This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada, which closed in 2021.

Hotel Quebec Sues Laurent Azoulay, Guest, Over Bad TripAdvisor Review

Hotel Sues Guest Over Review Claiming Bed Bugs
FILE - This undated file photo provided by Orkin LLC shows bed bugs. Despite the itchy rise to prominence of bedbugs around New York City, officials have long been limited in what they could do to get negligent landlords to address the spread of the minuscule critters. On Tuesday, March 29, 2011, city officials announced a policy change that could leave landlords facing harsher penalties. (AP Photo/Orkin LLC, File)
AP
FILE - This undated file photo provided by Orkin LLC shows bed bugs. Despite the itchy rise to prominence of bedbugs around New York City, officials have long been limited in what they could do to get negligent landlords to address the spread of the minuscule critters. On Tuesday, March 29, 2011, city officials announced a policy change that could leave landlords facing harsher penalties. (AP Photo/Orkin LLC, File)

Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite your patrons Hotel Quebec, otherwise you might just have to sue them.

What started as an unpleasant stay for one guest at the family-friendly hotel has evolved into a lawsuit over bad reviews and allegations of bed bugs.

On April 26, Laurent Azoulay booked a two-night stay at Hotel Quebec in Québec City as part of his eight-year-old son's hockey tournament. The father says he woke up during the middle of the night Friday to find bed bugs nipping at his legs.

Hotel staff tried to accommodate Azoulay but given it was the middle of the night and all other rooms in the hotel were fully booked, Hotel Quebec could only move him to a nearby chain hotel to stay the rest of the evening.

But Azoulay, who had travelled with his son and hockey teammates, says he didn't want to move everyone in the middle of the night only to wake up a few hours later to catch the hockey tournament.

And so he stayed for the remainder of the night.

After returning back from the hockey game on Saturday and being moved to a different room, Azoulay got in touch with one of the hotel's general managers who offered him a $40 rebate for his first night stay, an offer which he called "insulting".

Azoulay reportedly told the general manager she should beg him not to tell another person about the incident according to court documents obtained by La Presse.

After deciding he had had enough with the hotel, Azoulay left but not before telling nearby patrons about his bed bug experience. Once arriving at home, the Montreal native then wrote a scathing review on TripAdvisor detailing his experience with Hotel Quebec, according to the Daily Dot.

Since the review went live on April 27th, Jaro Hotels, the chain that owns Hotel Quebec and a handful of other properties has seen a flood of calls and concerns over bed bugs and a dip in business. Management at Hotel Quebec don't dispute finding bed bugs in Azoulay's room but insists the incident was a one-off, notes SweetIQ.

Azoulay, for his part, has refused to remove his review, leaving the hotel's general manager, Jacques Robitaille to file a lawsuit against him for damages and loss of profit worth $95,000.

The case has yet to go to court and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

Also on HuffPost

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.