Accused of Pooping in the Shower? How to Contest Fake Hotel Fees!

Travelling should be a joyous experience, but that wasn’t the case with my parent’s stay in Budapest! I’ll walk you through their disgusting ordeal at a hotel in Budapest and tell you exactly how I got them a refund.

Who pooped in the hotel shower?

After checking out and boarding a train to Vienna, my parents were emailed a €51 cleaning fee. The reason? The hotel cleaners claimed my parents had pooped in the shower.

Besides the fraudulent fee, an accusation like this is also highly embarrassing for the victim.

This absurd accusation was clearly retaliation for their earlier complaint about a dirty mattress.

Here’s how I helped them navigate this ordeal and how you can handle similar situations.

Stand up for yourself immediately

Upon discovering the charge, my parents contacted me. I was still in Budapest and immediately visited the hotel to represent them.

I politely but firmly explained the situation, denied the accusation, and requested a refund.

They denied the refund and told me to contact the hotel manager via email.

The hotel staff may have also faked some evidence against you, as they did with my parents.

There’s no way of proving who did this in the shower. I assume the cleaning staff did it and took the photo.

It was only €51 fee. The hotel and I had already wasted that much worth of our time! But sometimes you have to fight on principle, and of course, look after your parents.

Gather evidence

Although my parents hadn’t anticipated this situation, it’s a good practice to document the condition of your hotel room before checking out.

It’s silly, I know. But filming the room and bathroom before checking out could have helped my parents.

Escalate the matter

If initial contact with the hotel didn’t resolve the issue, it’s time to go higher up the chain.

I found the owners of the Novotel brand, French multinational Accor, and emailed the CEO, communications team, Europe regional manager, and the hotel’s manager. Staff emails can usually be found on a company’s website.

In the email, provide all relevant details, including your booking information, any correspondence with the hotel, and a clear explanation of your side of the story.

Here’s the email I sent:

To: Accor CEO, Deputy CEO, Communications team, Vice President Operations Eastern Europe.

Cc: Deputy Manager Laszlo Csakvary, My Parents

Subject: Fraudulent fees at Novotel hotel

My name is Karl Rock and I’m a travel creator with over 3M subscribers.

I’m writing about fraudulent fees happening at your Novotel Budapest Centrium.

Here’s the short version: My parents complained about the hotel’s cleaning, so the cleaning staff left faeces in their shower, so my parents were charged a cleaning fee after they had left. I request that you refund the cleaning fee immediately (receipt attached).

On the morning of 03/05/2024, my parents, Kate and Douglas from New Zealand, were in room 236 and complained about the stains on their bed’s mattress (one photo is attached; there are multiple more).

I think your staff member David Viola took the complaint. He said he’d pass it on to the cleaning team.

A few hours after my parents checked out of the hotel, they received an email (attached) from David Viola claiming they had left the shower dirty and were charging them a 51,34€ cleaning fee.

My parents are luxury travellers and not dirty people who would do something like this. They were extremely shocked and embarrassed.

I believe your cleaning staff were angry at the complaint my parents left, and so they left faeces in their shower as retaliation.

Your cleaning staff even took a photo of the faeces as “evidence.” But we believe your cleaning staff did the faeces themselves as an act of revenge.

My parents had already left for Vienna, so I returned to the hotel on 03/05/2024 at around 6 pm to find out what had happened and request a refund for the cleaning fee. It was very embarrassing for me to do this, but I had to stand up for my parents against these false fees and accusations.

I requested your staff member Aron to refund the fee. He called the deputy manager, Laszlo Csakvary, who refused to talk to me and told me to email him instead. No refund was given.

I request that you immediately refund this fraudulent cleaning fee.

Disciplinary action should be taken against the cleaning staff.

The duty manager should’ve just taken my phone call and authorised Aron to refund the fraudulent fee.

Please reply with what actions you are taking to remedy this.

My email to revelant people at Accor and Novotel.

An early win!

A few days later, I received a reply from the hotel’s general manager, Zoltan Arvai, saying they’d refund my parents!

I don’t know if it’ll be like that for everyone. I’m a travel YouTuber with a large following; that definitely helps.

The Hungarian media even started covering the story after I released a video.

So here’s what to do next.

Leverage social media

Social media can be a powerful tool for expediting resolutions. Public posts often prompt a faster response, as companies are keen to protect their reputations.

So, make sure you share your story on Facebook and Twitter, sticking to the facts, telling your story clearly and succinctly, and tagging the hotel.

Also, leave reviews on Google Maps and Tripadvisor.

Someone even tried, unsuccessfully, to take down my review!

Dispute the credit card charge

If the hotel remains unresponsive or refuses to reverse the charge, consider disputing it with your credit card company.

Credit card companies often side with the consumer in disputes over unauthorized or fraudulent charges.

How else can you protect yourself from hotel fees?

1. Don’t give hotels your credit card details. Prepay on booking.com et al.
2. You can use prepaid or temporary credit cards with hotels. Digital temporary credit cards (and apps) are available in some countries.

Don’t forget to leave a review!

Regardless of the outcome, it’s important to leave a detailed review on platforms like TripAdvisor, Google Maps, and Yelp.

Sharing your experience helps other travellers make informed decisions and holds hotels accountable for their actions.

Travel should be about creating cherished memories, not dealing with baseless accusations and unexpected fees!

Update: Another victim came forward

Another tourist contacted me and said that after a small argument with the reception staff, he was also accused of the same.

He didn’t receive a refund, and the hotel even managed to delete his review from Google Maps.

Has this happened to you?

Please leave your stories and questions in the comments.