Travelodge apologises after cutting utilities for Bristol council tenant
Selma Muuse and her son have been temporarily living in hotels after a fire on their floor at Twinnell House
Last updated 22nd Nov 2022
Hotel firm Travelodge has apologised after it emerged a Bristol City Council tenant temporarily living in a hotel, had their water and electricity supplies cut.
Selma Muuse and her son have been living in various hotels since a fire on their floor at Twinnell House in Easton, which left one man dead.
The council has reportedly found them a new place to live but asked them to move back to Twinnell House temporarily and stopped paying her hotel bill.
But Ms Muuse says she is too scared to return to Twinnell House and one way or another, her utility supply was then cut last weekend (November 19).
In a statement sent to us the hotel chain says this was an error.
"We are sympathetic to Ms Muuse’s situation, but we are a hotel business that provides short term accommodation and we cannot offer Ms Muuse the long term support that she needs," a spokesperson for Travelodge told us.
"We are sincerely sorry to Ms Muuse and her son for the isolated incident of providing no utility services for an hour on Saturday.
"This action was undertaken by error and is against our operational policies.
"We are taking the appropriate action with the hotel team to ensure that this type of incident does not occur again."
Whilst apologising however, the chain does make a point of saying Ms Muuse "is now in breach of our terms and conditions" as a non-paying guest.
"Bristol City Council has directly informed us that they will not extend Ms Muuse’s booking, as they have found alternative accommodation to suit Ms Muuse and her son’s needs," the spokesperson says.
"However, as a gesture of goodwill we have extended Ms Muuse’s booking by a few days and are intervening to support Ms Muuse come to an amicable agreement with Bristol City Council for her long term accommodation needs.”
A Bristol City Council spokesperson says they "cannot condone the lack of empathy shown" by Travelodge.
"Whilst this case is complex and requires the resident to return to their council flat to prepare for a move to another council property, support has been made available by the Council throughout this difficult time," they say.
"We are working to get the new flat ready and will do what we can to help this family to settle in their new accommodation in a few weeks.”