We were kicked out of a hotel room?

Question

Have you ever been evicted from a hotel? I was, along with my husband and two friends. We were being loud and unruly! They also charged us a $150.00 smoking fine, although none of us smoke, but they could smell it in the room. Has anybody else had this experience? I am so angry. I may get the $150.00 reversed but we were treated like crack heads. My husband and I are business owners and our two friends are bank managers. Any lawyers out there with suggestions? This all happened at the Stratacona Hotel in Victoria BC.

Answer 1

They should have kicked the lot of you right into the Inner Harbor.  There is nothing worse than being a visitor anywhere and then being loud and noisy - isn't that "The Ugly American."

Answer 2

you should have been kicked out you you and your friends were being loud and unruly.Maybe one of your friends is lying & they really do smoke.

Answer 3

"We were being loud and unruly."  Are you stating that sarcastically or seriously?  

I have been in business relationships with people who make six-figure incomes easily... but didn't hesitate to humiliate themselves by getting so drunk they had their assistant holding their hair back while they vomited in the restroom.  Or, worse, on the floor.  These actions were usually preceded by loud, embarassing and often inappropriate behaviour in front of many people.  So, I don't care that you're a business owner or that your buddies are bank managers.  

If you weren't smoking, okay, then I'll concede the $150 fine could be challenged.  But if you guys WERE being loud, it's the hotel manager's discretion to act in the best interest of the majority of their customers, not just one.  For all you know, multiple customers from surrounding room(s) complained.  Which outnumbers you, no matter how quiet you think you all were.

If you WERE being civil, then I wish you the best of luck in resolving this issue.  Perhaps getting a copy of the hotel's house rules would be of assistance. It might outline what the manager can deem as "loud and unruly".  You could then either argue that you and your friends didn't fall under that description OR argue that their definition of "loud and unruly" is unreasonable.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Sue them.. that's really rude.

Answer 5

Although I have never been evicted from a hotel, I have evicted MANY people from hotels that I have worked for.  I'm curious about a few things, and have some general suggestions (some of which may or may not apply in this case):

1. How many warnings were you given (if any given at all)? Since you said you weren't in the room long, probably not any.  It's pretty bad policy to kick someone out without a warning, if that's what happened here. If you ever get warned by a hotel, TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.  They would MUCH rather kick you out than let you stay and have a guest angry about noise.  Trust me on this.

2. Did YOU smell smoke in the room? For example, was there a smoke smell when you first walked in the room? (As for an "unauthorized charge," most hotels have you sign a registration card stating you agree to pay for any damages- including smoke damage- when you check in.  You may want to get a copy of the registration card you signed to check if this hotel does.) If you did smell smoke, this is a lesson for next time: IMMEDIATELY report it to the front desk, and have them make note of it in your record so you will not be charged.  The same goes for any other damages you notice.

3. My experience has always been that if I felt like the guests were making a sincere effort to keep it quiet, then I would not do anything about making them leave.  Some people are definitely more sensitive to noise around them, and it is sometimes incredibly hard to make them completely satisfied.  If this happens to you again (you get placed next to noise-sensitive people) offer to move to a different room.  This makes everyone happy, and although it's somewhat inconvenient to move, at least you don't get kicked out!  

4. I don't know about hotel laws in Canada, but in the US you will have little to no chance to win a case like this against a hotel.  Of course, current society is extremely sue-happy, so you can go ahead with what you will.  But as for a solution to this, I don't think this is the best one for you.

5. In my opinion, the best solution to this situation would be to speak with the hotel general manager.  It is unlikely that they know much about what happened, so explain it to them as FACTUALLY as you can.  They will communicate with the manager-on-duty about what happened, and if you fib, they will know.  Just approach it very civilly, and you will get much better results than by attacking or acting angry.  My experience is that I am 100% more likely to help someone when they act civilly towards me, and just about everyone else in the world is the same way (it sounds like you are the same...you weren't treated civilly, and it made you angry...remember this when dealing with them.)

Sorry for the long response, and I hope you get the situation resolved to your satisfaction.

Answer 6

At least you're honest, in that you were being loud and rowdy. But that may have been the reason you were thrown out...call me Cap'm obvious.

I am not a lawyer, and I can't provide legal advice. I am in America, anyway, so I don't even know if the laws would be the same in Canada.

I am sorry they kicked you out. Did they make clear beforehand that the tenants or what not must keep quiet in the Hotel? Why did you pay the $150 smoking fee, since you were not smoking in the room?

You could talk to a lawyer about it, but you may need to prove that you were injured in some way, form, or fashion- or that you actually suffered a loss as a result of being 86'd from the Hotel.

Again- this is not legal advice. This is just my own opinion. Good luck.