Sofia Marroquin, who regularly shares travel and lifestyle videos with her followers, revealed in a recent clip that she had reached out to a Balinese hotel seeking a complimentary stay in exchange for social media promotion.
The video, uploaded last week, showed Marroquin explaining her pitch and later reacting to the hotel’s refusal.
“I thought I’d give it a shot since I promote travel content anyway,” she told viewers, adding that the property declined her offer politely but firmly. “They said they weren’t interested at this time, which is fair enough.”
The clip quickly went viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views and sparking heated debate in the comments section.
While some fans defended Marroquin, arguing that influencer marketing is now a standard part of the tourism industry, others accused her of trying to exploit small businesses still recovering from the economic impacts of the pandemic.
“They’re running a business, not a charity. Most of us, including me, do cute TikToks of places we stay in for free,” one viewer responded.
“Not sure why you people expect free accommodation”, another commented, to which the influencer replied: “You clearly don’t know the work that goes into doing content creation.”
Local Balinese commentators also weighed in, noting that many hotels are operating on tight margins and rely on paying guests rather than unpaid promotions.
“These businesses need actual income, not exposure,” one wrote.
Marroquin later posted a follow-up video insisting she had no intention of offending anyone. “It was just an experiment and I wasn’t upset at their response,” she said. “I respect the decision and still think Bali is amazing.”
Industry experts say such incidents highlight the changing dynamics between influencers and hospitality providers.
While collaborations remain common at larger international resorts, smaller independent hotels are often reluctant to hand out free stays unless the return on investment is clear.
Despite the backlash, Marroquin’s video has boosted her visibility online, with her TikTok account gaining new followers in the days since the controversy erupted.
