Action 9: Knowing your rights as a hotel or motel renter

Many people living in hotels or motels for months at a time don’t know one of their rights.

North Carolina law states that if a person stays in the same hotel or motel for 90 days straight, all their name, the business is supposed to give your sales tax back and stop charging you sales tax going forward.

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Several renters told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke they didn’t know about the rule, and that the business didn’t tell them either.

When asked how much every penny counts, renter Nicholas Meadows told Action 9, “Phew, it counts more than I can imagine. Because, at the same time, I don’t really have the money to actually just go out here. I couldn’t even pay off my kids’ layaway. I had to cancel that."

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Another renter told Stoogenke that WoodSpring Suites in Gastonia wouldn’t give her money back, but when Action 9 got involved, she said the hotel refunded her.

The company never told Action 9 what the problem was.

Tip:

If a hotel or motel doesn’t give your money back, tell the business in writing. The business has 60 days to respond. If that doesn’t work, report the business to the N.C. Attorney General’s office and the N.C. Department of Revenue.

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