Complaints are beginning to pile up about hotels that has been assessing some guests a $500 smoking fee when they check out. The fee comes as a complete surprise to them because they claim they don’t smoke.

Travel writer Zach Griff had just such an experience at The Pell by Hyatt hotel near Newport, Rhode Island this summer over the July 4th holiday. He writes:

During checkout, I reviewed the hotel folio (which I always recommend doing!) and noticed a $500 smoking charge on the bill.

The thing is, I’ve never smoked, and certainly wasn’t planning to start during the holiday weekend with my [eight-month-old] daughter in tow!

He raised the issue with the front desk, but got a hostile response and no immediate resolution. So he posted a video online and discovered that others had been wrongfully charged a huge smoking fee too at that hotel and others.

The hotel warns on its website that there is a fine for smoking in the room:

*MOUSE PRINT:

We checked some review sites, like Trip Advisor and Yelp, and sure enough others found themselves in the same predicament.

At the center of the controversy is a product called Rest Sensor which is a smoke detector that sends a timestamped notice to the hotel billing system whenever it detects smoke in a guest room. The manufacturer’s pitch to hoteliers to adopt their system stresses the financial benefit to the hotel and the accuracy of the system:

*MOUSE PRINT:

After learning of the writer’s social media video, the hotel general manager reached out to tell him he would make sure his credit card is not charged. And the hotel said he would be getting a refund. As a travel writer, he worried about all the other guests he read about who were fighting for their money back from this and other hotels.

We asked Hyatt corporate management to comment on this issue, but a spokesperson for The Pell responded instead:

A top priority is always to create a comfortable environment for all guests and colleagues. The Pell is a non-smoking property (including cigarettes, vapes and e-cigarettes) and uses sensor technology to help maintain a smoke-free atmosphere and high air quality standards within the hotel. This policy is communicated throughout the hotel and in the guestrooms. At this time, we are looking into this situation further and working to extend assistance to guests who have expressed prior related concerns.

Your comments on this issue are welcome below.

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SIDEBAR: Connie Francis and MrConsumer
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Connie Francis passed away last week at age 87.

Four decades ago when MrConsumer was a consumer reporter at Channel 7 in Boston, he had the opportunity to meet Connie Francis who was being interviewed on the daily talk show of which he was a part. Whenever a celebrity visited, I would always ask if they would be willing to do a “consumer” interview about their purchasing habits, etc.

She said she didn’t think she would be a good candidate. So I gave her an example of a question I might ask. “Let’s say you had a relatively new toaster and it went on the blink… what would you do?” She responded: “I’d have someone get me a new one!”

I smiled but we didn’t do the interview.