Local hotels fall victim to con artist
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TWO hotels in Caithness are thought to be the latest victims of a con artist who is said to have left a trail of debt across the Highlands.
The Park Hotel in Thurso and the Norseman in Wick are both owed over £500 by the same woman who is believed to have used a different false identity in each town.
She was last seen on Monday morning having breakfast at the Norseman at 8.30am before disappearing out of the hotel. She has not been seen since.
It is believed that she may have become spooked after Northern Constabulary put out an appeal asking for information about her whereabouts when it was reported she had also abandoned hotels without paying at other places across the Highlands over the last two months.
It is claimed that the woman said she worked for a different company at each hotel she visited and was friendly towards staff and fellow guests on each occasion.
She checked in at the Norseman on Tuesday, May 8, hours after abandoning the Park Hotel where she had been staying for six days.
Norseman manager Andrew Mackay said that he was in regular contact with the woman during her stay. She claimed she worked for a publishing company which was producing a guidebook about northern Scotland.
During her stay, he recommended places that she could include in the book and helped her set up interviews with local businesses.
On Monday morning when Lynsey Reid from Lark & Lily Designs was due to meet her at the hotel, it was discovered that the woman’s room was empty of her belongings.
Mr Mackay said that she had completely fooled staff and guests at the hotel and he is angry that she has cost the hotel so much money.
“She told us that she came from Shrewsbury and that her husband was an airline pilot, but I have since found out other hotels were told something else,” he said.
“She also entertained people with drinks during her stay which she charged to her room.
“I have notified almost every hotel between Caithness and Inverness as well as contacting the police about what has happened.
“It makes you feel very stupid when you’ve been caught out by individuals like these because at the end of the day we will not get our money.”
Park Hotel manager Sandra Campbell said that the woman posed as an aviation handler when she checked in on Thursday, May 3.
Her bill included six nights’ accommodation as well as dinner and drinks. She left without paying the day before she was due to depart.
Management was alerted to her disappearance last Wednesday by hotel maids who noticed that all her belongings had gone.
Mrs Campbell said that after the woman left she had sent them an e-mail with credit card details and told them to keep the room as she would be back.
But when they charged it, they discovered the card belonged to a man in the United States who had no association with the company the woman said she worked for.
“The woman was originally checked in the hotel for six days but she disappeared on the fifth,” said Mrs Campbell.
“I only had a brief conversation with her one morning after breakfast when she wanted to know where to get internet access in Thurso, but other staff had also spoken to her.
“One of our guests said that they had a long conversation with her about her job as an aviation handler and said that she seemed to be quite clued up on the subject.”
The woman is described as five feet nine inches tall, Caucasian, of medium build and in her mid-thirties with long fuzzy brown hair and an English accent.
Thurso-based Sergeant Donald MacDonald said that no other hotels in Caithness had been targeted by a woman of that description.
Anyone with information is asked to call Thurso Police Station on 01847 893222 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you wish to remain anonymous.
