Airlines typically put a lot of effort into finding suitable accommodations for crews on layovers, so this is a (sort of) hilarious mix up, if you ask me…
British Airways staff put up in Milan love motel
Ordinarily, airlines have agreements with hotels in various cities for accommodating crews, so generally crews stay at the same hotels. However, sometimes issues arise, with room availability, last minute cancelations, etc., and then airlines have to work to find other places for crews to stay.
The Sun reports on a rather awkward situation that British Airways pilots and flight attendants dealt with during a layover in Milan on the night of Thursday, June 12, 2025.
For whatever reason, at least 12 pilots and flight attendants weren’t able to stay at British Airways’ standard hotel in the city, so the carrier’s hotel booking team booked staff elsewhere. The only problem is that they were accidentally booked in a pay-by-the-hour sex motel. According to an insider:
“Crew were booked into a pay-by-the-hour sex hotel last Thursday. They were confronted with bondage sets, mirrored ceilings, human dog cages and leather harnesses. It was obvious that this wasn’t the place the crew was supposed to stay. It was a comical mistake by the hotel booking team, but had serious implications.”
Some of the team who stayed in the sex dungeon didn’t get any sleep, so they couldn’t operate on BA services the following day. They were kept awake by thrillseekers moaning and groaning all day and night. Staff reported constant noise, and witnessed ‘drug deals and prostitution,’ as well as a ‘24-hour orgy.’ There were adult workers outside propositing staff. Crew even reported suspicious fluids in their rooms which made their skin crawl.”
British Airways has sort of acknowledged the incident, releasing the following statement:
“A small number of crew were moved to unapproved hotel rooms due to availability issues with our usual provider, without our knowledge. We are urgently investigating to prevent a repeat.”
How could the airline make this mistake?
Logically, you’re probably wondering how an airline could make a mistake like this, and book staff at a pay-by-the-hour sex motel. Well, this is where it gets truly wild.
The crew was reportedly supposed to be booked at Mo.om Hotel, a pretty standard four-star property. Instead, they were booked at Motel Mo.om, a pay-by-the-hour sex motel, which also claims to be a four-star property. I can totally see how that mix-up could happen, but also… really?!?
Like, it actually takes quite a bit of searching online to find reference to this property, so you’d think that this mistake wouldn’t happen. Below are some of the hotel’s marketing pictures.
I find it interesting that the crew actually ended up spending the night at this property. You’d think they would’ve gotten in touch with their hotel support desk, and would’ve been accommodated somewhere else.
In fairness, some of the rooms at the hotel actually look semi-normal, so perhaps they were put up in those rooms, and didn’t realize what had happened until after checking in. Like, I imagine if they had been placed in cages and tied up, they might’ve objected more quickly (or not… who am I to judge?).
Bottom line
British Airways pilots and flight attendants were accidentally booked at a sex motel during a recent Milan layover. Their typical hotel wasn’t available, for whatever reason, so they had to be accommodated elsewhere. However, rather than being booked at Mo.om Hotel, they were booked at Motel Mo.om. Oops! I can’t help but wonder how often people either book or show up at the wrong “version” of that property.
What do you make of this British Airways mix-up?
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