Guests of SoHo hotel say they were falsely charged $500 smoking fee
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 พ.ค. 2024
- Kristin Thorne has the story on the false smoking fees.
abc7ny.com/post/guests-of-the...
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#hotel #soho #smoking
Short sighted. Charge them $500 now but lose future customers from staying there.
$500 seems really inexpensive to shake an entire building full of strangers who would never know what hit them…but, make some noise why don’t ya?
@@keithjohnsonYT 500....inexpensive....ok....Thank you for your input, now please. Return to your gated neighborhood, and stay there. Scrooge McDuck ass mindset lmao Daddy's gotchu on that trump million starter pack huh?
Easy way to weed out the riff raff. Most hotel guests these days lose all common sense and common courtesy when they check in.
Do not pay that portion on your credit card - dispute it - with enough of those, the hotel will lose their merchant agreement (which they cannot afford)
🤦🤦🤦🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
No one is going to boycott the hotel because some drug addict smoked in his hotel room and got caught.
If you put those devices behind the TV there's a very good chance you'll get false positive readings, especially if the occupant is watching TV just from the heat of the TV and the off-gassing plastic. They're supposed to be out in the room with free flow of air.
Why hide them in the first place, that alone is shady af.
I used to work here 😂 Nomo SoHo been extorting folks with smoking fees for smoking in their hotel rooms
Wym… Are they valid charges?
>wears mask
>works minimum wage
>opinion discarded
@@pearlsswine Nice assumption, try again.
@@pearlsswine
>Does not believe in science
>Looks down on hard working folks
>Opinion discarded
🧢
Whoever installed those devices placed them in the wrong spot. The heat generated by the wall tv, and whatever 'fumes' are released can register as smoking...
They weren’t installed in the wrong spot…. I’m sure they were told exactly to install it there 😂. How else would they charge guests $500? Lol.
@@bpo4736it’s in the wrong spot
The hotel manager sounds dumb.
No, just greedy.
@@richardfabacher3705 Dumb AND greedy.
That a clear scam.
Well they just made it easier for what hotels to avoid
Why go thru hassle. Just call the credit card company and cancel it.
The Hotel will still get the money but you'll still get refunded.
Dispute part of the charge do not say the entire thing because they will say well. Did you stay There and when you say yes they'll be like then why are you disputing it? Dispute the part of the charge? It's not that hard. Don't dispute the entire charge. Believe me, I used to work for the dispute part of a credit card company
File a claim with the Better Business Bureau. Having done just that, my claim was resolved. Plus businesses don"t want them involved.
The BBB is totally useless for the most part.
I used the BBB twice and had my problem solved, both times.
Princess, you have absolutely no idea what the BBB is. They are not a government agency and have zero power over a business.
I know you're not educated enough to figure this out, but just because it worked twice for you does not mean that this is the standard.
Filing a claim with the BBB is akin to a Yelp review lol.
Please, for the love of baby Jesus, put down TikTok and understand the adult world around you.
I know it's not a government agency, yet they still resolved my claims. As far as your comment about TicTok, I have never been on any social media ever, and I am old enough with four grandchildren.
I have had to use the BBB in a few instances in the past and it did get resolved because of it the complaint plus any responses the companies make to the complaint becomes public and available when someone is checking said companies out online plus it affects their ratings with the BBB. So yes it sometimes can get you a resolution because the businesses don't want bad rating and reviews that are public and readily available.
Hotel HVAC systems are connected from room to room. That’s where the smoke comes from
Every hotel I ever go into anywhere in the country reeks from top to bottom of weed. Some so strong you'd think there was a grow operation in there.
Dispute the charge with your credit card company and "Refuse" to pay the scam $500.00. Plus file a complaint with the state, the BBB and news outlets. The scammers at the hotel will either stop trying to cheat customers or they will be put out of business. Shalom
Is there a disclosure warning people of the detection device and the $500 fee at check-in? 😮
I always tell the front desk when I arrive that the room smells like smoke already and that settles that.
The detector is probably picking up odors/heat from the TV.
The newly created hotel fees/scam.
How do you prove/disprove in a courtroom that a room smelled like smoke? *Especially if you can PROVE you don't smoke.*
I like how in their little chart the smoking fumes magically instantly fully disappear. Is there an exhaust system that instantly vented all the air in the room?
boycott the hotel its a scam
Could it possibly be a malfunctioning detection device because it is mounted behind the television? Heat from television activating an off gasing from a dust build up on or in the television???
Hotels know people from out-of-town can't effectively deal with things long-distance, so "guests" usually just accept the scam. All hotels depend on this. A major chain's housekeeper turned off the 3' tall fridge. When I opened it about a gallon of melted ice ran in the room, soaking the carpet. They had no other rooms available. They had me come to the front desk and gave me about a dozen towels to mop the carpet myself because housekeeping had left work. It was still damp and had that refrigerator smell. Nothing on the checkout bill, but they charged my CC a week later for "theft of a dozen towels." We left towels in the tub. I forget how much they charged, like $60-$100. CC removed the charge. Hotel tried twice more before they gave up. Extra "free money" for the hotel. You're surprised they didn't want to discuss it? BTW, I have seen housekeepers puffing away in smoke-free rooms while "cleaning" rooms. Cigarettes dangling, ashes falling everywhere. 🤮
They probably have cameras in the bathroom too.
Welcome to NYC!
scammers paradise
All those that haven't been paid need to bring a lawsuit. I don't believe there isn't a lawyer that will take the case. Sue the hotel and the company that the device is used from
Bloody scammers in the guise of hoteliers
What about Housekeeping Staff? They are likely entering the room each day to change the towels, vacuum, etc ... ? Another question would be how the air in the hotel is circulated and ventilated ... is there air exchange from outdoors? Are there filters that need to be regularly changed? If so, are they actually being changed on schedule? Is there a way that air from other rooms is able to enter the ventilation system of adjoining rooms? Does the window open, if so, could someone on the street below be smoking? There are so many possibilities but the first thing I'd check is how the air is filtered and circulated from room to room.
Another possibility is that this is just a scam charge, a complete rip off, where the hotel knows that only some guests will argue the charge, so even if they are able to keep 50% of the fees, that still amounts to a pile of additional revenue.
What if you burn an aromatherapy candle! Anyway, I will not stay there!
It's the TV. I bet the people getting charged used their TV vs those that didn't.
Who owns the damned hotel?
Bozo the clown
So there is no any supervision and clarification over these charges. imagine if the ppl who were wrongfully charged didnot reach out to the media…
Once when i moved out of a rental house i was charged a pet carpet cleaning fee and i didnt have a pet.
Hertz Rental Car in Las Vegas did the same thing to me. I've never smoked in my life. They wouldn't provide proof. My credit card company even took their word over mine so I was stuck paying the fee. I will bad mouth that company for the rest of my life
You're lucky they didn't get you arrested as a car thief or charge you $300 to fill the gas tank on their Tesla. Lehto's Law YT has so much fun with "Hurts."
Everybody knows what hotel not to stay at.
Always read reviews before booking. Pretty convenient scam for the hotel.
Good luck finding new guests after this news report.
They depend on some dodgy device. It needs to be reverse engineered and tested for faults.
No Mo staying there. Bad look for thr hotel to have to get the news involved
Their equipment that detects smoke must be faulty
I'm a physicist. The smoke is being detected from the TV from being on and admitting fumes so the placement of the smoke detector is the problem behind the tv.
Class action lawsuit.
That happened to me and i threw a fit and they reversed it.
Things are so complicated now, back in the old days when You went to a Hotel or Motel, every room had ash trays, You could smoke or not during Your stay, no monitoring devices. Later they would get smoke detectors, but not to catch People smoking, just to warn in case someones room was on fire!
I would file a lawsuit and charge $500 X 10
well, this PR will certainly affect any future reservations. there are TONS more boutique hotels throughout SOHO that won't do this awful scam. don't even bother booking with these thieves.
I don't understand how you can claim that smoking did any damage to the room if you need to have a sophisticated electronic device to even detect if smoking has occured.
Glad I saw this- hotels are expensive enough
They could have been around smokers and the second hand smoke stayed with them after returning back to the hotel
Lmao he does looks like he smokes in hotel rooms tho......
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
All he had to do was lock card after booking no extra charges would’ve went through, I doubt they charged the extra $500 beforehand as a pre authorization it had to be a completely separate charge. I always lock my card after a purchase for this very reason shady businesses can still charge the payment on file which is basically stealing.
I've been in hospitality at 4 star establishments for over 20 years and I've seen it all. Now for every one person that claims they weren't smoking, or "didn't take items from the mini bar" or " I didn't order anything on cable", I can show you 5 who lied. Guests lie all the time. I've personally been right OUTSIDE of a hotel room and the smell of weed was so strong it's like they're doing in right in front of you, and you knock on the door to ask if they're smoking and they'll swear up and down they're not. I had a guest take a survey after their hotel stay to rate their stay and one"VIP" Guest wrote " nobody greeted me when I arrived at the hotel", nobody asked if I needed assistance with luggage". My bosses IMMEDIATELY sided with him until they ran the video back SHOWING me approach the taxi and offer assistance.
Maybe some devices malfunction? Or maybe a open window with just enough contaminated air? Or its a scam that they pick people that they might not come back anyways (like a one time business trip)?. Wrap the sensor in plastic wrap and maybe film the sensor while your in the room to have proof you did nothing or just do a charge back.
It’s a scam they place the detector by a heat source like TVs. They’re fabricating evidence to win claims so if even if you do complain they have their tampered device as “evidence”.
Scam. Do the charge back, but be prepared to have it reversed then reapplied several times.
As one who smokes in hotels and gets away with it thank you for sharing the information on those devices
the one dude looked totally high in the interview ha
I'll be so insulted to be accused of smoking. I'm not a smoker and if I would have got that charge I'll buy a swab test. I'll throw it in their damn faces and demand my money back!
Nothing surprises if it is from New York , terrible state
Car rental companies do this too.
It’s the perfect scam.the hotels laughing all of the way to bank
Sometimes smoke comes in from the vents from other rooms and can smell very strong
And this is why people just go ahead and use companies like air bnb and others. You might have a $200 cleaning fee, but you see that you will before you complete your booking.
Ive had hotels try and charge for towels, missing tv "laughable", smoking fee, toiletries and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
I can't tell you the last time I stayed in a hotel or motel....
Besides if someone that had stayed in that room previously was a smoker how do they completly remove all traces of smoking from the room the carpet, the furnishings, drapery, etc.
It looks like you could just remove the device from the room. If you can find it.
It's Nyc the smoke might be coming from outside somehow 🤔
Sorry guys I broke in and smoked a pack of cigarettes in your room while you were in the shower
I'm on the fence with this one.
I personally know smokers who were staying in a non-smoking room that said screw it, I don't care, I'm gonna smoke.
A lot of smokers do have that mentality.
Mmm odd,sill so many people smoke these days
No most people vape these days.if anyone were to “smoke” in a hotel room, they would simply vape with no smoke coming out at all.
I will smoke in hotels but only in the bathroom with the shower on. I also use the smoke catcher thing u exhale into and only use a bong or bubbler
@@tattoomesam Yeah, that totally kills the smell.
I’m willing to take a guess they used some crappy smoke monitoring hardware and is getting false positives
The Guest that had His $500 returned immediately by His Credit Card probably Used AMEX because Businesses Fear Losing their Customer Base.
MasterCard World Elite would reverse the charge with 1 phone call, they insure things i didn't even know they did, like my phone or any travel plans. I'm not advertising, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Another reason not to visit NYC!!!! The list goes on!!!!
Dispute it with you credit card company. You WILL win !!!
Nothing new. If you make a hotel upset, they can charge anything they want to your credit card. I used to work for Best Western hotels and owners would show pictures of cigarette burns and charge the customer. Normally this is a stock photo taken from another room and used over and over.
This is why I always stay a chain hotels like Hilton. As long as you tip and nobody complains you can some in the bathroom lol
This money they give to the bookkeeper to ensure she does not skim from the owner.
The hotel know what they were doing when putting the device behind the TV. Whenever the TV is turn on it give out some heat and the device detect it as smoke.
I'll sure as hell never stay there, and I'll make sure my friends don't either. NoMo is right!
Great way to extort guest by charging additional fees
No way to prove unless you video.
Who stays there anymore
Obviously, those 'smoke detectors' don't work. It isn't like housekeeping is going to management and telling them the room smells like smoke. They are just relying on those machines.
Smokers should start staying there and just sit in their room and smoke like it is 1960. Show them what smoking in your room is really like.
Could it be that that smoke device is picking up the heat from the television
Always call n say the room smells like smoke 🤷🏿♂️
I have issues at every hotel in NY. Always
She looks smug. We need a good investigation into their financials to find out how much money they’re making off of this fake smoking charge. It’s either planned to scam people out of money or they bought faulty equipment. So either the hotel is doing it on purpose or the people who sold them the equipment is doing it on purpose.
One more reason not to visit NYC
We depends how u looked when u checked in ,
I bet the smokers are the rick Owens employees from across the street.
Umm., im pretty sure a smoke alarm is meant to be installed on the ceiling, NOT behind a TV. Im betting heat from TV set the alarm off. Something ain't right. And if smoke WAS detected, SURELY the alarm goes off???
these people are genius who place a smoke detector behind a TV, its obvious the display generate heat 🤔
Wait somebody is shoplifting call the cops ,why aren't these people locked up cops because these are the worst kind of criminals
They mess with the wrong Karen. They'll be nomo soho. 😂😂😂
I've stayed there a bunch of times and never had an issue. Usually my go to when I'm in south Manhattan.
Credit cards. It's like handing your wallet to the hotel and saying take what you want. So they act like thieves!
Most of them are outside smoker
9/10 chance the employees live in this establishment and are basically being human trafficked for labor. They do whatever the owner tells them to do. Dispute it with your credit card company. Ask me how I know…
If I check into a hotel and smell anything like smoke I demand to get a new room
They better go back years and start reimbursing people are they gonna get a class action suit.
Write consumer affairs nyc.
Check the devices. It could be they are being set off by shower steam, just like regular smoke detectors.
They r not lying
Haha. I’ve vaped in nearly 100 hotel rooms and never had a problem. Whatever they’re using for detection doesn’t work.
L o l that's what you get for going into that city.
Any TV station that gets a written reply from a company about any problem that the station investigated should not be read the statement.
If the company wants to defend themselves it needs to be on a video !!!
Fraud? In New York?