What Does Coffee Safety Mean for Hotel Guest Rooms?

A traveler from Zhengzhou drank complimentary instant coffee in his Chengdu Holiday Inn room on August 20 and later felt gastrointestinal discomfort. The packaging showed a production date of March 21, 2022 and a 24-month shelf life, meaning the coffee had expired about half a year earlier. Chengdu market supervision authorities have opened an investigation.

The hotel offered a room refund plus 2,000 yuan, describing the sum as a reward for finding the problem rather than compensation; the guest declined. The case highlights how guest-room food supplies depend on routine inspection and replacement, an area the article says the wider hotel industry should review.

A traveler from Zhengzhou on a business trip to Chengdu drank the complimentary instant coffee provided in his room after checking into a local Holiday Inn, and subsequently suffered gastrointestinal discomfort. Upon inspecting the packaging, he found that the coffee was produced in March 2022 with a shelf life of 24 months, meaning it was nearly half a year past its expiration date when he drank it. After the customer reported this to the hotel, the hotel offered to refund the room fee and provide 2,000 yuan in compensation, but emphasized that the payment was a "reward for discovering the problem" rather than compensation, which the customer did not accept. Currently, the Chengdu market supervision authorities have intervened in the investigation, and the matter is still being processed. This case has also sounded an alarm for food safety management in hotel guest rooms across the industry.

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According to Jimu News, a traveler from Zhengzhou experienced physical discomfort after drinking instant coffee provided in his room during a stay at a Holiday Inn in Chengdu, and later discovered that the coffee had long passed its expiration date.

The customer said he arrived in Chengdu on August 20 for a business trip, and the hotel was booked by the inviter, a Holiday Inn in Chengdu. After entering the room, he noticed instant coffee provided free of charge by the hotel on the table and made himself a cup.

Not long after drinking it, he felt something unusual in his stomach and intestines, and initially thought it was just due to adjusting to the local environment. However, after carefully examining the coffee packaging, he realized that the discomfort was very likely related to that cup of instant coffee.

According to photos taken by the customer, the two packs of instant coffee placed in the room were both marked with a production date of March 21, 2022, and a shelf life of 24 months. In other words, both packs of coffee had already expired in March of this year. The hotel failed to inspect and replace them in time, leaving food that was nearly half a year past its expiration date in the room for guests to use, which the consumer found unacceptable.

The customer said that when he completed his business trip and checked out, he informed the hotel manager about the expired coffee in the room. After returning to Zhengzhou, he still felt unwell and went to the hospital. During this period, a hotel manager contacted him and offered to waive the room fees for his group and provide an additional 2,000 yuan in compensation.

It is worth noting that the customer said: "According to them (the hotel), this 2,000 yuan is not compensation, but a reward for discovering the problem."

Although the hotel offered a compensation plan for this mistake, the customer was not satisfied and did not accept the arrangement. He then complained about his experience to the Chengdu 12345 hotline, hoping for a reasonable explanation and a negotiated outcome acceptable to both parties.

On September 19 and September 20, Jimu News reporters contacted the customer service staff of the Holiday Inn separately to ask about the expired coffee in the room, and the staff members both replied that a dedicated person would respond.

On the afternoon of the 20th, the reporter went to the hotel where the consumer had stayed to learn more. A staff member at that location said the guest had already complained to the regulatory authorities, that the market supervision authorities had now intervened and had conducted an on-site investigation at the hotel, and that all conclusions should be based on the official investigation.

After checking through the Chengdu 12345 hotline platform, the reporter learned that the customer's complaint about the Holiday Inn was being handled by the local market supervision administration. Staff at the administration said that after the complaint is concluded, the complainant will be informed of the result.

However, as of the afternoon of the 20th when this article was published, the reporter had not yet received a response from the hotel on the matter, nor had they obtained the investigation results from the relevant authorities after the customer's complaint.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.