Mumbai: A hotel in the city has been drawn into social media discussion after it asked a guest to pay ‘Rs 2500 plus taxes’ for coffee stains on the linen sheet and one pillow, according to NDTV.
Footage going viral on Reddit showed the hotel employee asking the guest to pay the money as the guest was trying to negotiate.
The employee insisted the guest pay for the damaged linen as the stain would not come off.
The guest tried to reason with the employee suggesting that the stain could be removed, and even offered to get it removed himself.
The guest was heard saying that ‘only a few drops of coffee’ while describing the degree of damage caused to the linen.
However, the hotel employee made it clear that the spillage was quite significant.
The caption to the footage read: ‘I spilt coffee on linen and they're charging me 2500+taxes and saying it's damage to property @IHG hotel, what should I do’.
The footage triggered debates on social media with some users calling the coffee stains ‘damage’ to property.
However, several others responded to the video saying that hotels generally would not ask for such charges.
One user reportedly shared personal experience saying: ‘Have spilled coffee a couple of times. Never been charged’.
Another user said that customer is more important to 4-star hotels than a bedsheet and cushion covers and they would ‘let it go’.
However, a third user shared personal experience of having been fined in a hotel for ‘ruining a napkin’.
One pointed out that ‘This is definitely considered as damage to the property. I am sure in their Terms and Conditions, they have a clause saying you need to pay if you cause any damage to the property. Especially considering that it is a proper hotel and not some guest house/lodge, they will have this covered in the Terms and Conditions.’