A 26 year-old Portuguese man, who has not been named, was arrested last week after a 5-star hotel in the tourist centre of the Catalan capital reported that he left without paying a bill of around €1,000. It emerged that he had, in fact, stayed at a total of 14 hotels in Barcelona, running up bills totalling €7,525.44.
He was discovered staying in another up-market hotel nearby and was arrested for fraud by officers from Los Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police.
He always followed the same modus operandi, checking into several hotels simultaneously, using maxed-out credit cards, according to a statement from the Mossos d'esquadra. He then enjoyed the facilities, including gyms and restaurants, and charged the extras to the room before slipping away without paying.
