Guest clashes with hotel over bill, missing luggage

A night clerk told officers the guest was kicked out of his room Jan. 20 due to an unpaid balance. The guest, a 35-year-old Dacula man, claimed he had money to pay the bill, but the hotel wouldn’t take cash due to COVID-19 restrictions. He said he left his luggage in the lobby while he went to a nearby bank to deposit the cash so he could pay the balance with his debit card. When the man returned, his belongings were gone, according to the incident report.

The guest told police that a hotel employee told him the general manager, Matt James, instructed her to confiscate his property and keep it until he paid his tab.

Police explained to James that confiscating the luggage was illegal and he could face theft charges. James refused to relinquish the man’s bags for nearly an hour.

The guest told officers a Louis Vuitton bag containing jewelry was missing when his bags were returned, the report stated. He asked to press charges for the missing items. Meanwhile, hotel staff trespassed him from the property.