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AIBU?

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Original poster

to think that the Royal Hotel in Hull are being unreasonable

110 replies

brizzledrizzle · 17/12/2018 09:05

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46587353

Homeless people in Hull who were set to stay in hotel rooms over Christmas have had their booking cancelled.

Carl Simpson, founder of the Raise the Roof Homeless Project, told the BBC he paid £1,092 for 14 twin rooms at the Royal Hotel in Hull, part of the Britannia Hotels group.

OP posts:
Dariosa · 17/12/2018 09:08

Yes, if they weren’t happy having homeless people staying then that’s their decision, but they should have declined to take the booking in the first place so the man could find a hotel that would.

MyPoodleisWorthTenofYou · 17/12/2018 09:09

Well, yes, but I’ll bet my bottom dollar that another hotel will take advantage of the PR and swoop in with an even more generous pledge, so I doubt they’ll be no hotel stay at all!

Original poster
brizzledrizzle · 17/12/2018 09:10

I thought that as well - I hope they do.

OP posts:
Original poster
brizzledrizzle · 17/12/2018 09:11

The original hotel weren't being generous BTW - they had been paid for the rooms.

OP posts:
MyPoodleisWorthTenofYou · 17/12/2018 09:12

I realise that but I’m sure the man will be refunded, how could they not if they were the ones to cancel. I’m just sure another business in the area will pick up the baton.

Original poster
brizzledrizzle · 17/12/2018 09:18

They haven't been refunded yet so are unable to book somewhere else.

OP posts:
DerRosenkavelier · 17/12/2018 09:31

I think that this came up last year as well. Not the same hotel, but a similar situation.

I think (I may be wrong though) that number of posters who worked with homeless people responded saying that they could understand the hotel’s reaction. Basically saying that it is impossible to tell if the homeless people being accommodating have complex needs and just shoving them in a hotel may not be the best idea.

Yinv · 17/12/2018 09:37

This story details a kind woman’s efforts to get a hotel room for a homeless couple over Christmas, only for them to trash it. I would expect this kind of risk is why the booking in Hull is cancelled. If you think the hotel should take this risk, you take some homeless people in at your own home.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3397318/amp/Woman-raised-money-homeless-couple-stay-hotel-Christmas-trash-room-cause-1-000-worth-damage.html

BifsWif · 17/12/2018 09:40

While it’s a lovely, lively guesture I understand the hotels concerns.

There are so many complex needs with homelessness (I work for a homeless charity). Most have mental health and/or substance misuse issues/addiction and it’s not always a great idea to group so many people struggling with those issues together in one place. I don’t know what the answer is, and I feel sad that so many have nowhere to go this Christmas.

Fantasisa · 17/12/2018 09:43

I am with the hotel - one night in a hotel doesn't solve anything for anyone. It is better to fund the charities that can help them long term. I presume it is in their terms and conditions about the person paying being in the room etc. It is a risk to their business.

Original poster
brizzledrizzle · 17/12/2018 09:45

I can understand their concerns but to take the booking knowing that it was for homeless people (so to have accepted that) and then cancel it is not on.

OP posts:
sheepsheep · 17/12/2018 09:47

No I don't think the hotel is being unreasonable.

They probably accepted the booking without truly thinking through the implications for their staff and the homeless people themselves. Once the concerns became apparent they pulled out and will now be vilified.

Homeless accommodation has trained support staff and policies in place to manage the issues that the service users may have...it was unreasonable for the charity to have expected a private business with untrained staff to take on that role in the first place.

Sexnotgender · 17/12/2018 09:47

I understand the hotels reservations, if they knew what it was for and weren’t able to accommodate then they should have declined the booking.

Satsumaeater · 17/12/2018 09:47

We had this debate last year over the Premier Inn thing (or maybe it was when the Beast from the East happened). Hotels don't want homeless people who may have mental health problems and certainly hygiene issues.

TheQueef · 17/12/2018 09:49

How do the hotel market to non homeless?
An Xmas Break with the homeless?
If you'd saved yup for a family break would you be totally happy sharing that time with a group of homeless?

Stop the gimmicky Xmas connection these people need help all year.

KlutzyDraconequus · 17/12/2018 09:50

Cafe owner Mr Simpson's post has been shared by hundreds, with most people "appalled" and "disgusted" at the decision.

There you go, easy solution..
Everyone of those FB shares that were appalled or disgusted could open their homes up for a couple nights. Cafe owner too could stack his tables and stick some camp beds down and cook them some breakfast too.

Oh but they won't.. they'll happily click a button and type a flippant comment, but you knock their door and ask them to take a homeless person in.. watch them fold like an origami champion making a bird.

littlecloudling · 17/12/2018 09:54

Many homeless will have substance abuse issues. Their reliance on drugs makes them unreliable. I completely understand why thebhotel didn't take them.

makingmiracles · 17/12/2018 10:01

Whilst not as nice as a hotel, I don’t see why they can’t take advantage of an unused warehouse or similar, put up camp beds and have homelessness workers there. At least they would be out of the cold and under a roof and there likely wouldn’t be much they could trash in a warehouse.

I don’t think the hotel Abu, it was unreasonable to expect them to take this on in the first place, I wonder if it was made clear it would be homeless people occupying the rooms or wether that was only made clear later after the booking had been paid for...

BMW6 · 17/12/2018 10:04

I support the hotels decision on this as well. I agree with suggestion above that anyone who thinks this is disgusting should open their own home to a homeless person over Xmas.

Bombardier25966 · 17/12/2018 10:09

It is better to fund the charities that can help them long term.

It is better for the government to stop implementing policies that lead people to homelessness, and stop cutting mental health services that might just catch people before they reach such a low point.

Rough sleeping has increased 180% since 2010. That's an absolute disgrace.

Hisaishi · 17/12/2018 10:15

I volunteer with homeless people and I understand the hotel's concerns. And most of the men (they're all men) would understand too. Most of them are not very stable, prone to addiction/fighting etc. I have had lots of discussions with them about how they have been kicked out of various places for unruly behaviour. A lot of them are lovely but they have poor impulse control.

The government needs to be implementing better mental health care, investing in housing stock etc etc.

A night's stay in a hotel is not going to solve anything. Even volunteering with them, I wouldn't take them into my house.

SpitefulMidLifeAnimal · 17/12/2018 10:42

Stop the gimmicky Xmas connection these people need help all year

To be fair, this is exactly what Mr. Simpson tries to do. He's out most nights giving out food.

BifsWif · 17/12/2018 10:45

Couldn’t agree more bombardier.

Prevention is far better than cure.

melj1213 · 17/12/2018 10:52

I am on the hotel's side. They don't know who is arriving under this booking, all they know is that 14+ homeless people will be arriving to stay over Christmas for a free stay (they have no incentive not to cause damage as they won't lose anything if they do) with no support and putting other guests and staff in a no win situation.

Did the charity have a way of covering the security deposits for the rooms? I see that the rooms were paid for by donations but what if rooms had been damaged/trashed (even if just one if the 14 rooms were damaged it could be hundreds of pounds if repairs)? Did the charity have funds to cover that too?

Also, the rooms were all twins - were they planning on having one person to a room or two? If it was two are they going to offer it to friends (who may cause more damage) or two strangers (who may not get on and may disturb other guests)?

Also, most people who are homeless have additional needs - whether its drug or other addictions, or MH problems - which hotels are not set up to deal with, especially in large groups which this would have been, and it wouldn't be fair to expect hotel staff to deal with the fall out of any issues.

I've worked in hotels and night shifts are almost always skeleton crews of a couple of people as they are mostly just there to deal with late arrivals/early departures and the occasional enquiry from guests wanting extra pillows and towels/complaining about excessive noise etc. I would not want to put staff in the potential position of having to deal with more serious issues without support (and at Christmas it will be almost impossible to get extra staff to be there just in case)

WilburforceRaven · 17/12/2018 10:53

What Bombadier said.