An overnight traveller’s $75 per night room at the Ibis Budget Canberra turned out to be a nightmare after his bank account was drained by $1825 to pay the expected fire service call-out fee to the hotel after a triggered fire-alarm.
Simon He, 36, was on a road trip from Sydney to Adelaide when he stopped for the night in Canberra on Monday, Aug 24, and checked-in at the Ibis Budget Canberra, according to a report in 7NEWS.com.au.
Next morning, He took a five-minute shower in the bathroom pod in his room.
“Before I took a shower, I noticed that there was a sign on the bathroom cautioning guests to ‘keep the door shut while showering’. And, “I did exactly that,” he said.
“I finished the shower and walked out and, when I was putting my clothes on, the fire alarm was triggered.”
Within minutes, hotel staff knocked on his room door, and within an hour his bank account was drained to foot the expected fire service call-out fee to the hotel.
“They charged me $1825, without my permission, without my knowledge,” He said.
He raised concerns for being charged a fee before the relevant fire authority had invoiced the hotel with the exact cost of the call-out. His several requests to be provided with a copy of terms, or any signed document his agreeing to such a charge reportedly did not evoke any response from the hotel.
“I followed that instruction. It did not say the door must remain closed after showering, that it must be opened slowly, or that shower steam could result in a $1825 charge.”
In their email replies, the hotel explained: “This amount is based on the costs we have previously been charged in similar fire alarm call-out incidents … we have had similar incidents in the past where the fire alarm was activated due to steam from a shower.
“If the amount is not secured at the time of the incident, the guest may subsequently block or cancel the card, making it difficult for the hotel to recover the cost once the official invoice is received.
“This is the reason the amount was secured immediately.”
He made several vain attempts for his refund, but only after the intervention of 7NEWS.com.au the hotel chain group Accor has now issued a full refund.
“(The) hotel has (a) right to cover the cost but the way (it was) handled is not right. I do apologise for the trouble we might cause,” an email from their general manager said.
The budget hotel chain is named in a number of steam-related false alarm reports on online legal forums and review platforms.
“The steam buildup is significant and with poor ventilation — especially above the toilet — it’s no surprise that it triggered a false alarm,” one guest wrote on Trip Advisor after their stay at the Ibis Budget Coffs Harbour in August last year.
Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue NSW said “False alarm charges are the responsibility of the person who has entered into a contractual agreement with the AFASP (automatic fire alarm service provider), (but) FRNSW does not support charges being passed on to individual occupants, although exceptions may apply.”
