the catch is, yeah, there's no debt, but there's no cash either. no one made any money so they have none to spend next time. what happens next time the hotel owner wants meat? he'll have to go in debt again.
not to mention the E100 wasn't his to spend in the first place so technically he stole it.
and what if one of the people had decided not to pay off there debt? the hotel owner would be screwed.
