The '3 Men In a Hotel' Riddle

3 MEN GO INTO A MOTEL. THE MAN BEHIND THE DESK SAID THE ROOM IS $300,

SO EACH MAN PAID $100 AND WENT TO THE ROOM.



A WHILE LATER THE MAN BEHIND THE DESK REALIZED THE ROOM WAS ONLY $250,

SO HE SENT THE BELLBOY TO THE 3 GUYS' ROOM WITH $50.



ON THE WAY, THE BELLBOY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPLIT $50 EVENLY

BETWEEN 3 MEN, SO HE GAVE EACH MAN A $10 BILL AND KEPT THE OTHER $20

FOR HIMSELF.



ADD THE $20 THAT THE BELLBOY KEPT = $290.



WHERE ARE THE OTHER 10 DOLLARS?

SEE THE FULL MESSAGE FOR THE ANSWER....


Actually this puzzle is very old and the very idea of it is to confuse a solver with a jugglery of numbers - by mixing income and expenditure. That's all the trick behind it - no more.



They deceive you by saying ‘THIS MEANT THAT THE 3 MEN EACH PAID $90 FOR THE ROOM, WHICH IS A TOTAL OF $270,’ which is incorrect. Do the math – it said the room’s real price was $250. $250 divided by 3 = $83.33 which is what each man REALLY paid in the end.


In other words, they added the wrong numbers. You cannot add what one person HAS to what someone else has PAID – they are two different things and the result won’t make any sense.



Still don’t get it? Look at it from the standpoint of the original $300.

At the end the hotel clerk HAS $250.
The bellhop HAS $20.
Each man HAS the $10 the bellhop gave back.
Total $10 x 3 = $30
250+20+30 = $300 – there is no missing money.


Moral of the story? Be careful what you read when it comes to money…