SiobhanP

The hotel should definately have claimed on their own insurance especially if there was nothing stating you could not use an iron. All service businesses have PL insurance and I am sure contents etc. Maybe it would not be covered unless his claimed over 500 etc but as a service industry this could not possibly have been the first incident to happen to them. The estimated cost of the carpet sounds correct to me and I doubt anyone would replace a patch its just not done it should be re-carpeted. I doubt he replaced it anyway.I don't think they handeled it professionally but to them it does look loike you were going to check out without telling them and this over 2-3 days could bring up some hostility on their part. I would love to know what hotel it was. I think at the ends of the day paying 100 was the easiest resolution for all concerned.

NYCFoodSnob

<i>&quot;Perhaps, had you volunteered with this information when the accident happened, you would have been spared the embarrassment and the confrontation.&quot;</i>

A person's true character is revealed by how they take responsibility (or not) for their actions. Had you fessed up immediately, chances are the outcome would be entirely different. I'm a firm believer in &quot;what goes around comes around.&quot; Also, in all my years of business travel I don't recall seeing many iron-burn stains on carpets.

Small boutique hotels in Europe are typically family-run businesses and issues of insurance are very different than what you find in America. I think at 100 Euro, you got quite a deal.

I once did a photo shoot in a lovely boutique hotel that had just opened near the Spanish Steps in Rome. We were doing a beauty shot with a female model and, while the model was getting her make-up done near the window by the bed, the make-up artist accidentally spilled her tin of Egyptian black, eye-shadow powder onto the brand-new peach-colored, wall-to-wall carpet. (I can hear the audible gasps from the women who have been to Africa and bought this product.)

The spill was about one square foot in circumference and the entire tin had emptied. After a moment of surveying the scope of damage, I decided to finish the shoot and deal with the carpet later. (The hotel did not know I was doing a shoot in the room.)

Because I opted to finish the shoot first, the intense black coal powder had time to settle (big mistake). I called the front desk once the model was gone and my equipment had been put away. They were gracious as could be (with serious, worried looks on their faces) and housekeeping did a terrific job trying to clean the mess up. However, the murky circle where the black powder had once been stood out like a sore thumb.

The hotel didn't ask me to replace the carpet but I insisted. This is why a location photographer pays insurance premiums. I think the bill came to $1200 and I was grateful I hadn't rented a suite.

Europewithkids

gracieb: I cannot comment on travel in Europe (I have not done enough European travel to know) but I travel quite a bit here in the U.S. I do not think any professional American hotel would expect you to pay for accidental damage. It is part of the business cost of running a hotel. While I do not know the particular circumstances of what happened (although I have trouble believing that you saw the iron fall on the carpet and then you just sat around for awhile before picking it up!), accidents do happen. Furniture gets chipped, carpets get stained, bathroom glasses get broken, etc. Hotel rooms are not museums. Accidents do not = treating the room and the hotel with a lack of respect. It sounds to me like the owners got irrational and emotional on you and you made a generous offer. Replace worn carpeting with new carpet, at your expense??? Gee, if I were the hotel owner I would PRAY for accidents like this!!!

111op

NYCFS, that's quite generous of you -- did you have to pay the $1200 out-of-pocket or was the entire sum picked up by insurance? Very honorable and generous if out-of-pocket, but not particularly noteworthy if the insurance picked it up. If I had an expense account, I'd go have Masa sushi at $300 a pop. I don't think that that's especially noteworthy.

tcreath

Hi,

I'm really sorry this happened to you, but I think I have to agree with the others. Since the damage was done by your friend, she should have to pay to have it fixed. Carpet is very hard to repair and replacing that section of it would not look right, I'm sure. Therefore the whole carpet probably needs to be replaced.

I understand that accidents do happen, and we've all had our share of them. I agree with m_kingdom; if you were in a larger hotel owned by a company, the hotel probably would have had insurance that would have taken care of the situation. Unfortunately it wasn't. The owners could have handled the matter in a more appropriate and professional matter but your friend should be responsible for the damage she caused.

Tracy

Dick

&lt;&lt;We were not by any stretch of the imagination trying to slip out of the room or any responsibility.&gt;&gt;

WHile no one was accusing you of attempting to leave without paying your room charges, it does appear that you were not going to bring up the damage you had caused. If you were, you would have done it earlier.

It seems to me, that the owners were patient in allowing you the opportunity to bring the damage to their attention. Apparently that wasn't going to happen.

Whether they repair the carpet or not is of no consequence...you did the damage. If you damge my car, you owe for the repairs regardless of whether I get the car fixed..it has diminished in value.

As for those who think the burn mark was &quot;normal wear and tear&quot;...I have a question. What would you think if you saw a review on hotel that stated the carpet had an obvious iron burn and should be replaced? Wouldn't you think less of that hotel's standards.

NYCFoodSnob

111op, I didn't think my response was overly generous at all. It simply was the right thing to do given the circumstances. Even if they had brought in heavy-duty cleaners with strong bleaching agents, I felt an obvious mark would remain. The peach tone was quite rich.

I'd have to call my accountant to find out how the money was finally transacted. I'm not much for numbers and I pay someone to help me with that part of my life. But, considering the average overhead expense for professional photographers rivals a physician in private practice (and we're not talking about everyone affording a million-dollar insurance policy), trust me, in one way or another, the money comes out of my pocket. I'm self-employed so my expense account is called my wallet.

m_kingdom2

You should remove morals and conscience from business transactions. If it were a friend/family member's house then of course you should offer to pay, but if it's an hotel and they are not asking you to pay, then why bother?

111op

Well, I guess I'm just the miserly type then, NYCFS. I don't think that I'd have paid unless I'd been asked to pay, and $1200 sounds like a lot. But presumably you get to list this as an expense in tax returns, so the actual money that comes out is less.

No, I don't necessarily advocate evading responsibility, and I like to think that I'm a pretty reasonable person (at least reasonable enough to tolerate a leaking toilet and one that wouldn't flush for a night and a morning). But I remain surprised by how sympathetic most of the people who've posted are to the hotel owners.

Surfergirl

You say the damage was not caused by you, but by your friend. Why didn't your friend notify management or offer to compensate for the damage? Why did this become your problem?

Singletail

I would love to KNOW: the PURPOSE of all this &quot;input&quot; you wanted:

A) To make you feel better

B) To exonerate you

C) To allow you to vent

OK, now you've got the input..what good, if any, has it done? And, yes, this IS a perfectly reasonable question from people you are asking for &quot;help&quot; from.

m_kingdom2

I remember an incident when I was sitting in a bar, and knocked a flute of champagne over the bar counter and behind the bar by accident, not only did the bar not care, but poured me another glass with compliments. Accidents do happen, and hoteliers should of course be prepared. I've never stayed in small family run hotels so cannot comment on their situation - it seems to appear more like one is staying in someone's home rather than an international establishment.

This all reminds me of an embarassing incident at The Plaza some twenty plus years ago, involving some very deep pile carpet and a most disgruntled chamber-maid.

NYCFoodSnob

<i>&quot;You should remove morals and conscience from business transactions.&quot;</i>

What a surprise.

Frankly, because I did not inform the hotel that a photo shoot would be taking place, there was no &quot;business&quot; agreement. Typically, if a photographer wants to use hotel property as a back-drop, the photographer is required to pay an additional fee (in America, that fee can start at $500 and is negotiable, usually. It can cost much more.). Then, a contract is written up and both parties sign it. The formality takes time but is there to protect everyone involved in the &quot;business&quot; activity.

Had I paid the typical &quot;location&quot; fee, I never would have offered to replace the carpet. When it comes to business, I'm not <i>that</i> nice.

gracieb

Singletail,
Well, I suppose the answer is some of A, not really B, and hopefully I've not given any indication that I'm just trying to vent. I've tried very hard not to say anything one-sided or name the hotel or say or do anything to cause damage to anyone else.

I really wonder myself why I am spending more time trying to figure this out. I couldn't talk it about it on the trip - my friend said it's 100 Euros, it's over, forget about it.

I suppose I am disturbed by the manager assuming the worst and throwing out insults although he was upset. I am surprised at some of the posts assuming the worst as well and making negative references to my character, etc. That's okay. You don't know me and I've tried to present the situation as clearly as un-biased as possible.

For one thing, the feedback has been helpful to confirm that some of this is due to cultural differences, some of this is due to a small family owned hotel rather than a chain and/or American hotel. I have really appreciated the comments by Marilyn and 111op, and yes, they have made me felt better. I DID try to remain diplomatic and take responsibilty for the damage and try to find a workable compromise.

My friend is one of the most anal persons I know and would never knowingly cause damage to anyone's carpet, whether it be a private home or hotel in any part of the world. That the iron tipped over was an accident in the truest sense of the word.

I really am surprised that so many of the responses have assumed the worst of us. That feels strange - like I've come full circle and am back at the desk at the hotel.

111op

Well, gracieb, I'd have to agree with Marilyn that you shouldn't let this spoil a beautiful trip. Talking about it does help, and maybe after this you can move on.

I noticed that you were being very diplomatic in not naming the hotel. Perhaps you could consider naming it or posting a comment on tripadvisor. Your account sounds pretty level-headed and maybe that will make people think twice before staying with them.

But anyway, as I said, I'm surprised that people are not more sympathetic, but then, well, it's an internet forum after all. I think that the internet can be a wonderful means of communication, but I also think that it's a flawed means. Occasionally people can seem more cutting and nasty than they otherwise would be in real life (and I confess that I sometimes indulge in this sort of behavior, even if it's a bit childish). So you shouldn't think too much about the 100 Euros, and you shouldn't expect much in terms of sympathy from people who don't know you anyway. What matters is that you had otherwise a lovely trip. In any case, accidents happen on any trip. I've had many unpleasant experiences on trips (well, including a leaking toilet). It can be difficult getting over them, but that's part of life.

RufusTFirefly

Unless it was a malicious action that caused the damage (e.g., a rock band destroying a room), it's a normal cost of doing business. Accidents will happen. You shouldn't pay for breaking something in a store either--it should be covered by insurance. If the business chooses not to buy insurance, the customer should not have to make up for their poor business decision to self-insure.

Of course, if you are in a situation where such insurance might not be a viable option (e.g., someone just renting out a room in their house; or in a 3rd world country where insurance might not be available, etc.), the picture changes--what you would do would then depend on the particular situation.

Note that in more advanced countries the &quot;You break, you bought it&quot; scam is common. A store has insurance--but tries to browbeat the customer into paying for something they broke. Whether the customer pays for it or not, the store then proceeds to collect the insurance money.

RufusTFirefly

Oops, I meant to add that, if the hotel in this case had made it clear on check-in that ironing was prohibited, then I think the customer would have a duty to try to make some sort of monetary adjustment, less any insurance the hotel might be due.

Marilyn

gracieb, I understand because stuff like this really bothers me, too. I have trouble letting go of it and getting it out of my mind.

I think your posts here have shown you to be a fair and rational person, and if you SHOULD have informed the hotel earlier, well, we all make mistakes that look foolish in hindsight.

And don't mind Singletail. S/he has only one side of the bed to get out of every morning, and that's the wrong side.

Europewithkids

I am puzzled by the comments about insurance. A hotel should be insured for room damage. Why should it be your problem if a hotel chooses not to obtain proper coverage? If you are going into the hotel business, you should expect that accidental damage to rooms will occur. While we can argue about negligent or reckless behavior, this sounds like a simple accident, akin to spilling a glass of wine on the carpet. A hotel owner who does not expect incidents like this, and has not prepared to deal with them, should not be in the business. Damage from unusual and unexpected uses of a room (like a photo shoot) are one thing. The idea that a guest might use a travel iron, and that such an iron might accidentally fall onto the floor, should not come as a shock to a hotelier. I also doubt very much that the owners were giving you time to &quot;come clean.&quot; Instead, it sounds more like they were waiting for you to vacate the room and settle the bill. I think you should post the name of the hotel so it can be avoided. Whatever one's opinion of who is right, the owners' handling of the situation sounds anything but polite and discreet. Once you asked &quot;how much,&quot; they should have realized that they had won -- you were offering to pay something. Instead, they took it as an afront to their honor. I have run into contractors like this and I can tell you I never use their services again. I for one would not want stay in a place run by such unprofessional people.

JoeG

gracieb,

You created a situation by;
1) An error of commission - staining the carpet.
2) An error of omission - not taking responsibility by informing the hotel.

Now, you continue the problem by trying to blame the management for not handling the situation properly.

Sorry, but I have little sympathy for you in this matter.

JoeG