Two Chennai-based women journalists alleged that they were mistreated and denied check-in at a Pune hotel at night. One of the complainants claimed that the hotel manager mocked her for not changing her surname after her husband, who accompanied them.
Narrating the incident on X (formerly Twitter), the complainants Manasa R and Ayshvarya Narayanan said that they reached Pune along with the latter's husband and had pre-booked their stay at a Treebo Hotels-backed Pune hotel. However, the staff at the hospitality establishment denied check-in as they refused to believe the man accompanying them was Ayshvarya's husband.
According to the complainants, the hotel staff reportedly questioned why Ayshvarya didn't change her surname after her spouse. The manager didn't budge even after the couple showed them their marriage photos, forcing the trio to make alternate arrangements for the night at another hotel nearby.
"...Hotel manager laughed at me for not changing my 'surname,' which is apparently a 'valid proof.' Still waiting here after spending hours talking to multiple customer support persons from Treebo
"Post 12, we had to leave helplessly. The road when we left. Is this all @sidtreebo and his team could do? A few minutes ago, customer support told me they don't work now so I should wait till 7 am for them to 'try to address' my issue again and asked me to book some hotel nearby," Ayshvarya Narayanan claimed in a thread on X.
Manasa, on Sunday, claimed that the hotel edited their policies after repeated calls from her. "@ayshunarayanan
& I *JUST* found that Treebo has updated their rules on the app today & added a not-couple friendly sentence. THESE RULES WEREN'T THERE LAST NIGHT. 3 OF US READ IT CAREFULLY."
"We are super privileged journalists. Imagine others who face such situations!," she added.
Elaborating their plight, Manasa had jotted on Saturday, "We, @ayshunarayanan & I, are waiting without a room in an alien state at night for 2.5 hrs and counting
And until now, the manager who's standing here staring at us hasn't received a single call. How is this lack of accountability possible!!!
The transformer here burst now & it's very dark. We're now heading to another hotel on the same road. No customer support from @TreeboHotels yet!!!
We're now safe at another hotel. A little while back, one of the many Treebo execs we spoke to said they can't do anything & that they can't arrange a callback until 7 am tomorrow."
The two journalists added that while the establishment agreed on a refund over cancellation after a day full of calls and social media posts, but received no apology from any party concerned.