A woman has been arrested by Spanish police as she attempted to board a flight out of the country, having allegedly left a £2,000 hotel bill unpaid
The tourist was led away by police(Image: National Police)
Restaurant owners have complained that “dine and dash” offences are on the increase, with some customers ducking out on bills of hundreds of pounds. But as shocking as those losses are, they are dwarfed by a massive £2,000 bill left unpaid after one family’s 11-night holiday at an all-inclusive resort in the Canary Islands.
Officers of Spain’s National Police have arrested a foreign tourist on suspicion of fraud after she allegedly left a hotel in San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) without paying for her stay, which was valued at 2,483 euros (£2,125).
In a press release, the National Police explained that hotel managers had reported that a family of two adults and a child had left the premises after an 11-night all-inclusive stay without settling the bill.
The stay had been booked through the resort’s website, and the customers had provided a credit card number as a security deposit. However, when hotel staff attempted to process the bill at the end of the guests’ stay, they were unable to complete the transaction.
Despite making several attempts to contact the customers, no payment was received and police officers were mobilised to intercept the guest as she attempted to leave the country.
Video footage provided by the National Police shows the as-yet-unnamed suspect being arrested at Gran Canaria Airport. After her arrest, the woman was taken to the Maspalomas police station for processing and was subsequently placed at the disposal of the judicial authorities.
The National Police emphasised its commitment to protecting the Canary Islands’ tourism sector and reminded visitors that any attempt to avoid payment for goods or services will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Here in the UK, a 2018 survey found that one in 20 people had walked out without paying for a meal.
Donna Jones, the Conservative police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, told The Daily Mail that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of “dine and dash” offences in recent years.
While some have blamed the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Ms Jones dismissed that suggestion, saying, “They’re driving away in their own cars.” She urged any businesses affected by crimes of this kind to “share images online … and to name and shame those individuals”.
Kate Nicholls, the CEO of the industry organisation UKHospitality, told the Guardian that while only a minority of customers behaved in this way, incidents of people avoiding paying for meals could be “a serious matter” for the bars and restaurants involved.
“These businesses operate on very tight net-profit margins – less than 4% – and often it can be quite big-spend items that people are going for,” she explained.
Adding that referring to the offences as “dine and dash” escapades trivialised what could be a very serious problem for hospitality businesses: “Let’s call it what it is,” she said. “This is theft and fraud and it should be prosecuted as such. It’s not a victimless crime. It is money that is being taken from a business for goods and services consumed – it’s exactly the same as shoplifting.”