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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Theresasmayshoes11 · 06/03/2018 14:34

I honestly cannot see the stupidity of giving a homeless person cash. Again virtue signalling and worse the action of doing that could cause a death.

Good point about the handing over of a booking to someone not registered. Not clever it’s fraud

SmashedMug · 06/03/2018 14:34

If I was part of premier inn, I wouldn't want to deal with the aftermath of letting them all stay. The woman giving away the rooms that she wasn't entitled to give away could have saved everyone a lot of bother if she'd checked with premier inn first. She's the only one to blame in this scenario.

Whitney168 · 06/03/2018 14:35

Yes we are not ‘supposed’ to give cash to the homeless but I don’t agree. So bloody what if the person buys whatever they need to get them through the night

Well, except that alcohol obviously makes it less likely for them to get through the night, particularly in cold weather. I've no interest in my money supporting the drug trade and all that entails, either.

Homelessness is clearly a huge problem, nobody is denying that OP. It is not a problem that will ever be solved entirely though, some people are just not wired to live in the way that society wants/needs them to live.

I don't think any of the short term fixes mentioned above go anywhere to helping with the elements that can be improved, though. I will stick to giving any money I wish to donate to the cause to an approved charity, who are far better placed to assist than me.

(And absolutely no boycott of Premier Inns here!)

HotelEuphoria · 06/03/2018 14:35

So if you had a paying lodger and they were going away for a week it would be OK for the lodger to invite a local tramp to stay in the room they had paid you for?

It's the same thing.

Of course I am sympathetic to people on the streets in the bitter cold but you are being very naive.

ItsAllABitStrangeReally · 06/03/2018 14:36

Having stayed in Manchester recently and feeling bloody unsafe at 4pm in the afternoon due to the sheer amount of drugged up and drunk homeless people swarming the city centre I can honestly say I wouldn't have taken 20 or so under my roof either. I didn't feel unsafe because they were homeless, I felt unsafe because they were under the influence of substances and demanding money when I was stood at the cash machine. I fully admire the outreach workers who were out later on in Picadilly gardens, receiving abuse whilst trying to help them.

There are hundreds of empty buildings that could be made warm and dry to at least give homeless people somewhere safe to sleep, putting them up in hotels is not the answer. It says a lot when homeless people themselves are refusing to stay in homeless shelters because they aren't drug takers and feel in real.danger from those who are.

Theresasmayshoes11 · 06/03/2018 14:38

nouse

And in going do would be liable for any damages caused by law. Mind you I know many young farmers and yes they drunk but smashing hotel rooms up??? Na nonsense

Bluesmartiesarebest · 06/03/2018 14:38

I support Premier Inn on this. They are a business and not a charity. I'm guessing that their staff are not trained to deal with rough sleepers and the various issues that they would bring into a hotel.

I'm disabled and I can honestly say that Premier Inn are one of the few budget hotel chains that I can stay in while knowing that they are fully accessible to me. I wouldn't dream of boycotting them as it's one of the few places I am happy to stay in. (I particularly recommend the Milton Keynes South PI, as it's an old water mill overlooking a lake with ducks and geese)

BarbarianMum · 06/03/2018 14:38

In an ideal world it wouldn't be the Premier Inn or nothing. Hmm

hotcrossbunsandtea · 06/03/2018 14:38

It's not PI's job to give the homeless a place to sleep.

Hotels take credit card details on booking for a reason - to protect themselves should something get damaged. The homeless are mare more likely to have drug/alcohol/mental health issues and unfortunately, are far more likely to have violent tendencies. Who's going to pick up the bill if their rooms get trashed?

And why are you giving homeless people money? ALL homeless charities state not to give money, which likely gets spent on drugs and alcohol. Give food, hot drink, clothing - but not cash. Hasn't all your charity work taught you that?

I hate it when people claim random businesses have a duty to take in homeless people - they're never willing to do the same themselves. You've stated you wouldn't take random homeless people into your home for the night, so why do you expect a business to?

Imsosceptical · 06/03/2018 14:38

Initial thought was outrage until I read @MojoMoon, very areiculate and made me think wider, thank you.

S0ph1a · 06/03/2018 14:40

I work with homeless people and I agree that PI were completely correct to do what they did.

For those arguing otherwise, I can only assume that you have little understanding of the needs of people who are rough sleepers and the set up of PI establishments.

I work in a night shelter and we have around a dozen trained staff to care for 40 guests. We deal with drugs, needles and weapons and accommodate people who have been thrown out of everywhere else because of their violence. Our guests have complex medical and other needs and we can administer life saving drugs. We have special clothing and equipment to deal with sharps and clean up body fluids.

Do you really think this can all be done safely by the night receptionist and couple of cleaners at the PI?

Wtfdoipick · 06/03/2018 14:44

I fully support pi in their decision. They and other customers are not equipped to deal with the issues that could occur. I have a young adult daughter who spends a lot of time in hotels due to work I'd always put her safety first.

Theresasmayshoes11 · 06/03/2018 14:45

I don’t think you really thought it through op. I am 100% sure your heart is in the right place but sometimes it’s the head that needs to rule to keep you your children and other people safe.

Am awful lot of harm can be done quite unintentionally by people who refuse to listen to those who understand the complexity of issues better then the rest of us.

Your giving homeless people money is one of these decisions

theftbyfinding · 06/03/2018 14:46

Get locks on your bedroom doors op, then you can take your dc's into your room and let the homeless have their rooms for a few cold nights. A business is answerable to law and shareholders, not your bleeding heart.

Nousernameforme · 06/03/2018 14:47

Take them into your homes if your that bothered.
See that's a bit different isn't it to take a complete stranger into your house where your family is and all your precious things are stored. That is nothing like hey let them sleep in a sparsely furnished room with a bed some drawers and a tv for the night, whilst you sleep in this other one with a locked fire door separating you.

They could have had the charity that vetted them agree to stand for any excess charges caused.

Theresasmayshoes11
At just one premises in town on Saturday night the police were called 5 times so yes they do.

SashaGem · 06/03/2018 14:48

And why are you giving homeless people money? ALL homeless charities state not to give money, which likely gets spent on drugs and alcohol. Give food, hot drink, clothing - but not cash. Hasn't all your charity work taught you that?
Because Oddish thinks she knows better than the professionals, and it makes her virtue all the better.

TheRebel · 06/03/2018 14:52

I used to sit in on housing meetings for drug users in a previous job, where all the local housing associations would get together with local charities and the charities would put forward their clients and their list of needs/issues and the housing associations would say which ones they thought they could accommodate. So often they wouldn’t take the homeless clients because they’d previously been banned from every association, for smashing up properties and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage, the properties would become drug dens or cannabis farms, they’d even have to replace the floorboards because they’d be covered in human waste.

It’s naive at best to say anyone could end up homeless, you may end up without a home but most of us would be entitled to temporary accommodation and benefits, generally people on the street have mental health issues and drug or alcohol dependency which mean they can’t cope with the responsibility of looking after housing or claiming benefits, I’ve known drug users commit crime solely for the purpose of being sent to prison because it was easier than taking responsibility for themselves, at least in prison they have clean clothes, a bed and 3 meals a day.

I’m surprised the charity worker even turned up st the premier inn with the 19 homeless people as they must have known they wouldn’t be allowed to stay, they should have called ahead to check.

I can definitely see why the premier inn didn’t allow them to stay, at a minimum they would have had to give the rooms a very thorough clean afterwards but more than likely they would’ve had to replace the mattresses, bed linen and duvets, possibly even the carpets if they got cigarette burns in and ensure their staff didn’t touch any drug paraphernalia.

theftbyfinding · 06/03/2018 14:57

I agree with others, it's not as simple as saying they shouldn't be left to sleep on the streets. Many are barred from shelters or indeed, refuse to sleep in them as they're so used to the streets. I was very ill in hospital a few years ago, mixed ward, with a homeless alcoholic in the bed next to me. The smell from his open sores was unbelievable. The sister apologised and said he was a regular, would come for 'help' at midnight, they couldn't refuse him due to his sores, would get up after breakfast and walk out. He preferred it to the hostels. Fine. Except he tried to get into bed with me in the middle of the night.

Theresasmayshoes11 · 06/03/2018 14:57

They don’t sound like the young farmers I know then just yobs.

Still the damage they do can be traced back to them.

Charities have no business guaranteeing cash donated to help homeless people in proper accommodation with qualified support workers to refurbish trashed hotel rooms.

Yes I am sure the usual young girl or lad found on these reception desks is qualified to deal with any myriad problems 19 homeless men could present with.

Honestly the sheer naivety is crazy

Eltonjohnssyrup · 06/03/2018 14:58

oddish, that’s kind of the point that you’re not getting. The overwhelming majority of rough sleepers aren’t people who’ve just had one job loss or one misfortune. They’re people who’ve had a whole series of HUUUGE misfortunes and have fallen through multiple cracks. And those cracks need to be filled with major specialised intervention and sometimes even that doesn’t work.

You said I didn’t know anything about your personal circumstances and if it could be you tomorrow. Well I do actually. You own a device which can access the internet which you have not had to sell or pawn. You’re literate, lucid, aren’t showing signs of majority disordered thinking or detachment from reality. You would appear to have the means and skills to access information on how to get help if you find yourself without a bed this evening. You volunteer and you have enough disposable income to donate. You sound like you are a caring and pleasant person with an education and I would chance my arm that you probably have friends or relatives who wouldn’t see you on the streets (although I can’t be sure about the last one). All of these things make it extremely unlikely you would find yourself in this position.

I’m not being nasty, but you don’t seem to get how deep problems have to go to end up in that situation with zero possessions, zero support and not even access to the bottom rung of hostel help.

cinderellawantstogototheball · 06/03/2018 14:59

Oh eye roll, barbarian. Always with the smart comments jumping down people's throats, on every. single. thread. You know full well it was meant in the narrow context of the OP's question.

ItsAll - completely agree about Manchester. I was there recently and it's changed so much. There's a huge amount of drug taking and yes it makes some people very aggressive. I had left my car in an NCP; i was quite late back so it was by itself in that area of the car park. There was a big gang of homeless people taking drugs and a lot of foil/needles underfoot; it made me very nervous. I got some cat calling but nothing serious; however I wouldn't want to be the last one in that car park again. It's why I totally agree with the advice not to give cash - I regularly offer to buy sandwiches or other food and donate to charity, but the risk of cash going on shit like that and ultimately making things worse for people is very sad.

Theresasmayshoes11 · 06/03/2018 15:00

finding

That must have been horrific for you Flowers

OfaFrenchmind2 · 06/03/2018 15:01

the charities I support are local ones in my city, not the faceless corporate type. Ahhh, your charities is better... More expert, more humane, ask you to give cash....

Bluelady · 06/03/2018 15:04

Maybe if PI had donated the cost of those unused rooms to a homeless charity, they'd have looked less heartless. Yes, I KNOW they're not a charity.

FreudianSlurp · 06/03/2018 15:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.