Not this again! Homeless in hotel

[IrmaFayLear]

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

This happened last year - in Bristol, I think.

Obviously a knee-jerk reaction is to think the hotel is evil and feel sorry for the homeless. HOWEVER, these are not the usual type of guest, and the hotel should not put staff in a potentially vulnerable position, nor have to bear the expenses that may be incurred.

My dn works in a hotel. On a skeleton staff at night. I spoke to her and she said that in this situation the staff would be sympathetic but would want extra staff and specialist workers there, plus recompense for any damage.

Off out so I haven't started a thread and disappeared...

It’s a sad state of affairs we have this amount of homelessness in our country. We need permanent solutions for those people, as nice as a night in a hotel would have been.

Why would you assume that the homeless people would cause damage? If you read the story the last time they did this the guests volunteered to clean their rooms in the morning! Honestly, you'd get more mess from people out on a piss up.

In this case the organiser did tell the hotel what the booking was for before he made it. He does a lot for the local community and he knows what he's doing. Now they've not refunded his money (donations) and he can't book elsewhere until he does.

Rough sleeping has increased 170% in this country since 2010, homelessness (where somebody has no fixed abode) even more. It's an utter disgrace.

Why would you assume that the homeless people would cause damage

Yes, why?

Now, if it was homless men lounging about in the lobby while there's only a lone woman working there, that would be different.

Seeing as they were booked in as guests, how are they different from other guests?

Many homeless people have mental health problems, but in my (admittedly limited) experience, that's more about lacking the drive to fight bureaucracy in order to apply for benefits, not so much about aggression.

Agressive men tend to do just fine for themselves ...

Drinking may be a problem, but it also is with people who aren't homeless.

Why would you assume that the homeless people would cause damage

Yes, why?

I would imagine it is less of a concern of them causing damage (although hotels do have a legal requirement to reasonably ensure the safety of their guests), and more of a concern over who is liable if they do.

There is a legal requirement for guests to provide personal details, including an address, on checking in to a hotel. Obviously I am not aware of the ins and outs of their insurance policy but in my experience allowing a group of people with (possibly) no ID, addresses or group contract explicitly stating who is responsible for liability will leave them open.

Unfortunately these days hotels do have to think in these terms because damage and theft is relatively common - simply asking for liability cover does not mean that they assume damage will happen, but most hotels will ask for some form of individual or group cover (by card pre-auth or contract) and if it can't be provided then they can't stay.

It's terrible that people will be sleeping on the streets over Christmas, but to be honest it's terrible that they are sleeping on the streets on any night.