FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 03.30
Awaking in bed, PETER glances at the bedside clock.
PETER (V.O): Am I too excited to get a prompt reply from Atout France - the national organization that manages hotel classifications in France?
MONTAGE OF WHAT HAPPENED EARLIER
A. Waiting in a mall, Peter researches with his mobile.
B. We see Peter getting no result regarding the content of the decree of 29 December 2021 of France.
C. Later at home, Peter drafts a mail beginning with "Bonjour...", shows it to his WIFE before sending it.
D. Hours later. Peter is delighted to see a response, confirming that classification of Hotel Le Marechal doesn't include an annex and there is an online official register of classified accommodation.
END MONTAGE
Act 2
INT. BEDROOM - 10:00
Scrolling through his Facebook feed on his mobile, Peter stops at one, chuckling.
PETER (V.O): Ah, this is a good one about France. To solve a problem by creating more problems. Classic bureaucracy.
FLASHBACK
EXT. COLMAR - 18:00 (20 July 2024)
Fully parked public car park near Hotel Le Marechal. Peter is waiting inside a red Toyota Yaris. Then, he sees his WIFE appearing.
WIFE: I'm very disappointed with our room in the Annex of Hotel Le Marechal...
Then, a hotel PORTER appears.
WIFE (Cont'd): He has just helped me to put our baggage inside the room.
PETER (V.O): We've checked in other 4-star hotels and didn't get such service...
PORTER: You might be able to find vacant park lots a few minutes' walk from here...
EXT/INT. ANNEX OF HOTEL LE MARECHAL - LATER
Led by his wife, Peter walks past the hotel to a premises next door. His wife uses one of the three keys she gets to open the main door.
PETER: This so-called Annex is totally separated from Hotel Le Marechal and there's no hotel sign, not dissimilar from a private residence.
Having walked past a small open space, they arrive at a door with no room numbering. His wife uses another key to open the room door.
PETER (Cont'd): So troublesome. What's our room number?
WIFE: We've not been issued any room card, but just a set of three traditional keys.
Peter then notices that hiding behind the door are the doors of three other rooms - again with no numbering.
PETER: How do you know which room is ours?
WIFE: The porter who led me here says the one on the right.
PETER: I see, if you're not led here, there's no way you could find the room and check in the baggage first.
Observing the environment.
PETER (Cont'd): We've never come across a 4-star hotel's annex operating like this!
As his wife opens the room with the third key, Peter sees a room with no view.
PETER (Cont'd): It's like a sub-divided apartment. I doubt whether it's a licensed hotel premises!
WIFE: But we pay 4-star hotel room price...
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That night in Colmar, I wrote an email to the Tourism Office there, questioning if Hotel Le Marechal's Annex was a licensed hotel premises and if our room had been awarded 4 stars.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Subsequently, Colmar's Tourism Office replied that it had checked the information provided by the Hotel and that the rooms in the Annex of the Hotel were listed in Booking.com.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So Colmar's Tourism Office concluded that everything was in order and refused to help further as an intermediary.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then I asked Colmar's Tourism Office to refer my complaint to the enforcement agency for the Colmar area.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Instead, it asked ATout France a general question about hotel annex. Atout France referred to the decree of 29 December, 2021, saying that a hotel's 4-star classification includes the hotel's annex.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Colmar's Tourism Office concluded that the Hotel's Annex had been awarded 4 stars.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:45
Peter inserts an AI drawing entitled " Colmar Conundrum" to a draft in his laptop.
PETER (V.O): While my wife and I perceived Colmar as a tourist-friendly destination, my wife and I relied on Hotel Le Marechal's misrepresentation resulting in injuries to our feelings.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): The handling of Colmar's Tourism Office of our complaint was even more frustrating as I'd alerted it but it didn't care about tourists being misled by Hotel Le Marechal day in and date out.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I've hinted to Colmar's Tourism Office to verify its belief and try not to make Colmar the shame of France....To right the wrongs, I'm not hesitant.
FADE OUT
THE END
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