A Taupō woman who says she worked at the troublesome Barcelona Motel has spoken out about the "unacceptable" cleaning practices and hours of unpaid overtime she was expected to do, which made her walk off the job after just a few days.
The Barcelona Motel, located on Taniwha St in Taupō, has made headlines recently after guests spoke out about the "filthy" state of their rooms.
In July, Whanganui mother Karen Nicol posted footage of room number five to the Facebook page Taupō Noticeboard which showed a mouldy shower curtain and bathroom fittings, stained bedsheets, and filthy surfaces and furnishings.
She told Newshub the room, which cost her $288, was "gross" but she was forced to stay there after management refused to give her a refund.
Days later an Auckland family came forward, saying they felt "catfished" by their room, which they booked for a weekend away at the mountains.
"It was horrible," the mother said. "I actually cried. I'm not someone who can get conned very easily… it wasn't anything like what the pictures on booking.com looked like."
'Just as bad as they described'
Now a woman who claims to have worked at the Barcelona Motel told Newshub she isn't surprised by the damning reviews.
Rachel*, who wished to remain anonymous, said she accepted a role as a housekeeper for the Barcelona Motel on a permanent part-time basis in April.
While waiting for her contract to be finalised, she worked over Easter weekend and told Newshub she was shocked at the state of the rooms.
"It was just as bad as they described in the Google reviews, on the Taupō Noticeboard and in the [news] articles as well."
She said the room floors were "covered in dirt", one room had a faulty plug, and some paying clients were given "tatty" towels and unsanitary rooms intended for emergency housing guests.
Rachel also claimed the housekeepers were given an "unrealistic" amount of time to clean each room - just 20 to 30 minutes - where they were only supposed to touch the surface of the required cleaning.
"It's basically only what the manager asked me to do… she said the only thing we can do is make it look clean but not actually do a thorough clean.
"I've worked in a four - five-star motel before and I've been taught to thoroughly clean everything and it was just unacceptable."
Training and overtime
During her second day on the job, Rachel said it was "a huge shock" to be told to train a new housekeeper.
"We had a new worker, who I believe was a family member or friend," she said.
"I had no idea she had never done housekeeping before until I had cleaned the sixth room. Then the manager or property owner's wife took me aside and said 'she's never done housekeeping before, can you train her up'. That was only my second day of working there."
Rachel said she was "told off" for not double-checking the new housekeeper's work despite only finding out she was new part way through.
She also claimed that on the weekend she worked at the motel, she worked roughly five to seven hours of overtime - which she said she wasn't paid for.
So when she was finally handed her contract, she decided not to sign it.
"I decided to quit because the way they managed everything was just that bad."
She said she was "so glad" when she saw Niccol's video on social media.
"I was really relieved because I was talking about it with my partner and I said 'this is basically karma'."
Response
Newshub contacted the Barcelona Motel for comment but the owner didn't return the call. They also did not respond to calls regarding the Auckland family's complaints.
However a staff member - believed to be the motel's owner - previously spoke out about Niccol's video and claimed she had dirtied the room herself and was not an accurate representation of their accommodation.
"The lady came, she was in the room for four hours, and then she went to reception to try and get half-price. They stayed the night and in the morning they did this video. The room she showed online is the room she created, so this is falsified information. The council has inspected the room, and the council has no problem with it," he told Newshub in July.
"If the room was like that in the first place, she would not have stayed there."
He admitted the wall plug was broken and said the stains on the bed may have been "an oversight" by staff.
"It's not as bad as what this lady has done," the man said. "About 10am the next day, she's done all of this. Those blood and things on the pillowcases and sheets, it's inappropriate."
He also said that customers had been responsible for mess in other rooms.
"All the rooms are like that when the guests have checked out - even yesterday, I went through the rooms, taking pictures [after] guests' stays, and they stained the blood and everything. We have proof of everything. The council has been and we have no more to say about it."
Newshub asked him about Google reviews dating back six months - which are largely negative, with comments calling the motel "filthy", "terrible" and "like a run down druggie pad" - the man said "everyone is entitled to their views".
"We have no issue with what we have. The customers do make a mess and we do take pictures from now on to show people that the customers leave these kinds of messes in the rooms."
