Where Did the Other Dollar Go? 3 Men Pay $9 Each For Room

[Cowboys_Fan]

3 Men Go Into A Motel. The Man Behind The
Desk Said The Room Is $30

So Each Man Paid $10 And Went To The Room.

A While Later The Man Behind The Desk
Realized The Room Was Only $25

So He Sent The Bellboy To The 3 Guys'
Room With $5.

On The Way The Bellboy Couldn't Figure
Out How To Split $5 Evenly Between 3 Men, So He Gave Each Man A $1 And
Kept The Other $2 For Himself.

This Meant That The 3 Men Each Paid $9
For The Room, Which Is A Total Of $27, Add The $2 That The Bellboy
Kept = $29.

Where Is The Other Dollar?

 

[uart]

The net amount paid by each man was $9.00 (making a total of 3x9 = $27.00 paid). The net amount received by the hotel staff is also $27.00 ($2.00 by the Bellboy plus $25.00 by the guy at the desk). So where exactly is the supposed the discrepency?

 

[dst]

This is a variation of the $100 bank problem (a man deposits money into the bank, each time he counts his remaining balance, etc which adds up to $99 even though he had $100). Adding the $2 that the bellboy kept is fallacious for the reason above. The hotel kept $27 and returned $3, so the men paid $9 each. That adds up to $30.

 

[physixguru]

The men each paid US$9 for the room or US$27 total. The hotel got US$25 and the bellboy got US$2. 25 + 2 = 27. It's a trick question and the 30 is not the goal. Or you can say each man initially paid US$10 and had US$1 returned to them. 30 - 3 = 27 = 25 + 2.

 

[cristo]

I've heard this brain teaser a few times. Anyway, since the answer's been given three times, I think that may be enough!