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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think Premier Inn should’ve let homeless in.

407 replies

Oddish · 06/03/2018 13:03

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/premier-inn-homeless-people-turned-away-customer-paying-westonsupermare-a8240171.html

A woman who couldn’t make her mass booking of 19 rooms due to the weather last week offered the rooms to the homeless in the area via a charity’s Facebook.
A couple who had a flooded home were also given a room.
Flood couple let in no problem, homeless people who attended with charity rep were turned away.
Now Premier are saying they needed the lead room booker to be there and ID to be presented which is obviously bollocks because the flooded home couple were allowed in with no problem.

AIBU to think they should’ve let them in, it was bitterly cold and I think they acted heartlessly. Then the backtracking that followed. AIBU to boycott them? Would you?

OP posts:
EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 21:42

Thats not a correlation, thats an excuse. The rooms were paid for.

I do what I can.

Maybe I dont have a home either.

EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 21:49

You think being homeless, particularly in winter, is funny? You think a paid for room going to waste is just? You think its morally right?

You consider yourself better than Some one with no home?

What has happened to this world?

Shame on you.

SharronNeedles · 07/03/2018 22:09

From the hotels POV

  • the homeless people did not have a valid form of ID therefore they could be anyone eg someone wanted by the police etc
  • they would need to present a card for a pre-auth for any damaged which I'm assuming they wouldn't have had
  • it is more common than you think for someone to accidentally get the wrong room key, having unknown individuals roaming the hotel would mean the hotel would need to bring in more staff to perform floor walks.
  • staffing in general for this, more security, more bodies when the hotel was probably operating on skeleton staffing due to the weather. Additional staff required to turn the rooms around after check out- typically a housekeeper has 20-30 minutes per room whether dealing with a stay over or a strip so more would be required to deep clean these rooms.
  • any damages done to these rooms (soiled beds, missing TVs etc are very common on a regular night with paying guests) could mean that room is not available to be resold the next night and therefore cost the company money.
  • demand. Any one with good business sense would tell you that you want people who will spend money in your business. The hotel probably would have been flooded with walk ins, basically paying guests who will spend money in the hotel on any upsells available.
  • they will have a duty to follow the T&C outlined in their contracts otherwise anyone could just breech any rules they like with no repercussions.
  • safety of other guests and staff within the hotel- having 17 unidentified people in the hotel is not a safe environment for staff or guests.
Original poster
Oddish · 07/03/2018 22:12

Thanks edna , laurel it’s not as much fun if people don’t acknowledge that I have taken things on board from this thread and instead go on to get the latest buzz words in (virtue signalling?) and moan about me moanig about it being a bit of a pile on. Which it was, and continued to be after my words of acknowledgement and apology were lost 🤷🏻‍♀️

OP posts:
EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 22:14

The rooms were guaranteed by the kind persons card.
She presented her ID.

You have no proof that any of these people were anything bad. Its not the hotels place to report people staying there to the cops.

They are being judged wholly for their misfortune.

The hotel was wrong, but as long as people don't risk their bubble neing burst, let em freeze, eh?

There is no more need for security than any other guest.

Where is your compassion? No one is asking the hotel for charity, the rooms were paid for.

Bluelady · 07/03/2018 22:15

OP, hats off to you for plugging away at this. You must have the patience of a saint.

HelenaDove · 07/03/2018 22:22

expatinscotland spends a lot of time on here standing up for others so that comment about her...........completely uncalled for.

I can understand PI taking the stance they did. I talk to local homeless people when i see them (one of whom i went to school with and he doesnt have a drug or alcohol problem. i have given small amounts of money on occasion and food and sanitary towels to a homeless woman.

The homeless woman did tell me recently that some of the men do do drugs and shes scared ppl will think she is too.

My ire is for the man who was filmed by Channel 4 news verbally abusing a homeless man . It was shown on TV tonight. They had to cut the swearing out. It was absolutely disgusting behaviour.

A real Grade A cunt.

SharronNeedles · 07/03/2018 22:25

So? The people using the rooms require ID.
It certainly is the hotels policy to report people to police if they are wanted by the police.
You certainly would require more security if you had close to 20 unnamed, unidentified, unguaranteed guests in the hotel.

Hotels would also request a rooming list for group bookings so those rooms would have been named, which means the card on file would be able to be used against those guests for any damages. Again, referring to their T&C, the original booker could claim that they were not responsible for damages and PI wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

If you want to talk about compassion, I hope you opened your home to the homeless that night and every other cold night.

cinderellawantstogototheball · 07/03/2018 22:27

Edna - how much money does the "guarantor" have? Do you know? Do you think PI would know?

What if she "guaranteed" it and there was a serious incident costing many thousands of pounds?

Nobody in business relies on a guarantor without doing careful checks to make sure they are good for the money. Otherwise they wouldn't be in business for long!

EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 22:27

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 22:29

The rooms require no more guarantee than say, a rowdy wedding party.

My home? Im lucky enough to have a vehicle. I have no home. I share food when I can.

SharronNeedles · 07/03/2018 22:33

Each room would be guaranteed in a wedding party by the guests themselves.
Additional security would also be required for this. Security in the form of doormen, night auditors, night porters etc.

EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 22:35

Like the man I saw recently bought a hamburger for a homeless hungry man, and McDonald's wouldn't let him eat it. It had been paid for.

Like these rooms. They had been paid for, but these people were not considered human enough to use them.

Its about not allowing a person to commit an act of charity. Rather see the homeless starve and freeze. And that is not right.

EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 22:36

The person paying for the room guarentees it. And its not the hotels place to give lists of guests to cops. Or is innocent till proven guilty not a thing in godless police states?

Rachie1973 · 07/03/2018 22:39

We did what we could in this area last week. We offered lifts to shelters, we took out hot food and drinks and extra blankets and clothes to those that didn't want to go into the shelters. It was nice to see the community pull together.

I did have a local homeless man in our shed. He didn't break in, it's not locked. Its happened before in cold weather. So we leave it open, with a couple of quilts in it. Just in case. I admit to not inviting them into the house, I suppose a natural cautiousness comes into play maybe? Who knows.

I do understand PI though. I think they have to consider the ramifications of 19 unknown, unregistered guests in the hotel at any one time.

EdnaAverage · 07/03/2018 22:42

If they caused trouble THEN go to the police.

Talk about unfair profiling.

Good for you, Rachie. You did what you could.

CadyHeron · 07/03/2018 22:43

You judgemental, cruel bunch of middle class, pampered heathens

Grin Erm... dunno where to start with that one,really! Genuine question - as someone else has just asked, I presume your house is open for anyone on the streets needing a bed for a few nights?
steamcomingoutofmyears22 · 07/03/2018 22:44

The problem is that rough sleeping is a very complex issue. Most people who are long term rough sleepers tend to have very significant mental health or addiction issues. It SOUNDS like a lovely idea giving them a night in a hotel but the reality is that staff in the hotel may well have struggled with issues that presented themselves. Our church became a bad weather shelter a few years ago and many many safeguarding measures have gradually been put into place as incidents occurred.

steamcomingoutofmyears22 · 07/03/2018 22:46

But I do agree with pp who said that they could have offered blankets, food, clothing etc by way of a good will gesture.

CadyHeron · 07/03/2018 22:47

If they caused trouble THEN go to the police.
If they trashed a room, who would be held accountable and pay for the damage?

I admit to not inviting them into the house, I suppose a natural cautiousness comes into play maybe? Who knows.

Exactly, even someone saying they open their shed out to strangers won't have them in the house. Does that not say something about basic safety?

SharronNeedles · 07/03/2018 22:50

You don't seem to understand. Just because the room has been hired by a guest, it is still the hotel's property. They need to ensure that it is going to be fit for service the next day when other guests may have hired it, hence the guarantee. If there is no guarantee, no record of who has stayed in the room, they have no back up and probably in breach of their insurance policy for damages. You'd be amazed at the damages hotels deal with from your average person. Poo rubbed into the carpet, drugs on the surfaces, soiled beds, smashed TVs, everything that isn't nailed down removed, broken windows etc. And this is from people who financially have something to lose.
In this case the booker could simply deny knowing who was in the room and the hotel would have no proof. Say the homeless person confirmed their name was Joe bloggs with the booked but told the hotel they were called John Doe having shown no ID. The hotel has no backup of guarantee for John so his damages are not chargeable and therefore a cost to the hotel.
Also if the bend the rules for one person, they are opening themselves up for others to do the same.

NotSureThisIsWhatIWant · 07/03/2018 22:51

I’m sorry but they reserve their right in terms of who they let in, especially if there is a strong potential for trouble. At the end of the day, not all people who end up on the streets are nice good people, many of them have a history of antisocial behaviour which a business is unlikely to risk in mass. One or two, perhaps more than that it can be potentially damaging to the business, their reputation (or their guests).

SharronNeedles · 07/03/2018 22:53

Edna, the police will flag suspects in their area with the hotel's and if they have someone check in who matches the description and name of someone they are after they will inform the police.

Original poster
Oddish · 07/03/2018 22:54

Hah I am quite patient Blue and I could’ve left the thread a long time ago, but I’ll stick with it til it dies out.

OP posts:
SharronNeedles · 07/03/2018 22:55

If they caused trouble THEN go to the police

And the hotel staff do what? Sit on them until the police turn up?

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