Man gets creative with revenge after hotel refuses to refund him

Dispute arose around ID during check-in

Peaceful protest: With time to spare, one man took action to get his cash back (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A would-be guest has taken creative steps to get revenge on a hotel that refused to refund his stay.

The man, unnamed but from the US state of Montana, attempted to check into his accommodation but was refused due to issues with his ID, reports View From The Wing.

The traveller had recently renewed his driving licence, so only had a temporary paper version while he waited for his new one to be sent out; he had also renewed his passport, and was waiting for that to be issued.

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 disgruntled customer managed to find a room elsewhere, before going back to the hotel the following day, where he was again denied a refund. At this point, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

According to the report, 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.

“I did this at 2.45pm, just before regular check-in time. On a very busy summer travel day. Not even 60 seconds passed and motorists started to slow down, some honking, looking at said poster, pulling into the offending hotel’s parking lot. Some even came to a full stop, asking questions like ‘does that hotel actually have bed bugs?’,” he told View From The Wing.

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

He’s not the only traveller to take drastic action to exact revenge.

In April, an Airbnb owner was left with a $1,570 (£1,260) bill after a couple took revenge when they were unable to cancel their booking. The pair travelled to a villa in Seoul, South Korea, from China for a 25-day trip just to punish the host, leaving the gas on and the taps running during the entire period.