A cafe owner in Dublin, Ireland, took to Facebook as he ‘exposed’ a ‘social media influencer’ who had written to him asking for a free stay at their hotel in return for “bringing traffic and recommending others to book up”. He shared a screenshot of her email to him, blackening out her ID and details of her online account handles, but criticised her for expecting free accommodation. Uploaded on January 16, his Facebook post has gone viral, with over 3,500 shares already at the time of writing. While many supported him, others called his response “kiddish” and a “bit too harsh”.The influencer said she and her partner were going to Dublin for an early Valentine’s weekend during February 8-12 and she “would love” to feature their hotel in her “YouTube videos/dedicated Instagram stories and posts… in return for free accommodation”. She wrote that she has worked with Universal Orlando in Florida and “it’s been amazing for them”.In his Facebook post with the letter, the cafe’s owner Paul Stenson responded, “Lucky for us, we too have a significant social media following. We have 186k followers on our two Facebook pages, an estimated 80k on our Snapchat, 32k on Instagram and a paltry 12k on our Twitter, but Jesus Christ, I would never in a million years ask anyone for anything for free. I also blog a bit (www.paulvstenson.com), which as far as I’m aware is another way of saying “write stuff on the internet'”. He also shared the link to a small, satirical video called the ‘House of Influencers’ for them to “learn from”.This is the Facebook post shared on the restaurant’s Facebook page and signed by Stenson, which subsequently went viral.
“Dear Social Influencer (I know your name but apparently it’s not important to use names), Thank you for your email looking for free accommodation in return for exposure. It takes a lot of balls to send an email like that if not much self-respect and dignity. If I let you stay here in return for a feature in your video, who is going to pay the staff who look after you? Who is going to pay the housekeepers who clean your room? The waiters who serve you breakfast? The receptionist who checks you in? Who is going to pay for the light and heat you use during your stay? The laundering of your bedsheets? The water rates? Maybe I should tell my staff they will be featured in your video in lieu of receiving payment for work carried out while you’re in residence? Lucky for us, we too have a significant social media following. We have 186k followers on our two Facebook pages, an estimated 80k on our Snapchat, 32k on Instagram and a paltry 12k on our Twitter, but Jesus Christ, I would never in a million years ask anyone for anything for free. I also blog a bit (www.paulvstenson.com), which as far as I’m aware is another way of saying “write stuff on the internet”. The above stats do not make me any better than anyone else or afford me the right to not pay for something everyone else has to pay for. In future, I’d advise you to offer to pay your way like everyone else, and if the hotel in question believes your coverage will help them, maybe they’ll give you a complimentary upgrade to a suite. This would show more self-respect on your part and, let’s face it, it would be less embarrassing for you.
Best regards,
Paul Stenson”
Although Stenson had blackened out her personal details, it seems he shared her details publicly following which she was identified as Elle Darby. Soon she posted a video responding to Stenson, saying she had received a lot of hate online for asking for a free stay and wanted to clarify her stand. She uploaded a video on YouTube, explaining her part of the story and starting off by emphasising on “how infuriated” she was at the ‘exposé’.If you thought that was the end of it, then you have another think coming. Stenson took things up a notch and has now sent her an invoice of £4,410,063 for boosting her online presence given that the cafe’s social media reach was much larger. He’s also banned all bloggers and reviewers from any freebies on his property. Much to the amusement of many, he shared a picture of the invoice on Twitter and Facebook, with the caption, “I’m posting out this invoice today…”