Woman hit with $1,400 hotel charge after blow-drying hair triggers false fire alarm

Paying $240 for a room at a hotel before a night out at a concert on Saturday night seemed like a reasonable cost for one Perth woman.

What she didn’t anticipate was the $1400 charge she would be stung with by Novotel Perth Langley, in the city’s CBD, after check out.

Kelly* (who didn’t want her real name used) was surprised when the fire alarm went off when was done showering and blow-drying her hair, reported Perth Now.

She was even more surprised when fire crews arrived at her door before she had even finished getting dressed.

They established that it was her top-of-the-range Dyson hair dryer that had set off the alarm.

All sorted, Kelly* enjoyed her night at the Ministry of Sound concert at Kings Park and checked out the next morning with no issues.

Three days later, she was shocked to find a $1400 charge on her bank account from Novotel, part of France’s Accor group which also owns the Ibis, Sofitel, Mantra, and Mercure hotel brands.

After calling the hotel, she discovered the charge was a fire department call-out fee.

The Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) call-out fee is $1337 but the Novotel charged Kelly* $63 more than that.

While DFES does pass on a charge to hotels for false fire alarms, the department’s policy discourages hotels from passing this cost on to guests.

Kelly* spent the entirety of Wednesday stressed and trying to call the hotel to have the charge, which had left her bank account in the negative, refunded.

“They sent no email, I called the hotel, (reception) said it was in their terms and conditions,” she said.

“So if you’re at a buffet and the alarm goes off are they going to charge you for burning your toast?

It’s disgusting and cowardly.

She said the hotel eventually began refusing to take her calls and refused to let her speak to the manager.

After emails from Kelly*, and The West Australian, the hotel’s manager said on Thursday the charge had been refunded.

What is a false alarm call out fee?

– The $1337 charge is triggered by WA’s DFES after a premises has its fourth false fire alarm call-out in a financial year, the first three false alarm call-outs do not cop a charge.

– The levy fee was introduced in 2015 after false alarms cost the department more than $8 million in responding to thousands of fake emergencies.

– Hotels, hospitals, and aged care homes and the biggest false alarm offenders.

– Common triggers of false fire alarms include poor building maintenance, incorrectly placed, inadequate or dirty detectors, and smoke and steam from cooking.