ended up paying 10,000 extra for the toilet? For that kind of money i probably would have called the police in to arbitrate.

I tried that once on Samui over an extortionate late checkout fee and the police blatantly arbitrated for the hotel. No joy whatsover, however, a valuable lesson about the way things work in Thailand.

[dave111223]

No, she was reaching for the 'Bum Gun' and so the centre of gravity was shifted, that was all that was needed for the toilet to slip out from under her. Lucky she is used to squatting toilets, so she wasn't sitting completely. If it was me, I would have gone down with the toilet and probably had some nasty cuts.

I did end up paying as they pretty much held our luggage hostage until I settled the bill.

You ended up paying 10,000 extra for the toilet? For that kind of money i probably would have called the police in to arbitrate.

I tried that once on Samui over an extortionate late checkout fee and the police blatantly arbitrated for the hotel. No joy whatsover, however, a valuable lesson about the way things work in Thailand.

Hmm... i guess the best approach would probably be to have them charge it to your credit card, then immediately call the bank and report the charge as fraudulent; get it charged back. (making sure to use a card that you can do without for a few weeks while they reissue you a new one)

Edited September 13, 2008 by dave111223

[Samuian]

Think its a class issue

In some of the nicer hotels.......i dont think they would have chased you down over a broken glass.

I would say some of the cheaper hotels want every single baht out of you

complete misconception of the situation!

Regarding "nicer" Hotels, take the Hyatt or Sheraton f.E. and NOT in the LoS but say Australia, it would be simply on your bill on check out, if you asked what this particular item could be, very politely someone would explain, more so in places a couple of marks up!

The Hotel industry might not be mistaken with the Salvation Army!

Many of the larger chains even have an itemized list, usually the last page of the menu in the room, towels, bathrobe, hairdryer, TV-DVD set, maybe other room fittings... the higher the image, the higher the prices of the items...!

More so, it is NOT about the plain cost of, say the glass... it' is about organize it, back to the room and make the customer a bit more conscious... besides most items, don't break or simply disappear, some have a use for the ashtray, this or that, some articles are considered souvenirs... to amke a long discussion short - this is why they are billed, because the customer pays for the room, and doesn't automatically inherits all it's contents! Simple isn't it?

Besides, if one needs a separate bill, for your insurance... most bigger hotels are willing to issue one!

Welcome to the show ladies & gentlemen!

years in this truly entertaining business....!

may be one day I write a book :..."from behind the reception desk"... "or form the managers view.."

Edited September 13, 2008 by Samuian

[dingdongrb]

The Hotel industry might not be mistaken with the Salvation Army!

But the Salvation Army surpasses many of hotels on:

costs

amenities

cleanliness

service

comfort