Answer to
old chestnut: cheating bellhop:
The answer is that the calculation given at the end of the puzzle is nonsense. The $2 in the bellhop's pocket came from the money the men paid (by way of the owner), so it should be subtracted from the money they paid, not added to it. The subtraction gives $27 - $2 = $25, which is how much of the mens' money the owner ended up with.