All guest disputes with hotels or furnished apartments will be referred to the Shariah court for verdict if no resolution has been reached by the tourist committee tasked with investigating such cases, the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has announced. A tourist committee tackling guest complaints has been formed after the supervision of hotels and furnished apartments was handed over to the SCTA from the Ministry of Commerce two weeks ago, said Ahmad Al-Essa, head of license and quality department at the SCTA. The committee, however, aims to settle the complaints through available means before resorting to the Shariah court should the litigation continue, he said. Tens of guest complaints have been filed of late against hotels and furnished apartments, mostly related to bad service, and high prices. Compared to other complaints, these ones sound normal. A published list of the world's weirdest hotel complaints in 2008 included a star footballer who complained his ocean-view hotel room overlooking Sydney's Manly beach was unsuitable because the sound of the sea kept him awake. One recent complaint from an Australian male traveler was that his hotel room “was decorated in a feminine manner.” After making a reservation at a cheap $12-a-night hotel in Bali, a couple was annoyed because it didn't provide free bottled water. Guest complaints at times leave staff in the travel industry speechless, but not in Saudi Arabia so far.
