NEW YORK— A Long Island hotel accused of ratcheting up prices more than 285% following September 11 will refund customers and pay a $9,500 fine, a hotel manager said Wednesday, according to a report on CNN.com . In the days after hijacked airliners struck two World Trade Center tower, the Days Inn in Hicksville, New York, charged stranded air travelers and victims family members up to $399 a night— up from the posted rate of $139— the state attorney generals office said. New Yorks anti-price gouging law prohibits “unconscionably excessive” prices of essential consumer goods during a state of emergency. But, while accepting the penalties, the hotels assistant general manager claimed two newly hired front desk clerks innocently overcharged customers, the report said. The clerks, unaware of the terrorist attacks on the morning of September 11, overcharged “two or three” customers $50, according to Gerald Lynch. The hotel mailed refund checks that same day, as soon as it “understood the magnitude of the situation,” Lynch said. “We just wanted to get the situation behind us,” he said, explaining the hotels decision to pay the state-imposed fines. One of the employees still works at the Days Inn while the other has left for reasons unrelated to the investigation, said Lynch. The hotels owner, Ray Cheung admitted in a deposition that he spoke regularly with hotel clerks on the morning of the attacks and was aware higher rates were being charged, said Assistant Attorney General Juan Merchan. Instead of two or three people receiving refunds of $50 each, Merchan said, hotel documents show that 12 people received restitution totaling $1,500. Moreover, Merchan said none of the refunds were mailed until Cheung realized he was being investigated— well after September 11. SOURCE: CNN.com
