It's an annoying children in hotel one

[zeezeek]

Am at a series of fairly important meetings which are being held in a hotel. It's got a reputation as being a place where conferences are held and business people stay, rather than a holiday type of that makes sense? Anyway, we are in a suite of meeting rooms that are kind of on one side of the hotel, so not anywhere where people not involved in the meetings are likely to be.

However, all day today - from the start at 10am and to the finish at 5 pm we have been disturbed and interrupted by what seems like a family/friend group of children all about 6-7 years old. They have tried to get into the room, actually did on a couple of times before being booted out and we were then subject to various shouting from the parents, called entitled child haters, that sort of thing.

When they weren't physically interrupting the meeting they were running around the corridor outside and shouting an screaming at each other, whilst their parents sat in the bar and shouted at anyone who dared complain. The hotel management have done their best to control them and have warned them that they will be asked to leave if it happens tomorrow.

Couldn't even escape the little brats this evening as they were dining in the same room, at the same time as us and spent the entire time running around the restaurant.

I know children can be lively and rowdy, but ffs it's a hotel, not their home and surely it's not unreasonable to expect them to fucking behave and not interrupt people trying to have a serious meeting? We didn't manage to get through half of what we wanted today because of this.

Daisy

Ugly shoes, anyone?

If I didn't know better the parents could be my SIL and her DH. Wants to be the cool parent, which equates to fuck all parenting. I've lost count of the number of times we have been mortified at hotels and restaurants when her offspring have trashed the place and disrupted other people.

For example, recently for FIL's birthday we went to a restaurant with enormous floor to ceiling windows and her DS was karate kicking them. The people at the table next to us were and she didn't give a shit. Even when I said 'SIL he shouldn't be doing that' she barely acknowledged his behaviour.

Management need to be on top of this.

Nathan. Not sure how I am missing the point. The post is about holding meetings in a hotel. You've given the example of consultants having meetings about patients. I'm pretty sure they dint book out hotel facilities to have those meetings.

New, well good for you and I guess that's your experience so you would think that. For the majority of people their experience of important meetings generally relate to their work so it's not an unusual assumption to make in the absence of other information. The OP could easily have clarified that but hasn't for whatever reason as her perfect right.

It doesn't make any difference whether it's work or volunteer related. It's a meeting. They have hired conference facilities for the meeting and I'm presuming would like some peace to conduct it in.

Children should not be running around in a hotel or restaurant.

Children should not be running around in a hotel or restaurant.

Exactly.

I agree cat. All I asked as a side issue was what type of industry or meeting they were having as it's outside if any experience I've had. Another poster has given a good explanation. I wasn't doubting the OP.

For the majority of people their experience of important meetings generally relate to their work so it's not an unusual assumption to make in the absence of other information

But when the assumption doesn't fit with the description (the belief that it's unusual to have work meetings at this time of year) rather than questioning the assumptions being made by other posters, the OP was accused of lying.
That's narrow minded. When things don't fit with your own experience, it's more likely that the OPs experience is different to your own than the OP is lying, surely?

How do you know that 'for the majority of people' their only experience of meetings is as work?

Nathan that was why I asked. And given the responses and my life experience that's why I said the majority.

Yanbu, if I was a guest at the hotel I would not appreciate the dc running around the restaurant if I wanted to relax etc. Plus it must be a health and safety issue if staff are carrying trays etc

Also didn't say "their only experience" either. I have attended other types of meetings (none during Christmas) but given that most of my waking hours and life is spent at work then it's my go to experience to call on. Maybe doesn't apply to everyone.

You didn't manage to get through half of what you had planned because of this?

May I suggest you add time management to your schedule as you're obviously all shit at it.

I am working all week, had Monday and Tuesday off, today there is a lively child running around, that's what happens when you work from home....

OP lock the conference door and tell the management that you will withhold part of the payment/ask for a large discount/comment on social media if they do not sort out the children in conference area situation. That should force them into action, although you can't really complain about them being in the restaurant but you can their behaviour there.

Dolly I do agree that the OP and her colleagues may benefit from developing skills in dealing with unexpected interruptions.

A good chair would minimise the impact and keep the room on task while delegating responsibility for liaising with the Hotel to a single individual whose presence could be spared.
What is more likely in my experience is that several individuals all decided to get involved in trying to solve the problem, more then tried to mediate and appease when the situation escalated and the agenda was hijacked from very early on.
I could be wrong!

Is your company in a trade association?

If so tell the management that if there is any more trouble you will suggest through the association that the Blank Hotel seems to be more interested in family business than in conference business.

If not tell them the same thing bit make up the name of the association!

You need to put the management into the position that the only thing to do is to tell the family to go at once.

What is wrong with the management that they can't simply ask them to leave?

I have two DCs, one with ASD, both stayed in a hotel with us the night before last and didn't cause a moment of concern; they ate in the lovely restaurant, went to bed nicely and read til they fell asleep. I'm all for children being children but in a busy hotel they have to learn how to behave appropriately or not go on trips overnight.

Parenting away from home isn't even a difficult job; there's loads of stuff you can do in a hotel to keep them entertained. Presumably sitting at the bar was more important to those parents.

I didn't expect so many replies overnight!

I'm an academic and the meeting is to discuss some major issues with the delivery of a project that I'm a collaborator on - it all needs to be sorted by the end of Jan so we decided to meet this week while it's quiet in our respective institutions. We're meeting at a hotel because geographically it's in the middle of where we all are. Lol at corporate types. We're all scruffy academics grumpy at having to work between Christmas and New Year.

No, they didn't say the words entitled child haters. I used those to give a gist of what they meant. In reality it included such gems as fucking cunts who obviously didn't have children or else we would be with them instead of complaining about their children,and hotels are for children and they were just playing blah blah blah

So far this morning we've been sworn at and called fucking cunts again at breakfast - which we had decided to use as a start to the meeting to try and make up some time. Btw to the poster who said we needed time management training - I would like to see how you manage to get through a pile of work whilst being constantly interrupted by badly behaved children brats and their arsehole parents.

Going to start the meeting again shortly as the person who organised the room etc is in with the hotel manager. As their institution frequently uses these conference facilities and organises visitors to stay at the hotel, I can safely say that their business is worth more to the hotel than this family group.

Is OP coming back?

Haha epic x-post.

I thought management should have chucked them out anyway so why they survived calling you "fucking cunts" is an absolute mystery.

What the hell are management playing at?

Hotels are for children?

I hope they kick their self-entitled arses out into the frost.

Time for your people to find a different hotel group in the future.

Kids running around a hotel is not just being excited at Christmas. It's lazy useless parents who have no desire to look after their children properly. Having paid a lot of money doesn't mean everyone else has to put up with your bad behaviour.

It doesn't matter how excited they are; it is not acceptable for children to run around a hotel being noisy or to interrupt people's meetings (or their meals). They're all paying a lot of money too and want to get on with what they're doing in peace.

Why on earth haven't the hotel done something about it?

How useless must the parents be to allow their children to open doors to conference rooms. Takes useless parenting to a whole new level. I agree with pp that the families should have been chucked out of the hotel for their foul verbal assault on you & your colleagues.