Debate lights up web after guest says hotel fined her $8,600 for smoking in room

A mainlander says was fined HK$8,600 by Rosewood Hong Kong "for smoking" in her room, although she insists her friend merely brought a cigarette butt into the room after lighting up outside the hotel and failing to find a disposal bin.

The woman's post drew over 1,000 comments within a day on mainland social media Xiaohongshu.

The unnamed woman said she stayed in the five-star hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East recently and received an invoice of HK$8,600 the following day for "restoring the room to its original looks."

She said she and a friend had arranged for afternoon tea in Hong Kong for the weekend and they stayed at the hotel on Salisbury Road on the first night.

The hotel was fully booked the following night and the woman and her friend had to switch to another hotel in the same area, according to her post.

"When I woke up the next morning, my friend told me there was a letter for me from the hotel, written in simplified Chinese. It was amusing at first, but after seeing my name on it, it was not funny anymore," the woman said.

The woman also posted a photo of the invoice.

"We are a nonsmoking hotel, and we are also dedicated to providing a nonsmoking environment to our guests," the note read.

"We have already charged you for an extra night at our hotel for HK$8,600 for cleaning fees, to restore our room to its fresh look."

The woman insisted she did not smoke in the room.

"My friend was not able to throw away the cigarette butt outside the hotel and so brought it back to the room," the woman said.

"The alarm was not set off at the hotel. They must have found out about the butt when they entered our room to turn on our night lights."

Her post has sparked a heated debate online.

"Can they just charge you whenever they want? At least they should get your permission, right?" a commenter said.

"Without a proper explanation or warning in advance, this penalty is illegal. Since when do hotels have the authority to issue penalties?" another said.

Some argued that the incident was prompted by the woman's mistake so the hotel's charge was "understandable."

"So you are trying to say that the hotel should seek your approval before charging you a penalty? You are the one who breached their regulations and you are now trying to look for loopholes?" one posted. Another said: "I can only say: Well done, hotel," another said.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com