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Every once in a while we come across warning labels that seem to fall under common sense like “don’t put your PlayStation in the microwave” or “don’t engage in sexual activity with your Pepper robot.” But it’s rare to actually see one of these in the making, so next time you’re in a hotel room and a sign tells you not to boil crabs in your room’s electric kettle, you’ll know exactly why.
As reported by legal news website Bengoshi Dot Com, an unidentified hotel was claiming damages of 40,000 yen from a guest who, over a stay of several days, used the electric kettle in their room to boil crabs on two occasions.
The hotel said that the makeshift cuisine caused an odor that was difficult to remove and made them unable to rent room for days while it was removed. The guest challenged that, saying it was unlikely the room would have been booked every day afterward anyway.
The hotel conceded that point and reduced their demands to 17,000 yen ($130) for the deodorization of the room and 5,000 yen for a new kettle. The guest, however, was still not satisfied with paying any form of restitution, claiming that the air purifier was turned on while cooking and there was no written rule against boiling crabs in the kettle.
The court of public opinion, meanwhile, sided unanimously with the hotel in this matter and felt the guest simply didn’t have a crab leg to stand on.
“I’m glad I don’t run a hotel.”
“It scares me to know there are people out there that do stuff like this.”
“It’s OK to do because no one said not to. That’s the typical logic of idiots.”
“It never even occurred to me to put anything other than water in a kettle.”
“There was nothing written against drawing on the walls either, but you still shouldn’t do it.”
“Isn’t part of going on vacation and staying in a hotel letting someone else cook your meals?”
“I heard some people use those kettles to clean their underwear, so I wouldn’t use it anyway.”
“Can you even boil crabs in electric kettles?”
It is a little surprising that a hotel’s electric kettle has the size and heat retention to thoroughly boil crabs, but since the guest doesn’t appear to be riddled with flatworms, it apparently does work.
As for the legal liability in such a matter, Bengoshi Dot Com spoke with a lawyer who explained that the guest is absolutely on the hook for any and all damages incurred from boiling crabs. Firstly, when renting the room the hotel and guest enter a contract which obliges the guest to not engage in behavior that would damage the room.
Furthermore, boiling water for tea or coffee would be the normal use of an electric kettle by anyone with sound judgement. So anyone using the kettle for any abnormal purpose, such as cleaning underwear, playing baseball, or boiling animals alive, is liable for damages incurred to hotel property in said act.
Source: Bengoshi Dot Com, Itai News
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- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2022/05/03/hotel-guest-who-boiled-crabs-in-rooms-kettle-angry-to-have-to-pay-for-damages/
29 Comments
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diagonalslip
dear oh dear!
Sanjinosebleed
Sounds like he got a bit crabby when asked to pay damages.....
K3PO
Some guests boil their socks or undergarments in hotel kettles.
snowymountainhell
The manager must have been boiling with anger and wanted to call police. Should have crabbed the guest before they got away.
snowymountainhell
From the guest’s point of view, caught in a pinch without a pot to hiss in, they utilized what was available.
Still, seems like hermit, or even, prior inmate behavior.
englisc aspyrgend
seems like the guest will have to shell out as the hotel claws back the cost of his crabby dehaviour!
snowymountainhell
I’ll pass on on the in-room complimentary tea & coffee from now then, thanks.
quercetum
Come one don’t boil your garments in the kettle. People use that.
GuruMick
Sad.....no one asking how the crabs felt
Wont somebody please think about the crabs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
snowymountainhell
Crabs and other lingering smells can be a problem in many public facilities across the world. Best to always wipe down surfaces and appliances with disinfectant before your personal use.
NEVER sit, lay or rest your garments on the duvet or bed cover. Take it off the bed completely.
Enjoy your stay.
japanamericaawesome
I love your sense of humor
Kyo wa heiwa dayo ne
His crustacean cuisine caused a big stink but the pot couldn't call the kettle black .
atomu
As a hotelier in Japan and elsewhere, I have seen a lot worse than this. Kettles and fridges get used and abused regularly.
One of the most memorable incidents was a bride-to-be who decided to hang her wedding dress from a fire sprinkler on the ceiling of their room. As you might expect, the sprinkler broke and their room and 3 rooms directly below were all flooded. TVs, carpets, bedding etc all damaged beyond repair by stinky, stained water. It cost them a fortune for the damage but they paid up in full. I wonder if their marriage lasted?
Must write a book one day about guest shenanigans.
Joe Blow
BARF!!! It's like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles but worse!
Erol Miftahittin
The hote may not sell the room but did lose the opportunity to sell the room by placing the room not in service. Similar cases with cigarette smoke where many guests in Japan smoke in a non-smoking hotel room.
shogun36
That’s why you link credit cards to booking a room.
NOMINATION
Years ago on one of our yearly winter trips to the hotel we always stay at along the Sea of Japan, I had a little too much crab mixed with the booze my father-in-law kept pushing on me. I threw it up all over the futon. I had to pay an extra 5000yen for the cleaning fee.
Kyo wa heiwa dayo ne
NOMINATION
thats a wonderful tale .
Apparently regurgitation isn't everything as you had to cough up an extra 5000 yen also.
Yubaru
I have a friend who owns a love hotel here in Japan. Some of the things he has shared would freak the hell out of folks here and they would shocked and disgusted at the literal "guano" that goes on there, and the damages he has to repair.
It's un-freaking believable to say the least and I am quite sure he would find "crab" smell, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being nothing, at about a minus 100!
Antiquesaving
This doesn't surprise me, there are hundreds if not thousands of Japanese YouTube videos showing people in hotels and ryokan using the electric "kettle" to cook food in.
Cooking things like non instant ramen to Shabu Shabu, etc..
Some are just silly YouTube videos to get views but others are actual channels built on how to travel as cheaply as possible with entry menus/recipes to be Cooked in hotel rooms in "kettle/hot water pots" they even explain how to use each type of "kettle" so that the water doesn't stop boiling.
Anyone that owns these electric kettles knows once the water boils they auto turn off, well these YouTube videos show how to circumvent this.
So I doubt these people just came up with the idea, they must have known how to keep the pot boiling constantly to be able to cook crab.
Dango bong
many people think Japanese are all intelligent and well-mannered. Can't forget these worthless space-taking idiots are here too
kaimycahl
@Dango bong What makes you think its a Japanese person. I guess you can't blame it on the citizens from the other country that starts with a C because they are on lockdown, or perhaps one did manage to escape and stayed in a hotel for extended stay!
many people think Japanese are all intelligent and well-mannered. Can't forget these worthless space-taking idiots are here too
Richard Burgan
Just remember you are probably an average or above-average person and that 50% or more of other people are stupider than you!
Desert Tortoise
I could see my wife doing the same thing to save money.
buffalo
Anyone access bengoshi dot com? Can't find it
Yubaru
Never cooked crab have you? Doesnt take "boiling" water to do it, and it literally only takes seconds, compared to ramen or other uncooked foods.
Oh and read the article, it's about one person and not "these people".