Hotel Sues Guest for 95K over Bad Review | sweetiq.com
You can bet this Montreal man regrets his short stay at the the Hotel Quebec: bit by bed bugs in the night, he reviewed his negative experience the next day on Trip Advisor, and when he refused to take it down, the chain of hotels sued him for $95,000.
The night of April 26th, Laurent Azoulay stayed with his son and entire sports team at the Hotel Quebec, one in a popular chain on the avenues des Hôtels. In the middle of the night, Laurent woke with a startle as he felt bed bugs biting his leg. He had the presence of mind to trap a few of the perpetrators in a glass for proof before migrating down to the front desk.
As the particular hotel was full for the night, the managers offered him $40 for the inconvenience and to move him to an available room in a nearby hotel, also in the Jaro chain, promising that tomorrow a clean room would be available at the Hotel Quebec. Mr. Azoulay refused to relocate, and the next afternoon settled up and quit the chain entirely – though not before telling guests he passed about the bugs, convincing them they should pack up as well. Notably, he told the director of the hotel that she should “get on her knees and beg him not to tell this story to anyone.”
But he did tell the story: the next day, he wrote a scathing review on the hugely popular website, Trip Advisor, which features prominently the presence of bed bugs. And he was right that Jaro Hotels should have begged: travelers hearing about the potential infestation don’t want to risk their personal belongings and health; the review is an objective deterrent. Since Mr. Azoulay’s stay and subsequent critique, Jaro Hotels has been inundated with calls assessing the issue and reports a real dip in business. The hotel does not dispute the presence of bed bugs that night but vehemently asserts Mr. Azoulay’s room was the only one affected in the hotel and chain at large. No other incidents of the kind have been reported at least in recent history, and the hotel has vowed to do everything it can to avoid a recurrence of the issue.
Despite entreaties, the review remains; Mr. Azoulay refuses to take it down, and now, for the reputation damage and lost profits it has caused, the hotel’s GM Jacques Robitaille has filed a lawsuit against Mr. Azoulay for $95,000. Sigh. A lot of lessons here.
