diff --git a/googlemaps/exceptions.py b/googlemaps/exceptions.py
index 679b26c3..0a0f116a 100644
--- a/googlemaps/exceptions.py
+++ b/googlemaps/exceptions.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ def __init__(self, status, message=None):
 
     def __str__(self):
         if self.message is None:
-            return self.status
+            return str(self.status)
         else:
             return "%s (%s)" % (self.status, self.message)