Hotels are meant to be a break from everyday life, but that doesn’t mean that the rules don’t apply. Case in point, a one-night stay at a Tennessee Econo Lodge quickly turned tense when a woman was hit with a $30 pet fee after bringing her dog. She says she informed staff ahead of time that the animal was a service dog, but the hotel manager disputes that claim, alleging no one was notified. The disagreement escalated into a heated exchange before the woman left. Now, video of the confrontation is circulating online.
The footage, filmed from the customer’s perspective, begins inside the reception area of the Tennessee Econo Lodge. The woman can be heard calling for assistance before the hotel manager enters the room. “You’re the only person here?” asks the woman. “Yes. I’m doing everything.” replies the manager. “Great. I was actually coming to report you.” admits the customer.
“Yes, that’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Just go ahead and go now, ma’am. Thank you.” retorts the manager. This doesn’t placate the woman, who sounds a little frustrated by the employee’s answer, as she sighs under her breath. “How do I file a complaint?” asks the customer. The manager answers, “You can call the choice, okay?” “Where’s that?” responds the woman. The manager explains that the woman can find out that information on her phone, though the woman is still not pleased and asks, “I need to talk to somebody else.”
The heated exchange continues to escalate. “I don’t have nobody,” the manager exclaims, as the heart of the dispute begins to come into focus. She adds, “And you need to pay for $30 for pets.” The customer replies, “Ma’am, I asked for a disability-friendly room.” However, the manager is adamant that the customer hasn’t done so, stating, “No, you don’t. I just spoke with her. She said you didn’t tell them. I just spoke with my lady, then I knocked your door.“
The woman continues to claim that she did tell a member of staff, but the manager doesn’t believe her. “No, ma’am. Why’d she lie to me? Why’d she lie to me? You didn’t tell her that you have a service animal. You didn’t tell her that you have a service animal.” explains the manager. In response, the woman replies, “Why are you trying to debate this with me?” and to this, the manager says, “Because that’s not the pet-friendly room. Okay, you are in trouble at first.”
A further back-and-forth ensues, with the customer’s friend joining in the conversation, though the manager sticks to her guns and explains that they have to pay $30 because they stayed in a room that’s not pet-friendly, and that it’s company policy. Going further, the manager admits that the customers told her about a wheelchair-friendly room, but didn’t inform her about any service animals. After some more yelling, and after the customers accuse the manager of being “disrespectful,” they then claim that the manager is being racist against Black people.
“Historically, Indian people don’t like Black people. And it shows.” states one of the customers. The manager refutes this, and states, “I didn’t say that.” though the women claim that she “doesn’t have to say it” and that her “disrespect shows it“. Ending the video, the manager simply replies, “Just go ahead and go.” as she points at the exit.
As the video continues to circulate online, social media users have flocked to the comments to share their thoughts on the tense exchange. On Reddit, one commenter refuted the customer’s claims, writing, “I think it should slowly become clear to everyone that we have a problem with the misuse of the concept of service animals, because employees are not allowed to verify whether it is a genuine, trained service animal or just Karen’s self-proclaimed emotional service pit bull.” Another netizen echoed this sentiment, penning, “I guarantee that this woman does not have a legitimate service animal.”
Elsewhere, over on Instagram, one person expressed, “I wouldn’t want to rent a room where pets been” while another added, “I was all with her until she claimed the woman was being racist.” Another commenter who claimed to have worked in the hotel industry chimed in with, “Worked in hotels around the world for about 15 years, never understood what gives these types of people the belief that this isn’t a private business and that the hotel doesn’t make the rules and chooses how to enforce them. Stay the [expletive] at home if you can’t get with the program of understanding that you only control your little life in your little world at home, the rest of the time it is societal or private laws and rules you have to follow and adhere too.”
It’s heavily implied that the woman ultimately had to pay the $30 fee, but the viral clip has continued to spark debate over whether the charge was justified.
