In an unusual move, and a possible legal first for Canada, a Quebec hotel is suing a former guest for damages over a review he wrote on review site TripAdvisor.
Laurent Azoulay complained that there were bedbugs in the room he was staying in at the Hotel Quebec. Another room wasn’t available and Mr Azoulay declined the offer to move himself and his son to another site as his son’s hockey team were all staying in the same hotel, so they returned to the room for the night.
Having been unable to speak to the owner, Mr Azoulay posted a bad review on the travel review website TripAdvisor, which is already the subject of contention between guests and property owners.
Mr Azoulay’s review included a paragraph mentioning the bed bugs: "Beware of BED BUGS! If you are looking for a scratch-free night sleep, stay elsewhere, you will be doing you and your loved ones a favour! Trust me ... and that's why the Internet is a great tool!"
However, according to a spokesman, the hotel decided to sue when Azoulay refused repeated requests for him to return to Quebec City and meet with Robitaille to resolve the issue.
"The way he's been treated is deplorable," Mr Azoulay’s lawyer said. "They are insisting my client put bedbugs in his room and that he is just trying to get money from them."
Azoulay, she added, has pictures of bedbug bites on him and his son, as well as a video showing several bedbugs they caught and put in a glass before killing them.