Passport Photocopy Taken At Hotels

[sanmiguel]

For years ive gladly handed over my passport at hotels for them to take a photocopy of.

However i just moved hotels as the one i was in were trying to charge me 500bht for a towel that had some kind of faint red mark on, i noticed it after showering on my first day, put it to oneside and housekeeping took it, ...... then i didnt think anything of it until yesterday when they started wanting money at reception .

I never took it out of my room, never took 1 girl back who would have used it, i go to the gym where they supply me with towels.... But for the sake of this amount of money i paid them whilst telling them i was checking out purely because of this and they are losing out on 20000bht in rent because of it.

After paying the money i asked for the towel to prove it could be cleaned as now i presumed id bough it (they told me the previous day that their housekeeping wouldnt clean it) to which this morning they replied housekeeping have it, if you want it back give us another 500baht.

Now all i wish to know is, If i had done the decent thing and not paid is it possible for them to report my passport number to customs at the airport and for me to be stopped there? As if this is the case they can demand all sorts as we've got to bend over and do as they please.

[bkkjames]

Hotels take everyone's ID, Thai and Farang.

If you steal / damage something without paying or do a runner, why shouldn't they report you to the proper authorities?

[sanmiguel]

Hotels take everyone's ID, Thai and Farang.

If you steal / damage something without paying or do a runner, why shouldn't they report you to the proper authorities?

But thats the point it was already in that state when i checked in the hotel, if it was my doings then i'd pay and apologise, in this case i only paid and the fact they wouldnt return it to me to wash showed there was nothing wrong with it and it was a case of make some easy money of rich farang.

Edited April 24, 2009 by sanmiguel

[bkkjames]

Hotels take everyone's ID, Thai and Farang.

If you steal / damage something without paying or do a runner, why shouldn't they report you to the proper authorities?

But thats the point it was already in that state when i checked in the hotel, if it was my doings then i'd pay and apologise, in this case i only paid and the fact they wouldnt return it to me to wash showed there was nothing wrong with it and it was a case of make some easy money of rich farang.

well, I appreciate your dilem, sounds like you were staying at the place on Soi 2 or 4 that doesn't allow thai visitors.

You were given the 500 baht 'farang you make sheets dirty - you pay ha roi baht now, chop chop' routine.

Don't worry, I am sure the 500 baht got 3 big bowls of somtam, lad na, sticky rice, and ka-pow moo to feed everyone.

[Gary A]

I was once charged 30 baht for getting the bathroom floor wet. The room had a bath tub with a shower head. No shower curtain. The bathroom floor had a drain and ceramic tile.

Normally I wouldn't have said anything about 30 baht but it was so ridiculous that I came unglued and embarrassed everyone with listening distance.

I can't remember the hotel name. It was about a half a kilometer off the main road in Samut Prakarn.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Which hotel was it?

Don't write the name but describe it in some way. Or send by PM.

Want to make sure I avoid that place as well.

[Boater]

Which hotel was it?

well i know ibis charge this amount

[dave111223]

I don't see what they could actually do with your passport photocopy(maybe some hoteliers could shed some light).

But why would customs/immigration get involved in a hotel billing dispute.

Surely they would need to start some kind of civil court proceedings if they were hel_l bent on getting the money.

If they had your actual passport they could say that they won't give it back until you pay, but who cares about a photocopy? It doesn't prove anything...except for the fact that they have interacted with you at some point.

[Sabum]

Why would anyone pay for something they didnt break? People will scam you if you LET them.

Nice one about the wet floor, thats the most ridiculous scam I've ever heard of, unbelievable.

[sanmiguel]

Which hotel was it?

Don't write the name but describe it in some way. Or send by PM.

Want to make sure I avoid that place as well.

Have you seen the "Golden Sea" in Pattaya (minus the "in")

Edited April 24, 2009 by sanmiguel

[sanmiguel]

But why would customs/immigration get involved in a hotel billing dispute.

Thats what i thought but you can never be 100% sure about anything in Thailand, surely this is the reason why they take your passport number so they can potentially make problems for people.

Edited April 24, 2009 by sanmiguel

[bendejo]

This seems to be a new trend, I've been hearing about it often lately. Usually the offending stain is a little blood from a shaving nick.

If the towel was so disgusting they refused to wash it, why did they want that additional 500b to hand the thing over? Such crap! It goes back into circulation.

My guess is the cleaning lady gets a piece of the action, and all she knows is that she gets some cash out it, she could care less about you paying tens of thousand to the boss.