“Free” Hotel Stays Illegal

By Pat Peterson Reporter

Daphne investigators say four people spent the summer bilking hotel rooms out of free stays “Free” Hotel Stays Illegal

Published: Mon, July 21, 2008 - 4:16 pm

Pat Peterson

The suites at the La Quinta Inn in Daphne are clean, well-furnished and will cost you about 200 bucks a night. But hotel operator Jim Tuckers says four of his former guests were looking for a handout and took him for a ride.

"This is how they live," says Tucker. "They go from hotel to hotel and never have to pay for a room."

Tucker says the four suspects checked in and used a corporate account from a Texas-based furniture company. La Quinta often offers complimentary lodging and allows employees of the "The Room Store" to charge rooms on their corporate account. The problem? The men and women who stayed in Daphne were "never" employees at "The Room Store."

Nothing surprises me anymore," says Lt. Jud Beedy with the Daphne Police Department. "I think this little group of people figured out a way to beat the system. They had been doing this for a while, living on the road."

Beedy says the suspects used the same routine at dozens of hotels across Alabama and Florida.

"What tipped us off was the fact that they wanted to upgrade to our suites," says Tucker. "Most corporate accounts won't let employees upgrade or stay in our high-end rooms, so when this happened, we got suspicious and called the police."

Three of the suspects were arrested in Panama City recently. Investigators say they were trying to check-in to a hotel for free. One of the suspects is still on the run.

"We're glad we were finally able to stop them," says Beedy. "They'll be extradited back to Baldwin County and they'll be charged with theft and theft of services. "