A couple who recently stayed at Row NYC in Times Square say the hotel accused them of smoking in their room and billed them $500 with no proof. The TikTok creator, named Ali Smith, also alleged that she’d heard a rumor about this being a common practice in hotels in New York.
In the video, the pair say they liked the hotel until the charge surfaced. They deny smoking and say a staff member accused them of lighting up on the Fourth of July at the moment they were, by their own account, blow-drying their hair.
No one came up to inspect the room, they say, and no photos were produced. When they offered to let the hotel search their belongings — turning up, in their words, nothing but “a few jelly cats” — one of them recounts an employee replying that a search would be pointless because “you’ve already smoked it.”
The couple says the charge was posted with no advance warning at 3 a.m., and it also came three days after the date the hotel assigned to the alleged incident. They’re now urging viewers to search reviews specifically for smoking complaints before booking a hotel in NYC.
“I would just file a charge back with your bank,” one user provided.
“Stayed at Row NYC before and had 0 problems,” another comment read. “Also live in NY and never heard of this scam.”
“Ask them for the data from the Particulate Matter sensor,” a user suggested.
The couple also posited the theory that maybe the machine just picked up the hairdryer. “We googled that, that’s a thing,” Ali’s partner added.
What the hotel policy says about smoking
Row NYC’s terms confirm there’s actually a framework for the smoking charge. According to the 1,331-room hotel’s own website, a smoke-free policy is enforced, and the rooms contain smoking-detection sensors. If smoking is detected, the party involved will be charged $500 per incident.
The same policy adds that, by booking, guests consent to the sensors and “agree to waive any future claims related to the presence of the sensor.” This pushes any sensor dispute away from the hotel before a stay even begins.
Row NYC is not alone in facing such accusations from guests. A group at M Social Hotel in Times Square said in October (via People) that they were billed $500 for smoking while they were out of the room.
In 2024, ABC7’s investigative unit found more than 20 comparable complaints tied to the NoMo hotel in the SoHo neighborhood, including from guests who said they neither smoke nor vape.
Whatever the truth — and Row NYC has yet to address the allegation, this TikToker has added another NYC hotel to a growing list of guests raising the same complaint.
Published: Aug 9, 2026 07:05 am