Can a hotel charge for soiled linen and mattress ?

afghanChris

Basically hotel have informed us that the bed linen and mattress had to be destroyed and expect us to pay £300.....
We weren't aware of any problem at the time. But having spoken to the person who slept in bed they have said they had an accident 😐 
But can hotels charge such amounts? Do they not have mattress protectors on? 
I have cancelled my debit card in case they try to take money without my knowledge!
How do I go about this? They say they will pursue for costs of replacement, loss of earnings and interest! 
Can anybody advice what to do?
Many thanks

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Which ever way it goes worth a note that their loss isn't a brand new mattress it's a mattress that is however old so new price minus age which could be very little. 

 

Bradden

Tell the person who had the accident that maybe they should have informed the hotel at the time... did they think the hotel wouldn't notice?

jon81uk

It doesn't seem unreasonable to charge for a soiled mattress.
They wouldn't have plastic mattress protectors, just maybe fabric ones to protect from sweat etc. If someone is likely to have an accident then a plastic mattress protector could probably have been fitted on request I expect.

But in terms of a soiled mattress, thats probably classed as damage and will be in their terms that it can be charged for. For example Premier Inn terms state
"If you or your group cause damage or loss of any kind to the hotel, other guests or their property, you (as the person making the booking) will be responsible for that damage or loss and you shall be liable to pay to Premier Inn on demand the amount required to make good or remedy such damage or loss."

Grumpy_chap

afghanChris said:

They say they will pursue for costs of replacement, loss of earnings and interest! 

If the hotel pursues a claim, then "loss of earnings" should be nil as any competently managed hotel will have spare beds, mattresses, linen etc all available on site.  It is very easy for a hotel to put an extra bed in a room on request, so they simply use one of those "extra" beds to back-fill for the damaged mattress.

Even if the hotel did not have a stock of spare mattresses, linen etc, the loss of earnings would only occur if they could demonstrate that the night following your stay the hotel was at 100% occupancy and they had to turn-away another guest because of the damage.  If that didn't happen, there was no loss of earnings.

As others said, the claim would not be for replacement of a brand new mattress, but the replacement of the used mattress so there is no betterment.  Depending upon the nature of the accident, even replacement would be excessive as cleaning may well suffice and be cheaper.

So, any claim will be small and interest rates are low so ignore that part of it.

sheramber

I would think £300 to replace   a mattress and bed linen was reasonable. 

comeandgo

sheramber said:

I would think £300 to replace   a mattress and bed linen was reasonable. 

I agree with this.  The hotel has greatly reduced the cost of a mattress and bedding, especially if it was a double or king size.

Monsternextdoor

Then wouldn't it be down to the person who had the accident to pay unless they are a child ?

Was it a big chain or a small independent hotel ? with them saying loss of earnings etc. 

donnac2558

Someone I know did crap in the hotel bed and actually left it there for housekeeping. 

Yes, they had to for a new mattress and bed linen.  

I thought it was disgusting, but they said well it was  paid for.

photome

sheramber said:

I would think £300 to replace   a mattress and bed linen was reasonable. 

me too.  the guest who soiled it should have owned up at the time and coughed up

Jenni_D

Monsternextdoor said:

Then wouldn't it be down to the person who had the accident to pay unless they are a child ?

No, as mentioned previously it would be down to the person who made the booking and paid. It would then be for them to reclaim it from the "soiler". 💩