A local hotel in Da Nang’s Son Tra District recently received a warning from officials of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism after one of its employees was accused of threatening a foreigner who had demanded a refund.

On 8 March, Ms Katelyn Scanlan from the UK, who is a teacher in Singapore, posted a complaint on the forum of the Da Nang Urban Management Division, warning future visitors to the city about the particular hotel. 

She said that she and her boyfriend booked a room at the hotel on 7 March through Hostelworld but they were not informed of a construction project next to the hotel.  The following morning, the couple complained to the hotel’s staff about the noise nuisance and that they did not have a good night’s sleep.  They then asked the hotel for a refund.  The hotel’s representatives did not agree to a refund because the couple had already stayed one night at their hotel.  After long negotiations, the hotel's manager agreed to the refund.

The foreign visitors then went upstairs to their room to pack their things.  Soon after, a hotel employee banged on their door and asked them to leave immediately. He reportedly acted in an aggressive manner, insulting the tourists and threatening to attack them.

After reading her post in English on the forum https://www.facebook.com/groups/dothidanang/?fref=ts, some representatives from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism visited the hotel on the evening of 8 March to discuss the complaint with its employees.  Because the hotel manager did not accept all of the allegations, the tourists were asked to meet directly with the hotel’s representatives to clarify the case but they refused and left for Ninh Binh Province at 11pm the same day.

The Department’s officials warned the hotel not to repeat such acts otherwise it risked being punished and named and shamed in the local mass media.