While the prevailing stereotype of millennials is that they are entitled and self-centered, rarely is that stereotype as evident as when they demand free things. One self-proclaimed “social media influencer” decided to use her number of online followers to get a hotel in Dublin to give her a free vacation—and then cried about it when she was rejected.
YouTuber and Instagram user Elle Darby sent an email to the owner of the White Moose Café asking to stay at his hotel for four nights around Valentine’s Day for free. In exchange for the free trip, she promised to give his hotel exposure. According to Darby, her previously comped trip to Universal Orlando has “been amazing for them” in terms of their popularity (not because they’re, you know, Universal).
Owner Paul Stenson was so offended by the audacity to ask to stay at his hotel for free that he posted the email Darby sent him—with her information redacted. In his Facebook post, Stenson also bragged about his number of social media followers and reminded Darby that her number of followers doesn’t make her better than anyone else:
After seeing the post, Darby made a full 17-minute video calling herself the victim of “bullying” because of the video. In her post, she also claimed to be a 22-year-old small business owner just trying to make a living:
The White Moose Café responded to the video by announcing a ban on all bloggers from their café and hotel, claiming the “sense of entitlement is just too strong in the blogging community and the nastiness, hissy fits and general hate displayed after one of your members was not granted her request for a freebie is giving your whole industry a bad name.”
According to the Telegraph, Stenson made a Snapchat saying begging for free hotels in exchange for good exposure “puts into question the authenticity of influencer marketing,” as Darby and others would only give positive reviews if they received something for free—and would be obligated to give positive reviews if they received something for free.