Question:
Three friends book a hotel room that costs ₹900. They pay ₹300 each, total ₹900.
Later, the manager realizes he charged too much — the actual cost was ₹750.
He gives ₹150 to the bellboy and asks him to return it to the guests.
The bellboy goes to their room but decides to give only ₹50 back to each person (₹150 total) — keeping ₹0 for himself this time.
Now, each friend got ₹50 back, so each one really paid ₹250 (₹300 − ₹50).
That means they paid ₹250 × 3 = ₹750.
The hotel got ₹750.
Everything looks fine… right?
But when people try to calculate it, they often get stuck at one line:
“3 people × ₹250 = ₹750, plus ₹150 with the bellboy makes ₹900.”
So where did the ₹150 go?
Answer:
Nothing went missing — it’s just a trick in how the math is worded.
The ₹150 was never meant to be added; it should be subtracted.
Let’s track the money properly:
You paid ₹900 in total.
The hotel keeps ₹750.
₹150 was returned to you (₹50 each).
₹750 + ₹150 = ₹900 — total money matches.
The confusion happens because the question makes you add the bellboy’s money, but you should be subtracting it from what was overpaid.
Explanation:
This puzzle works because of psychological misdirection. Your brain automatically tries to add values instead of seeing which side they belong to. It’s one of the oldest “missing money” riddles in logic books — simple arithmetic, but phrased to sound like a mystery.
When readers think deeply, they realize the total ₹900 never changed: ₹750 to the hotel, ₹150 back to guests. The trick lies in how your brain organizes the numbers.
If you spotted the mistake right away, your brain can resist misleading patterns — a true sign of strong logical thinking!
