The recent controversy surrounding Royal Hostel at 19 Hang Chao Street, Hanoi, has stirred public outcry and spread rapidly across social media.

A female traveler, identified as N.Y.Q., shared a video recounting how she was denied entry at 2:00 AM on November 9 despite having fully prepaid for a three-night stay through an online booking platform.

According to her, due to a delayed flight from Ho Chi Minh City, she arrived late at the property and was informed by reception that her booking had been canceled due to a no-show.

Despite providing payment proof, she was turned away without support and forced to leave in the middle of the night during a rainstorm.

The video quickly went viral, garnering over 4 million views and more than 17,600 comments, with many netizens expressing anger over the hotel’s unprofessional handling of the situation.

The public backlash extended beyond the hotel involved. Royal Hostel at 19 Hang Chao received nearly 35,000 reviews on Google Maps within days, most of them negative, bringing its rating down to one star.

Unfortunately, many users failed to verify the exact address and instead left harsh 1-star reviews for unrelated hotels that happened to share the name “Royal” in Hanoi.

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Many hotels named Royal in Hanoi receive 1-star reviews. Photo: Screenshot

Royal Hanoi Hotel in Thanh Tri District, for example, reported a sudden influx of negative feedback starting at 5:00 PM on November 10. The property had maintained a 4.9-star rating but saw it drop rapidly due to mistaken identity.

Quoc Viet, a representative of Royal Hanoi Hotel, explained that the hotel has been in operation for just over a month and is in no way connected to the property in Hang Chao.

“We thought at first it was sabotage by a competitor,” he said. “But after investigating, we realized people were mistakenly associating us with the hotel in the video just because we share the word ‘Royal’ in our name.”

To address the issue, staff at Royal Hanoi Hotel actively commented on the viral video, clarifying their lack of involvement. They also posted correction videos on TikTok and responded to each review to explain the misunderstanding.

“We are online 24/7 to correct misinformation,” said Viet. “If this continues, our Google Maps listing could be removed, which would severely impact our visibility and bookings.”

He also provided visual evidence showing that the hotel’s reception area is completely different from the one shown in the viral video.

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Quoc Viet provides photo evidence showing that his hotel’s front desk is completely different from the one in tourist Q.'s video. Photo: Provided by the subject
 
 
 

Similarly, Royal Hotel in Sai Dong, Long Bien District, faced a flood of false 1-star reviews. Hotel manager Quyen said their three-year-old business had always maintained over a 4-star rating until now.

“We’ve never encountered mistaken identity at this scale,” he shared. “It’s seriously damaging our reputation despite having nothing to do with the original incident.”

Both Quyen and Viet emphasized that their properties are transparent, customer-focused, and committed to ethical practices.

They also clarified that under professional hotel standards, once a guest has paid in full, the hotel is obligated to reserve the room until the end of the booking period unless formally canceled.

One of the hotels recounted a separate instance where an international guest arrived without proper identification. Despite the payment being made through a booking platform, the hotel followed legal procedures and contacted the platform to cancel the booking and refund the guest without penalty.

This level of service, they argued, reflects the integrity with which they operate.

Meanwhile, Royal Hostel at 19 Hang Chao remains at the center of controversy. Though the property claimed that its policy allows for cancellation if a guest fails to check in on time without notification, many in the public disagree, especially since the room was fully paid for in advance.

The incident highlights the importance of clear policies and communication in the hospitality industry and serves as a cautionary tale about the impact of online reviews - especially when misinformation spreads unchecked.

Duy Anh - Linh Trang