René is behind the bar of his café, when Gruber enters. He says he has problem sleeping, because the Italian captain Bertorelli sleeps in his quarters and he snores a lot. He therefore asks René for a spare room at the café. René says they all snore at the café and so Gruber would not want to sleep there; Gruber meant for Bertorelli to stay there. René does not like the idea, but Edith, who has just come downstairs, does and so, it is settled that Gruber will pay 1,000 francs per night to let the Italian captain stay at the café.