(NEXSTAR) – Talk about a convenient location to nearby restaurants and bars!
A young woman visiting New York recently discovered that her hotel room – which she had booked through Airbnb – literally shared a window with a Japanese restaurant, allowing her to peek at customers while they ate.
The woman, who identified herself as Desiree Baker, first shared the bizarre experience on TikTok earlier this week, noting the discrepancy between the actual room and the online listing, which reportedly indicated a bedroom facing the town.
“I’m rolling up the blinds – there are no buildings,” she tells her TikTok followers. “We are in a restaurant. Let me show you.”
As seen in the clip, Baker lifts the shade and nervously peeks at a couple having dinner on the opposite side of the glass. Diners, however, cannot see Baker because of reflective coating on the other side, she later discovers.
“I would have screamed the first time opening the blinds,” one viewer wrote in response to the video.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME[?]asked another commenter.
“Omg I would be LIVID!!!!” added another user.
Baker also demonstrated in the following clip that she was able to open the restaurant window, and then used this ability. when returning a few cocktail glasses which she had brought back to her room.
“HOW IS THIS LEGAL,” she captioned a video, which has since been viewed more than 9 million times on TikTok. “You literally can’t make this up.”
After her stay, Baker tagged both the hotel and the restaurant on TikTok. As NYC eater noted, the restaurant appears to have been built on a outdoor terrace with a retractable roofindicating that Baker’s bedroom window may have once overlooked an outdoor space.
Baker, meanwhile, claimed she was contacted by Airbnb after seeing her viral video on TikTok. She said they gave her a credit for a future stayshe “agreed” with.
An Airbnb representative told Nexstar they were working to “support the guest” and that the hotel operator – Cassa Studios – was under investigation by the company.
In a statement shared with Nexstar, the hotel operator further claimed that guests of “terrace-facing rooms” are notified in advance.
“As is the case with much of the city, we have to deal with the constraints of a building with an unusual floor plan,” read a statement from hotel manager Cassa Studios, Julia Letenko. “Only six of our 86 rooms face the terrace, and our policy is to place guests in these rooms only when no others are available, or on request. These rooms are offered at a reduced price, guests are notified of the restaurant in advance, and we allow guests staying in these rooms to move out as soon as another room becomes available. Many guests who stay in our terrace rooms appreciate having a discounted option close to popular tourist destinations.
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