A BRITISH YouTube vlogger has said she feels 'humiliated' after a Dublin hotelier refused her email request for free accommodation.
Elle Darby, from Somerset, has been on the receiving end of a public dressing down after the owner of Charleville Lodge Hotel, Phibsborough shared the 22-year-old's note on Facebook.
Dublin businessman Paul Stenson refused Darby's all expenses paid request for a "possible collaboration" and proceeded to dress down the YouTuber in a lengthy post which has since gone viral.
"I would love to feature you in my Youtube videos/dedicated Instagram stories/posts to bring traffic to your hotel and recommend others to book up in return for free accommodation," Darby wrote to the hotel.
But despite Darby urging the hotel that she had previously "helped out" other establishments by bringing them to the attention of her 87,000 followers, Mr Stenson accussed her of lacking "self-respect and dignity".
Not only did Stenson post the exchange online, but he has now banned all bloggers from his hotel.
He wrote: "Dear Social Influencer (I know your name but apparently it's not important to use names).
The original exchange (Picture: Facebook)"Thank you for your email looking for free accommodation in return for exposure.
"It takes a lot of balls to send an email like that, if not much self-respect and dignity.
"If I let you stay here in return for a feature in your video, who is going to pay the staff who look after you? Who is going to pay the housekeepers who clean your room?
"The waiters who serve you breakfast? The receptionist who checks you in? Who is going to pay for the light and heat you use during your stay? The laundering of your bed sheets? The water rates?
"Maybe I should tell my staff they will be featured in your video in lieu of receiving payment for work carried out while you're in residence?"
The Facebook post received a mixed reaction online, with some branding Ms Darby a "spoiled brat" and others accussing Mr Stenson of bullying.
Ms Darby has since responded with a YouTube video claiming that Stenson's actions led to her being bullied by social media trolls.
In the video, titled 'I was exposed (SO embarrassing)', Darby said people over the age of 30 have "no idea how social media works these days" and revealed she had received hundreds of abusive messages.
"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," she said, with tears in her eyes.
"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."
In a follow-up post on Facebook, the hotel announced that all bloggers are now banned from the premises.
Mr Stenson wrote: "I never thought we would be inundated with negative reviews for the simple reason that somebody was required to pay for goods received or services rendered.
"The girl in question was never identified in my original post, but she herself went on to create a video explaining how she was 'exposed' with 'malicious intent' for asking for a freebie.
"This kind of victimisation is very prevalent in the blogging industry, and is in keeping with their general modus operandi of wanting everything for nothing.
'If any of you attempt to enter our premises from now on, you will be ejected."
