Last week I was travelling for work and stayed at a mid-range conference hotel. One day I decided to use their gym, and showered afterwards. Each shower was an individual stall, and had a frosted glass door with the hotel’s name etched nicely in the glass. As I was leaving the stall, I opened the door, apparently with too much force. The door swung in rather hard, hit the tiled wall behind, and broke. The glass (fortunately) did not shatter, but the door did split into two, with a horizontal fracture completely dividing the door. After dressing I informed the staff at the fitness center, who told me not to worry and that they would just add the cost of the door to my hotel bill. Feeling guilty about this, I agreed, and did pay the bill when I checked out two days later.
I mentioned this to a colleague later, and he said he was surprised that the hotel had billed me for the door, since it was an accident. I don’t know what to think. It was clearly my fault, but it was an accident. And I didn’t really swing the door that hard. It’s just that there was no built-in breaking mechanism in the hinge, nor any rubber door stopper thingy.
What’s done is done, but I was curious what Dopers think about this. Was it correct to make me pay for the door, or should the hotel have let it go as an operating expense?
That’s on the hotel. If that’s all it took to break the door, there should have been a doorstop or some kind of safety measure taken upon installation. If the glass had shattered and you had been injured, you likely would have had a claim against them.
Even if it is technically your fault, I am surprised that they charged you. . I think most places would think your continued future business and good will is worth the price of the door.
Seems weird to me that the hotel would know the cost of a replacement door off the top of their head to add it to your total at the time of checkout (as opposed to sending you a bill later). Does this happen to them a lot?
The OP should have made the situation more clear - that he didn’t do anything harsh or unusual to break the door. I read it as “I did something stupid and broke a door, can I pay for it?” and they said “Sure.”
Maybe “The door cracked because it swung into a hard wall, even though I didn’t push it hard or anything. Is that a problem?” might have been a better approach.
Assuming truthiness in the tale, I’d say no, the hotel should have absorbed the cost of a faulty installation.
I’ve seen hotels that have a price list posted in the room, of how much they will charge for each article that is damaged of missing on checkout. So the hotel presumably has a flat rate schedule for damaged property. But its hard to believe they wold have thought to include fixtures in common-use areas.
My guess is that the staff member of the fitness center somehow got the impression that you were offering to pay for the damage, so he did what he thought you wanted. The person at the front desk probably had no idea why the extra charges were on your bill.
Perhaps he looked up your name and, seeing that your were a mogul and all, figured you wouldn’t mind.
The problem is he was set up by a faulty design, and the hotel is responsible for said design. He shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s failure to make a piece of equipment that will stand up to reasonable use.
I’d call the hotel or their corporate office and explain that upon reflection, you feel you should not be held responsible for the door, and ask for a refund of the charge.
The odds are that the door glass didn’t crack because the OP inadvertently whacked it on the side of the stall.
Instead it probably cracked because the OP was the 177th person to inadvertently whack it on the side of the stall. And 177 happened to be the unlucky number when the glass finally had reached its breaking point.
What should have happened is that the OP makes a gracious offer to pay, and the gym staff reply “Oh, no need; this happens every couple of months; they’re not very sturdy.” To which the OP says “You know, if you/they installed a doorstop in the stall this wouldn’t happen.” To which the staffer shrugs in the time-honored way of bottom/front-line staff everywhere.
This is a weird charge. It’s something that broke through normal use. May I ask, if you feel comfortable sharing, what is the going rate for a hotel shower door these days?
Amateur Barbarian is on to something – was your presentation more “I broke a door and want to pay for it?” or “FYI the door broke, you should alert maintenance”?
And if the staff was planning to charge you, why did they say “don’t worry?” What other worry would you have over it?
The hotel presumably called the glass company and got back to me later in the evening about the cost. The fitness center had recently been added to the hotel (in the last 6 months maybe), so the the cost/contract was probably fresh in their minds. And the newness of the place might have contributed to why they were so uptight about the whole thing. Perhaps if the door had been 10 years old it would have been different…
I thought about arguing about it, but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it with the hotel in fear of making our hosts for the meeting lose face. Our hosts use that hotel a lot.
I’ll add my vote to those saying they could charge you, but surprised they did. I’ve broken a few wine glasses in restaurants over the years, never charged. This is the same thing, although on a slightly bigger scale. The manager should have apologized to you, and expressed relief you were not injured.
ETA: reading this “Our hosts use that hotel a lot,” I’m even more surprised.
The door came to about $100. The hotel was in a developing country, where things are a lot cheaper. The same door around here would have cost 5x that amount. I got lucky.
Yes, I did offer to pay for it as soon as I alerted them. But it was not exactly a hearty offer, more of a reluctant suggestion. But at a certain level I was also afraid that the hotel might charge the fitness center manager for the door, which I have heard of happening in similar situations. That would have been a month’s salary for him. Compared to him, I am a mogul…
What other worry would you have over it?