Irish hotelier who snubbed British blogger’s request for free stay sends her £4.5m bill for ‘all the publicity’
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Irish hotelier who snubbed British blogger’s request for free stay sends her £4.5m bill for ‘all the publicity’

AN Irish hotel owner has continued his spat with a British vlogger by invoicing her £4.5m for the publicity she received when he publicly snubbed her request for a free stay.

Elle Darby, 22, wrote to a Dublin hotel and café about a “possible collaboration” last week, involving free-of-charge accommodation for her and her boyfriend.

But her email was greeted with disdain by Paul Stenson, owner of the White Moose Café and Charleville Lodge Hotel in Dublin.

Mr Stenson’s public rebuttal of Ms Darby’s request quickly went viral after he posted it on Facebook, but the Irishman isn’t down yet.

"I’ll be posting out this invoice today..." he wrote on the White Moose Café’s Facebook page alongside an image of a bill, which outlines charges for: "The provision of features in 114 articles across 20 countries with a potential reach of 450 million people."

In the terms section of the bill, he joked: "Mentions in videos will not qualify as payment."

Eye-watering: Stenson's massive invoice in full (Picture: Facebook)

Stenson calculated a final charge of €5,289,000 (£4.5m) and claimed it would be sent to the “social influencer” right away.

It comes after Ms Darby, who has over 80,000 subscribers on YouTube, accused Stenson of bullying in a video titled “I was exposed (SO embarrassing)”.

In the video, she insisted it was her right to ask for a free stay, adding: "I feel disgusting having to say this. As a 22-year-old girl who's running her own business from her home, I don't feel like I did anything wrong."

"These were all 30 years plus people internet bullying a 22-year-old girl who is just trying to run her own business and raise awareness of what appeared to be a stunning Dublin hotel."

The original exchange (Picture: Facebook)

After a backlash on social media, Mr Stenson then banned “all bloggers” from his establishments.

"If any of you attempt to enter our premises from now on, you will be ejected,” he said.

The row went viral, prompting Stenson to send the vlogger his bill over the publicity it has generated for her.

Ms Darby has not yet responded to Mr Stenson's public invoice, but tweeted on Sunday to thank her fans for their support.