Erin Molan has spoken of her shock after her hotel bill included $80 of extra charges.
Molan booked a last minute room at the Sheraton in Sydney for a “staycation” to enjoy the pool during the hot weather on Saturday with her four-year-old daughter Eliza.
The 40-year-old thought she had scored a great deal, but when the mother-daughter duo were ready to leave, she realised it actually cost her more than expected.
“Checking out yesterday I kind of noticed a couple of things on the bill. One of them was for amount of $30.40 and the other one was for the amount of $46.60,” she told her co-hosts on 2DAY FM’s Hughesy, Ed & Erinradio show on Monday morning.
Dave Hughes was quick to ask if the extra charges were for room service, which Molan said was already on the bill.
Molan explained: “Then I realised, Eliza, when I rang to order room service, got annoyed with me because I hadn’t let her speak to the person and she thinks a phone is such a novelty.
“She wanted to then pretend to talk on the hotel phone … she did that and then wasn’t satisfied with the beeping, the dial tone. So I said ‘well, we’ll just call mummy’s phone and you and I can talk.’”
Molan said there were two calls made from the hotel phone to her mobile while she laid on the bed with Eliza.
Speaking of the unexpected bill, Molan went on to say, “It’s got the date and then the description is ‘telephone, long distance.’”
Knowing Eliza was “literally under (her) arm” when the calls were made, Molan questioned the receptionist about the charges.
“I said ‘there was nothing long distance, it was just my phone in the room that we called,’” she said.
“I said ‘is that right? for that amount?’ and she said ‘yes’, and she checked!”
Molan said she knew “20 years ago it cost a fortune” but these days did not expect to be charged so much, if at all, and Hughes agreed.
“That was my lesson learned. That was a very expensive play date,” Molan said, finishing off her story.
While the surprise on the bill was unpleasant, Molan described the actual hotel as “beautiful” with “very nice people”.
