A Chinese woman who flooded her hotel room on purpose after her request to cancel her reservation was denied ended up paying 280 times more than the original room rate.
A hotel in China’s southern island province Hainan called the police on October 28, reporting that a woman had flooded one of their rooms.
The unidentified guest booked the room for a night’s stay on an online platform for 108 yuan (US$15).
She checked in late at night, then made a request on the platform to cancel her booking with a full refund half an hour later, using a “change of plan” as the reason.
The hotel manager, surnamed Xiong, said their policy does not allow cancellation after check-in, but the woman insisted, saying that the room was of bad quality and soundproofing.
Hotel staff offered her an upgrade for free, but she refused to change her mind.
The woman also called the police and complained to the local government hotline.
While waiting for the police, the woman turned on the washbasin’s tap and the showerhead to flood the room.
She also threw the bedding into the shower room and poured shower gel on it.
Staff only discovered the flooding when water leaked from her second-floor room into the lobby.
Xiong said the taps ran from 2am until early morning. The room was completely flooded, and the walls and floor were damaged.
According to the hotel, the estimated cost of the damage was around 20,000 yuan (US$2,800).
The hotel called the police and demanded that she take responsibility.
The police spoke to the woman who confessed to what she had done and agreed to compensate the hotel by paying almost 30,000 yuan (US$4,200).
According to Chinese law, people who intentionally destroy public or private property and cause damage worth a relatively large amount of money face detention or a fine.
If the cost of the damage exceeds 5,000 yuan (US$700), the offender may also be investigated for criminal responsibility.
“She ended up paying nearly 300 times the hotel room rate that she wanted to avoid,” said one online observer.
“Compared to greater legal consequences, the 30,000-yuan compensation is a rather light punishment,” said another.
“Anger can cause great consequences if we do not put a leash on it. The law can be a good leash,” said another. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
