Hotel Gift Card Glitch Paid $48,500 to Patron, Suit Alleges

A glitch in a hotel rewards program’s online reservation system allegedly added up to a $48,500 windfall for a St. Petersburg man. Now, the hotel chain wants its money back and is ready to go to court to get it.

A lawsuit against Robert Chat of St. Petersburg was filed with the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court on May 21, court records indicate. That suit seeks damages alleging Chat gamed a glitch in the system to earn thousands of dollars in gift cards to places such as Home Depot, Target and Dunkin’ Donuts, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

It seems Choice Hotels’ rewards system was paying out points each time a reservation was made, but didn’t take note of cancellations to remove those points. The lawsuit claims Chat knew that and made hundreds of reservations and then cancelled them between October and January to earn those points and the subsequent gift cards, the Times noted.

Choice Hotels operates a number of well-known hotel brands, including Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn and Clarion, among others. Its reward program is designed to benefit guests who frequent the hotel’s facilities.

“With Choice Privileges, you’re never far from your next reward,” the chain’s website states. “Our points will really add up, fast and freely.”

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For his part, Chat insists he did nothing wrong and didn’t game the system, the Times noted. He says he’s stayed at more than 1,000 Choice hotels in the past five years and earned his points legitimately.

The final decision rests with a circuit court judge. Pinellas County court records indicate a hearing date has not yet been scheduled. The last action on the case May 26 a notice of filing was logged.

Image via Shutterstock

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