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HotelChatter Question :: How Did Raffaello Follieri Manage Not To Pay His Hotel Bill?

Where: 15 Place Vendome, Paris, France, 75041

October 15, 2008 at 2:16 PM | 7 Comments

This week's HotelChatter Question comes from yours truly and it has to do with hotel bills, everyone's favorite topic.

Now, every single time we have checked into and out of a hotel, the hotel has always had the credit card that we used to book the room on file. Once we've checked out, either that card or a different one that we put down at check-in is charged.

This has never not happened. That credit card, whichever one it may be, is always charged. And more often than we like, it is charged with some additional fees on it that we did not order or use. Like getting charged twice to use the internet when we only used it once. (This happens a lot.)

But we are not here to ask you about your favorite bill-reviewing method. Or even what hotels frequently mischarge you for. (Although, that could be a good question later.)

No. Today we want to know how the #$&@!% Raffaello Follieri, Anne Hathaway's dashing ex-boyfriend/con man, managed to stiff the Ritz Hotel in Paris out of 4,551.70 Euros.

This isn't some sort of credit card company problem either. Of course, American Express is probably after Follieri for not paying his bills over there too.

No. This is something different entirely. In Vanity Fair's October issue, they go inside the scams that Follieri orchestrated. And the dude lived lavishly without paying any bills. But this one caught our hotel geek eyes:

It was a trip Follieri could ill afford, especially staying at the Ritz, but he did go, taking two suites from June 7 to 11. Days after his departure, the Ritz contacted him to note that it hadn't yet received authorization to debit his credit card for 4,551.70 euros. The bill remains outstanding.

"It hadn't yet received authorization to debit his credit card." Wait, can you tell a hotel to hold off on charging your card? Or is this just some sort of courtesy that the hotel extends to high-profile guests? Maybe Raffaello conned them into saying that he was getting a new card and it needed to be activated or something.

Either way, we want to know how is this possible? All you hotel experts out there, sound off in comments below please.

[Photo of Follieri and Hathaway via SplashNews]

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Author Photo: juliana by juliana

7 Comments

Return to » HotelChatter Question :: How Did Raffaello Follieri Manage Not To Pay His Hotel Bill?

  1. abigailmschilling

    HotelChatter Member
    October 15, 2008 at 2:22 PM




    best picture ever

    seriously.

  1. Timbo212

    HotelChatter Member
    October 15, 2008 at 3:01 PM




    Happens all the time

    The assistant's assistant calls the hotel P.R. rep's assistant to make a reservation with tons of fanfare and it is escalated up to the General Managers office as a top level VIP, no payment is discussed.  By the time the guest arrives the front desk is so scared they will mess up the VIP that they are dismissed with any casual excuse..."The Production Company is paying, my assistant will bring the credit card, I will write a check tomorrow"  And upstairs they go.

  1. annie0007

    HotelChatter Member
    October 15, 2008 at 3:03 PM




    From Bloomberg:

    ``He has expertise in hiding and concealing money,'' Brodsky said. ``In short, Your Honor, he is a con man and he was able to defraud a lot of people out of a lot of money over a long period of time.''

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aXIQ3E1zD8ME&refer=realestate

    That includes ratcheting up HALF A MIL in AmEx charges. Don't know how it's done, but then again I pay my cards on time.  

  1. CourtneyMay

    HotelChatter Member
    October 15, 2008 at 3:26 PM




    Another way

    Another way to do it - at some locations - is to present a card at check-in that doesn't work. Some hotels only note the details of the card, not check to make sure that it is valid.

    Or you can say something like "my travel agent who made the reservation already took my payment and will pay you". If you get a really unseasoned agent, they might be too scared to argue with you, and just take an imprint of a card for incidentals. And then of course, that card doesn't have to work...

    Or last week, we had a client at a ultra-lux 5 star hotel in Italy who paid cash at check-in for the deposit, which was just a fraction of the supposed total, then skipped out halfway through the stay and didn't leave the correct contact details or any other form of payment. The hotel was so sure it would be okay because they got a wad of cash, that they didn't cover themselves.

    You've got to have balls to pull it off.

  1. juliana

    HotelChatter
    October 15, 2008 at 3:43 PM




    uhoh

    did we just give the talented mr. ripley's of the world some suggestions?

  1. bangerang

    HotelChatter Member
    October 15, 2008 at 4:08 PM




    hmmm..

    i vote for finding a cougar that'll just foot the bill instead.

  1. HighOccupancy

    HotelChatter Member
    October 16, 2008 at 12:47 AM




    no cash guests

    don't even THINK about it in my hotels. If we don't get cc imprint with matching photo id, plus a huge authorization, you can just wait in the lobby. No key to the room, no try later after you get upstairs and contact your bank. I don't care if you're "kind of a big deal." or "you OBVIOUSLY don't know who I am." I've heard it before. If you're anybody, you're Amex can handle it.

    I'm terribly sorry, sir, would you like to try another card?

Return to » HotelChatter Question :: How Did Raffaello Follieri Manage Not To Pay His Hotel Bill?

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