KUALA LUMPUR: A video of a homestay owner throwing her guests' belongings, allegedly for checking out late, has gone viral on social media.
The video, originally uploaded on Facebook by user Shafiq Ghani, saw the homestay owner throwing the guests' items, including luggage and a few bags.
While the guests were seen collecting their stuff, one of them was spotted still clad in a towel, well past the check-out time.
"Yes, we admit that we were late for check-out. If makcik (the owner of the homestay) wanted to charge between RM100 and RM200 per day, we were more than willing to pay.
"But, don't chase us away like this and throw away our food as well.
"Yesterday, after an event in Alor Star, we rushed to send some stuff to Perlis. We arrived (back in Alor Star) at 8am. We overslept and were late (for check-out), but only by one hour," read the caption on the video.
The original video, however, has since been taken down.
Meanwhile, the homestay owner's children in a post on the homestay's Facebook page responded to the incident.
According to the post, the guests were given until 1pm to check out without an additional fee being incurred as the next guests were set to check in at 3pm.
"You asked for a late check-out at 2pm. My mum responded by saying the latest would be at 1pm as new guests were set to check in at 3pm.
"My mum texted again at 1pm, reminding you to check-out to prepare the house for the next guests. However, there was no reply from your side.
"The cleaner arrived at 1.35pm to clean the house. One of the members of your team said okay. The cleaner waited until 2pm, yet one of the guests was still wearing a towel and there were no signs of checking out despite the leeway given.
"The cleaner contacted my mum and she rushed to the homestay. She called you a few times, but you did not respond to the calls.
"Around 2.25pm, my mum arrived at the homestay. It was two and a half hours past the check-out time."
Based on the post, the guests finally checked out at 2.40pm, leaving only 20 minutes for the owner to clean the house for the next guests.
"My mum had to answer to the next guests. Please respect other people's business. Yes, my mum was also wrong, for throwing out the bags.
"I have talked to her about this and told her that next time she should just call the police.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We just want to clarify what had happened.
"You can deny any parts of my explanation, as I had already asked the cleaner, my mum and have proof from WhatsApp and calls."
Checks on the comment section of the post on X saw several netizens agreeing with what the owner did.
User @mrfirdausjailan wrote; "This is not about being able to pay or not (for the late check-out). If you check out at 2.40pm, the owner only has 20 minutes to clean up the house before the next guests. The makcik is doing a homestay business, not running a welfare home."
Another user @NawraYusoff said: "To be honest, I would do the same thing. But, I'll throw the bags and food at their face."