AN armed guard marched a Leigh man out of an American hotel after he threatened to give them a bad review on a leading travel website.

John Howard, 67, and two friends had pre-booked their stay at the Knights Inn hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, but arrived after an 11 hour flight to find they were not allowed into their rooms.

The jetlagged country music fans mentioned to the receptionist they would give bad feedback on website TripAdvisor and the situation quickly escalated.
 

Mr Howard and friends Alan Lloyd, 69, and Nick Cobban, 65, were told to leave immediately and an armed guard held a gun in his hand as he watched the trio pick up their suitcases and get into their hire car.

Mr Howard, from Leigh, said: “This was the first night of our holiday and it really got off to a nightmare start.

“It was insane. They had empty rooms, two had been paid for in advance as we wanted to be sure we had somewhere to stay.

“This sort of thing reflects badly not only on Nashville but the whole US tourist industry. Armed hotel guards are unheard of in Europe. I’m flabbergasted that they could be turned on hotel guests who have pre-paid for their rooms.”

The group, who were on a two-week holiday, had been denied entry as a fourth friend who booked the hotel stay by credit card was not with them.

Lee Wilkinson, 62, had arrived in Nashville earlier that day and was upstairs in his room waiting for them to arrive- and had no phone signal to get in contact.

Knights Inn hotel manager James Patel apologised for the error and offered the four men a discounted stay.