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Woman accidentally books entire hotel instead of Airbnb in Bali

Guest paid just $3,000 for a week’s stay

Helen Coffey
Wednesday 26 July 2023 06:10 BST
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A woman turned up at the luxury holiday property she had booked in Bali, only to discover she had accidentally reserved an entire hotel.

British Tiktok user Jas (@jxx) shared the experience on social media, captioning the video: “Why does stuff like this always happen to me lol.”

According to Jas, a social media manager, she thought she had booked a villa in Ubud via Airbnb.

She made the reservation a year in advance for a family holiday, and said she had let her grandparents select where they would stay out of several options and that they chose “the most expensive one”.

According to Jas, she paid $3,000 to rent out the property, which said it could sleep up to 11 guests, for a week.

Before arrival, she said she was concerned that the goalposts might change: “I just know there’s going to be problems with this because, like, Bali increases their prices for everything every single year,” she said, adding that she was worried the reservation would be cancelled at the last-minute and that they’d double the price.

The week before, the property owner got in touch, allegedly “frantic” that Jas had managed to book for such a low price. It turned out the villa was under new management, with all new amenities and facilities, and the minimum nightly rate was now $1,400.

After speaking with the new owner, Jas said he had accepted the booking. But when she and her family arrived, she noticed several “red flags”: the place was listed as a hostel on Google Maps, and there was a till in the kitchen area.

Instead of a large villa, the property was now a small hotel.

The manager allegedly told Jas more guests would be arriving because she had booked at “a special rate.”

However, she backed down and agreed to cancel the other guests after Jas told her: “I just booked it. No one explained that there was going be other people staying here.”

In the Tiktok video, she recalled her conversation with the manager: “I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m staying here with my family if other people are going to be staying here.’”

The family then enjoyed the whole place to themselves. “So basically, there are seven of us, me and my family. I think there’s like 12 bedrooms. I think it sleeps like 18 people. There’s like a full-time bartender, a kitchen, a chef, like an actual restaurant... and it’s literally just me and my family here,” said Jas.

She also gave viewers a tour in the video, showing an idyllic pool area with loungers, firepit and outdoor seating area, plus a ping pong table.

The video quickly went viral, clocking up three million views and more than 300,000 likes.

“If you need another family member, I am available for adoption,” commented one viewer, while another said: “That’s simply iconic.”

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