Delhi: Woman accuses JW Marriott hotel staff of holding her hostage over bill

New Delhi, April 26

A legal advisor, working for a women's business organisation, has accused the JW Marriott Hotel (Aerocity) staff of holding her hostage after she complained about the poor services and sought more time to settle her bill.

The 55-year-old woman also claimed that she was held captive for hours and subjected to harassment by the staff.

The incident is reported to have occurred on December 26, 2022 during a programme of 'Women Economic Forum'. However, an FIR was filed on April 11 at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport police station.

According to the FIR, accessed by IANS, a disagreement arose between the organisation and the hotel regarding payment for an event that took place on December 26.

"The organisation had reserved 94 rooms and halls in the hotel and paid Rs 55 lakh in advance for the event, which was attended by people from various parts of the country and abroad. After the event concluded on December 31, 2022, the organisers expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of service and food provided by the hotel," read the FIR written in Hindi.

"Despite the complaints, the organisation made an additional payment of Rs 25 lakh on December 31, 2022, and informed the hotel that the remaining balance would be paid on January 1, 2023, after reviewing all the bills and adjusting the advance payment, the woman stated in the FIR.

The woman stated that her organisation had identified some discrepancies in the room tariff and had asked for additional time to review the bills. She, in the FIR, said that her organisation had already paid 80 per cent of the bill, but they needed more time to make the remaining payment.

She alleged that the hotel staff held her and other organisers captive, preventing them from leaving the hotel when they requested time to review the bills.

"A total of 30 rooms were booked till January 1 and we had requested them to allow us to make the remaining payment by January 1, but they held me and some other organisers hostage and didn't allow us to leave the hotel," she said.

According to her statement, she was only released by the hotel staff after she contacted the Delhi Police's helpline number for women in distress (1091), which prompted a Sub-Inspector to be dispatched to the hotel.

The woman claimed that she was not permitted to leave the hotel until 12:10 a.m. and was detained there for several hours. She stated that during her detention, she was subjected to harassment by the hotel staff.

Furthermore, she has accused one of the hotel's chefs of touching her inappropriately during the event. She scolded the chef, and he left, but she did not know his name. She added that if she saw him again, she could identify him.

A senior police official said that they are looking into the matter