Woman 'does a runner' scamming family-run hotel out of £800 after three-day stay

A woman has been accused of raking up a £800 bill at a family hotel - and doing a runner before it was paid. Furious management at the Diplomat Hotel in Llanelli says the woman stayed for three nights and booked in under a corporate between Monday, June 10 and the following Thursday.

On her first night, she enjoyed drinks at the bar and mingled with other customers before eating a meal. She also dined at the hotel on the second and third night too, reports the Mirror.

The woman is said to have left without settling the £780 bill and her card was declined when the hotel attempted to take the payment from the booking. Paul Jenkins, the hotel's manager, said he had been unable to contact the woman since then.

He told WalesOnline: “The reception staff would have treated her like any other person checking in. She didn't seem any different to anybody else. It's unlikely we're going to get any money [back]. My basic concern is this goes out so nobody suffers the same thing.

"We don't get it often but it is a revenue loss for the hotel... every day is important for us. It's a family-run hotel and outgoings are quite a lot. We work hard as a family and our staff work hard. Just pay the bill.”

Another hotel in the area, the Castle Hotel, claimed a similar incident happened to them recently. They said: “Sorry to hear this has happened to you. This happened to us at The Castle Hotel.

"Around 20000 people viewed our post, if you ask people to share this I hope that eventually someone out there will recognise her. A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: "Police received a call on Monday afternoon, 17th June, reporting a woman had stayed at the Diplomat Hotel, Llanelli and left without paying.

"The woman had stayed at the hotel on Monday 10, Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 June 2024. Enquiries are being made to identify the woman."

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