Motel West

We also did not receive an e-mail about this compliant until June 17th.  On Saturday June 3rd I received a call from the weekend Audit Supervisor at 10:22PM. He informed me that a guest from the room next to the room in question reported an alarm and smoke coming from under the adjoing...

door between the two rooms. He received the first call at 10:15PM. He immediately called 911 as per our protocol and began the necessary steps to begin evacuating guests in the nearby rooms as the extent of the smoke or fire was unknown at that time. While going up the stairs to the area of smoke being reported he spotted the guest at the bottom of the stairs smoking. He asked her “if she knew her room was smoking?” At that point she admitted she had put a burrito in the microwave and had stepped outside to smoke a cigarette leaving the cooking food unattended in the room. The fire chief told my employee it was likely “she put the burrito in for an hour instead of minutes” based on the state of the burnt food. The damage and loss of income were much more than the $500 in damages collected that night. The additional $79.10 was the charge for the room. We are currently at a loss of $669.38 in addition to the $579.10 collected. The damage and rental costs are as follows. Nightly charge for 6/3 $79.10Relocating guest in room next door at our cost $135.60Room loss for refund to guest relocated $97.18Microwave replacement $100.00Curtain replacement $112.00Deep cleaning and odor/air treatment $250.00Loss of income for 6 nights because the room was unrentable @$79.10 a night ($474.60)                                 Totaling $1248.48                                Collected $579.10                                 Our loss $669.38 As for the question in Equipment and my presence. The supervisor I hired for the job had it under control and called the professionals. We have protocols set in place to protect our guests as well as our property and it would be wrong to not call 911 in the event of a possible fire.  It is our duty to ensure safety.  There is a smoke detector in place, that was temporarily disabled after the room had been cleared by the fire chief. Due to the large amount of smoke the smoke detector in the room next door also had to temporarily be disabled. The $500.00in damages is a minimal request considering we are at a much larger loss, not to mention the unhappy guests that were woken up by the commotion and fire trucks coming to our aide. Based on the information provided we will not be refunding any of $579.10 requested. We are thankful the situation did not escalade further and that no one was injured, all because a couple burritos were left unattended.  Attached are pictures of the microwave, burrito and, smoke detector in the room.  Thank you, Raelene T[redacted]Owner Motel West1540 W. BroadwayIdaho Falls, ID 83402