Sochi Hotel Threatens to Charge Journalist for Placing Luggage on Bed

Don’t put your bags on the beds in Sochi.

Just imagine certain comforters are lava, and you’ll be burned with an additional fee if you put your things on top of them.

This is allegedly the way things go for certain Olympic guests in Russia. 

According to Bruce Arthur of the National Post, the staff at one Russian hotel left a note threatening to tack on the price of an additional bed if he continued to place items on the unused single bed in his room.

The note struck a nerve for Arthur (the subject of the letter). After all the reports of unfinished lobbies, undrinkable water and other lodging catastrophes, he was incredulous as to why management would pick a fight over where in his room he rests his suitcase. 

In an article published on Canada.com, Arthur wrote about his love for Sochi’s people but growing bewilderment concerning the antagonizing practices foisted upon Olympic guests.

“So it’s gonna be like that, huh? I am keeping a suitcase on one of the little single beds here, and Postmedia has, as far as we know, paid for the room. This seems fair for all involved. But this takes some cojones, Sochi.”

Chalk up another victim for “#SochiProblems”—a trending hashtag that reads like a laundry list of authentic (and not so authentic) issues plaguing the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. 

One of the more ridiculous instances of Sochi problems was U.S. bobsledder Johnny Quinn's epic escape from a locked hotel bathroom. Wet, naked and confused, he allegedly found the strength to free himself from his tiled prison by bashing through a door.

Quinn faced another, more formidable barrier Monday as he and some teammates got stuck in an elevator. 

Arthur’s gripe appears to be the genuine article. Hotels aren’t barracks stuffed with cots for incoming travelers. If you’re going to place someone in a private room with additional beds, Canadian (and American) hospitality wouldn’t proclaim areas in your room as off limits.

Then again, Arthur and his colleagues are a long way from home, and these culture clashes are going to continue as the Winter Olympics unfold.

On the bright side, Canada and America are sitting with five medals apiece as of Monday morning. That much will at least assuage the athletes, although they should take care not to lay their hardware down on a stray ottoman. 

That could cost them some rubles.

In Sochi, Russia...ah, forget it.  

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