Are hotels running scams on guests by charging them fraudulent fees? That’s what one New York hotel customer seems to think.
When staying at a hotel, most travelers know how to avoid being overcharged during their trip. For example, it’s probably a bad idea to take anything from the minibar unless you want a hefty bill.
However, some hotels take things further and attempt to charge guests for things they didn’t even do.
This is what’s being alleged by TikTok user Rhay (@rhayleicy). In a video with over 2.4 million views, Rhay says that the M Social Hotel New York Times Square charged her a $500 smoking fee—even though she both doesn’t smoke and wasn’t in the room at the time.
Why Did This Hotel Charge A Guest A Fraudulent Smoking Fee?
In her video, Rhay says that she returned to her hotel, the M Social Hotel New York Times Square, at the end of a day in New York only to find a bill attached to her door. The bill was for $500.
What was the bill for? Smoking—something that Rhay doesn’t do.
“I just took that immediately to the desk, the front desk. Asked to talk to the manager, and I said, ‘Hey. This can’t be possible. We don’t smoke. Anybody here knows that I don’t smoke. Neither of us smoke. Nobody was smoking in the room,’” Rhay recalls. “‘How are you charging me $500? What is this based on?’”
At this point, she says she was given a “smoke report,” which claimed that there was smoke in the room between 4 and 4:30pm.
The problem? Neither of the guests were in the room at the time—something they could verify with photos.
The Hotel Refuses To Help Fight The Fee
While Rhay demanded that the manager pull records to show that she wasn’t in the room, the manager claimed that nothing could be done and that she would have to pay the fee.
This, among other details, led Rhay to believe that this was a scam.
“We were having a great time staying at this hotel up until this moment when they’re trying to scam us out of $500 with no proof other than a piece of paper telling me that… they think somebody was smoking here at 4:20—when we don’t smoke!” she exclaims.
Rhay closes by noting that she’s still trying to resolve the issue with the hotel.
Things Get Crazier
Eventually, Rhay got a response from the hotel. But when she read what they actually said, she became shocked.
“They said, ‘I’m sorry, there was a confusion. The smoke detector picked up smoke not at 4 to 4:30pm, like we said before. It actually picked up smoke between 10 and 11:00am’—which is conveniently a time that I was present in the hotel room,” she explains.
“So now, they’re trying to claim we were smoking at 11:00am, or 10 to 11:00am, and changing the report five hours,” she adds.
Has This Happened Before?
Rhay isn’t the first to complain about this. In reviews for the hotel on Google, numerous users have noted this allegedly fraudulent $500 smoking fee.
“We had a terrible experience at this hotel. Days after our stay, we were hit with a $500 smoking fee – completely fabricated. Neither I nor my companion smoke, and we have clear proof we weren’t even in the room at the time they claim the smoking happened,” reads one review.
“We stayed at M Social Times Square and were accused of smoking in our hotel room – something we absolutely did not do, as none of us smoke at all,” says another. “Despite this, we were charged a $500 fee without any evidence or chance to explain ourselves.”
In response to reviews like these, the hotel often comments something to the effect of, “In all of our guest rooms, there is a device that is constantly monitoring the air quality to ensure that the room and the hotel is an absolute smoke free environment for all of our guests. These devices accurately report when detecting any smoke particles from smoking or vaping activities. They can also accurately differentiate among steam, shower, aerosols, hair spray, candle, cooking and etc..”
But how true is this?
What Smoke Detectors Are Causing These False Readings?
There are now sensors on the market that claim to be able to not only detect smoke, but other things as well, such as vape clouds.
This is actually more difficult than one might think. Many aerosols and other airborne particulate appear similar and can trigger sensors designed for smoke stemming from fires.
While sensors like the one apparently present in Rhay’s room may have advertised themselves to the hotel as being able to measure all forms of room smoke, false positives like the one experienced by Rhay and many other reviewers show that these systems aren’t as effective as they might believe.
It’s not just this hotel, either. Many hotels using these sensors have received similar complaints from guests who got fraudulent smoking bills.
What Can A Guest Do About This?
If you find yourself in Rhay’s situation, there are a few things you can do.
First, start by gathering as much evidence as possible to provide your case. This includes asking to see and keep copies of all incident reports, including any photos, timestamps, or supposed sensor readings. If the hotel refuses to remove the charge, you can escalate it to the general manager or corporate office and provide proof that you did not violate policy.
Second, if the charge isn’t resolved, you can contact your credit card company and dispute the fee.
In order to prevent this from happening to others, you can leave negative reviews. You can also contact relevant regulators and agencies like the Better Business Bureau to see if anything else can be done to resolve your situation.
Commenters Have Ideas
In the comments section, many users had ideas about how Rhay could dispute the charge with the hotel.
“I’d be like ‘well obviously something is wrong with the smoke detector i’m going to call the fire department because now i am worried about my safety’ and see what happens then,” suggested a commenter.
“‘Now I’m concerned for my safety. Was there someone in our room without our permission. Are the smoke detectors faulty. I think I need to call the police and report this,’” offered another. “See how fast they switch up.”
“Definitely call the cops. Say that, according to the hotel, someone broke into your room and they aren’t helping, but charging you for it,” declared a third.
BroBible reached out to the M Social Hotel New York Times Square via email, relevant New York city agencies via email, and Rhay via TikTok comment and Instagram DM.