This is a tale of what can go wrong when you land on foreign sole without preparation. This was a new country to him. His flight was long, over 12 hours. It would be another 9 hours for the connecting flight. He had to wait for a good few hours. After his international flight he had to exit and find the domestic airport to check in.
Where was the domestic terminal he thought as he cleared the arrivals hall. The men claimed they had come to take him to his hotel. I didn’t book a hotel he informed them. As they seemed to know a lot, he assumed they were staff. He was told the airport was dangerous at night and he should leave with them. He saw his bags were leaving with the men and had to stay with them. They had no comprehension of the word no.
He had to run after his bags as the men were taking them. An airport transfer and a hotel, just what he needed after a long trip, and these men were very keen to help. What a friendly and helpful country this is. After a short journey in the car the men took him to a lovely plush hotel and went to the reception desk ahead of him, presumably to get his room key he thought.
It turned into a nightmare at this point. He watched as they argues with the hotel staff, before they angrily told him the hotel was double booked, they had another hotel to go to. This is where he decided he was being conned. What was unfolding? They were in heated negotiations with the hotel to get a cut of the room fee. The hotel did not want any part of this scam and said no.If they could get a hotel to agree to rip off the guest, they could expect a payment. Your environment is new and you are not as confident as you would be at home. They don’t put the local police number on your passport stamp.
He spent $350 for a 6 hour stay in the 3rd hotel that accepted him. What a scam, those men made over $300 for their efforts as the room rate was only $10.
Is there a lesson to be learnt from this? Well….. Make sure you get airport transfers arranged.
What a great story to tell at the wedding, to which he arrived safely. A happy ending to what was a frightening experience.
Jim Spacey
