They checked into a hotel room to celebrate Christmas Eve.
But a group of friends ended up getting an unexpected "present" on Christmas day - a huge bill for their night of fun.
The hotel presented a bill of about $1,350 for damage to items in the room and loss of income as a result of their drunken antics.
This is more than four times the $300 they paid for a club executive room.
Mr Dudley Duclos, 22, and four friends had booked the room at Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel at the special Christmas rate given to Mindef employees.
The full-time National Serviceman said they just wanted to have a small get-together and have drinks with friends.
"We didn't plan to get so drunk, we just wanted to get high and have some fun," he said.
But things took a dramatic turn at around midnight. There were more than five people in the room and at least half a bottle of alcohol had been consumed, he said.
The hotel said there were more than 10 guests in the room after midnight. It also said guests in the other rooms had complained about the noise in the room and security personnel had to go to the room to inform them about the rules.
Asked whether they knew they had broken the rules, Mr Duclos said: "We didn't know at first but we tried to move people out after."
But by then, the damage had been done.
A pillow case accidentally placed on top of a lamp shade was damaged after the bulb heated up.
Said Mr Duclos: "I'm not sure how it happened." Another guest had too much to drink and vomited on the carpet.
"My friend tried to clear up the mess with the bed runner. There was a visible stain on the carpet and runner," he said.
His friend, who wanted to be named only as Mr Pang, said water had also seeped into a hotel torchlight.
The next morning, they realised they had caused damage to the room and were willing to compensate the hotel.
Mr Duclos had an invoice that showed they were billed $650.56 for damages to the bed runner, lampshade, torchlight and pillow case.
The hotel also charged them $700 for the loss of two nights' use of the room.
Although the costs were not itemised, Mr Duclos said they were told the runner costs about $500, and the lampshade and torchlight about $50 each.
Though they paid up, the friends were not happy with the amount charged and the lack of transparency on each item's cost.
Said Mr Pang, 21, a student: "We did cause damage and felt compelled to pay. But it was out of goodwill (that we paid) first without demanding verification of the prices."
When they tried to verify the specific price of each item, they were told it could not be done because the items were purchased in bulk.
Mr Pang said: "The person-in-charge took us to the room with a checklist of the items in it.
"After that, they gave us this invoice without even listing the specific cost of each item."
They also questioned the hotel's replacement of the bed runner without even trying to get rid of the stain.
"I think vomit is soluble enough to be washed away. It wasn't red wine. Why replace it so (readily)?" Mr Duclos asked.
Mr Duclos and Mr Pang were also unhappy with the $700 charge, which they were told was to cover the loss of revenue, as the room had to be aired to get rid of the stench and the carpets needed cleaning.
They tried in vain to negotiate with the hotel to use the room for those two days to get their money's worth.
The two friends felt that the stench from the vomit was bearable.
"Although there was a lingering smell, we managed to sleep through the night after cleaning it up," said Mr Duclos.
They said the hotel had yet to give them the invoice for the $700 despite them contacting the hotel several times.
Mr Duclos and his friends are discussing how to split the bill.
Most of them are still studying or serving national service and don't want to get their parents involved.
Top photo: Mr Duclos said that the hotel damage bill was not itemised. (Picture: Suvien Tan)
Hotel said it didn't charge full damages
Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel security had to tell Mr Dudley Duclos and friends to keep it down three times that night after complaints about the noise in their room.
It noted that there were more than 10 people inside and they were having a party of some sort.
Its marketing and communications manager,Mr Lim Kin Seng, 31, said in an e-mail reply to The New Paper that the room was booked only for single occupancy.
Based on hotel policy, it should only be occupied by the registered guests.
As for the damage bill, he said: "We can assure you that any damages charged and collected are well within scope of the loss of business, or costs incurred by the hotel, and are, in the interest of fairness, understated."
Mr Lim said the bed runner and lampshade are made-to-order designer items which were previously purchased in bulk.
The runner is made using a special colour tone which adheres to the hotel's corporate identity. It could not be dry-cleaned because of the vomit, and using alternative cleaning methods to remove the stains would drastically alter its colour.
Mr Lim said replacements for the bed runner and lampshade had to be purchased on an ad-hoc basis.
Hence, the costs incurred would be higher than the $500and $50 charged for the runner and lampshade respectively.
Mr Lim also noted the vomit smell was strong and the room needed a couple of days of airing before being made available to guests.
He said the guests had a verbal agreement with the hotel to pay for the additional two nights' stay.
The hotel also spent $800on carpet cleaning but due to the above mentioned agreement, it decided not to charge the guests for this.
He said there were also burn marks on the pillow case and lampshade in the non-smoking room.
He could not verify whether any smoking or fire was involved, but said that this was a dangerous act which put the safety of hotel guests and hotel property at risk.
Wedding hotel room woes
$2, 500 for stains, lampshade
25 Feb 2002
A wedding couple was charged $2,500 after guests stained a carpet with red wine and broke a lampshade in a hotel room, reported The Straits Times.
Mr Alvin Ho, then 29, and his wife had booked a suite in Westin Stamford (now Swissotel the Stamford).
Mr Ho claimed he had called and e-mailed the hotel several times to negotiate the bills but the hotel had ignored his requests.
The hotel management declined to comment when contacted by The Straits Times, citing its policy of protecting guest privacy.
The hotel later told Mr Ho it would credit $500 back to his account, the report added.
Hit with $29, 000 claim
4 Nov 2006
A couple was hit with a $29,000 claim from the insurers of a hotel for damage in a presidential suite.
Mr and Mrs Alex Lee were told they had to replace the carpet and upholstery after a complimentary stay in the Regent Hotel on the night of their wedding.
The claim demanded compensation for red wine stains and vomit on the carpet. The couple disputed having caused the damage and said they had inspected the room for stains when they checked in.
A Regent spokesman said the hotel had been compensated by its insurer and it was the latter that was claiming from the couple.
It is not known how this dispute was resolved.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Jan 1, 2008.
