Hotel owner sends blogger bill for millions

A HOTEL owner just couldn’t help getting the final say in his feud with a freebie-seeking blogger, sending her an invoice for millions.

Kate Schneider

@SchneiderK

less than 2 min read

January 23, 2018 - 4:46PM

IT MAY not have been the collaboration that this blogger had hoped for when she reached out to a hotel owner asking for a freebie. But what came next sure has earned her a lot of publicity.

Elle Darby was quickly propelled into the spotlight last week when she asked Dublin hotel owner Paul Stenson for a complimentary stay in return for coverage on her YouTube and Instagram pages, never expecting the reaction she would get.

Mr Stenson, owner of Dublin’s White Moose Café and Charleville Lodge, took to his company’s Facebook page with a scathing response that quickly went viral and left her “embarrassed”.

And Mr Stenson has no intention of letting the hype die down any time soon, sending the blogger a tongue-in-cheek letter requesting for millions of dollars for the publicity she has received.

In the description for the invoice it states: “The provision of features in 114 articles across 20 countries with a potential reach of 450 million people. Thank you for your business!”

And the #bloggergate saga has given Darby a social media boost, with the “influencer” retweeting messages of support from new followers. Her YouTube follower count has increased by around 15,000.

Turns out @elledarby has an absolutely ace YT channel so thanks to THAT hotel for turning me on to her content. â˜®ï¸ðŸ˜˜
— Amy Janeâ£ï¸ (@heyamyjane) January 17, 2018

Darby relaxes at home. Picture: Elle Darby

Darby has also told of her struggles dealing with the spotlight, tweeting: “The events that unfolded on Tuesday and the days that followed were unexpected and frankly, unwanted. I’ve gone back and wondered if I should have done anything differently ... but you know, everything happens for a reason. And, actually, I wouldn’t have done anything differently.

“I’m pretty proud of the way I dealt with an overwhelming, sudden rush of death threats, cancer wishes and being called every name under the sun by a bunch of strangers. For sending an email. That every blogger has sent. As a business proposal. Ha ha ... I’m not going over this again!

She has received death threats. Picture: Elle Darby

“Tonight marks the end of this strange situation for me. Tomorrow, I’m getting back to living my best life, doing what I love — while others will probably still try to drag it to the surface. Let them, Hun ... they don’t have anything better to do.”

Iâ€™m pretty proud of the way I dealt with an overwhelming, sudden rush of death threats, cancer wishes & being called every name under the sun by a bunch of strangers. For sending an email. That every blogger has sent. As a business proposal. Haha.. Iâ€™m not going over this again!
— Elle âœ¨ (@elledarby) January 21, 2018

Mr Stenson is no stranger to controversy, making headlines in 2015 for barring vegans.