Anyone work in a Premier Inn?

[fizzypop100]

Our teen slept heavily and wasn't responding to us knocking loudly on his hotel room door and calling his phone. The receptionist had a look but couldn't open it with her key card because he had locked the door from the inside.
She said the only way to open it was the police. Surely there is a way to open the door in these circumstances, without damaging the door ?
(Next time I'm booking a connecting room)

Sent to my DS. He's a manager in one

I don't know the answer, but I hope your son is ok.

Isn’t the point of the extra lock that it can’t be opened from outside?

Thank you. I can't understand why there isn't a deadlock key for staff to open doors in urgent circumstances?

Yes but it should be able to be opened by staff in urgent situations, when the occupant isn't responding to door knocking/banging or phone calls

I don't think it's wise to ask for/post instructions online on how to break into a locked hotel room.

This is NOT breaking in. It's asking why the staff couldn't open it in an urgent situation

I worked in a hotel chain where this was the case. Some hotels had removed the interior locks (such as the one I worked in) unfortunately due to high drug use and suicide. We got a lot of complaints from solo female travellers who didn't appreciate male staff able to access the rooms at any time.

But in the main, yes this is true. You'd have to knock the door down which is only allowed to be done if police are present. Again, this is why in hotels with drug problems and suicide etc they are removed. The fact they are in means you picked a good one!!

Well normally when we both work in hotels there used to be a master key held in a safe by the management which would enable the door to be opened.

The hotel could obviously see from our booking that we were a family and therefore valid to ask for assistance

Who determines what is urgent or not?

I was a DM in a different hotel chain previously, and it was a nightmare.

In these sort of urgent situations when you can't hear anyone inside it's a large likelihood a death may have occured, that's why police had to be present. In nice normal hotels this isn't frequently likely. In roadside dumps like where I worked it sadly was, so they were taken out. We had to have three people present to open a room as per policy, one to wait outside with a phone ICE.

Even though we could of got in where I worked, it would have been against policy to do this, even if the bookings were linked etc. if the guest in the room complained staff member would be in big trouble.

Why would this be an issue when the booking shows I am his mother ?

It's not about YOU having access, it's about random members of staff in poorly paid jobs then also having access.

As someone who quite frequently stays alone in Premier Inns and similar, I'm very glad that it's not possible for someone who gets hold of a master key, on any pretext at all, to enter my locked room.

Im guessing you didn’t name only your teen on the booking on the room (as they don’t allow under 18s to stay in a room alone). If over 18 then presumably they have the same right as any other adult to not open the door.

Have you got in yet?
Is the room on the ground floor ? If so bang on window.
Bang on the door and shout police.

The booking name isn't proof of anything.

Big problems in cheap hotel chains with teens especially being accompanied by adults for drug trafficking reasons. We had to have safeguarding training on this sort of thing all the time.

Also, you can't book a child into their own room in a premier inn and you aren't allowed to leave a child alone in the room. So, if he's over 18, he's an adult and you have no right to enter. If he's a child, then you broke the t&c by letting him be alone in there, and policy will be police have to be present to break door down.

I think the embarrassment of us all standing there when he finally emerged was enough to stop it happening again. Plus my brother shouting at him 🤦

I get your point and weirdly had this conversation with my son recently because we are booked into a premier inn before an early flight. Slightly concerned he sleeps in because once he's asleep he's comatose.

Devils advocate though... how old is he? Too old to have his mother having rights to his room?

I'm really pleased that the doors can't be opened if locked from the inside!!

Surely the only reason to open it would be in case of emergency which is why they need the police.

If teen ds is under 18 (especially if a young teen 13/14) then this could put you in a tricky position as he is technically a child and if he’s locked himself in you’re not available to
supervise him which may well be in the booking t&c
if he’s 18 or 19 then he’s an adult in his own right so staff may be reluctant to over ride the lock even if they can.
was there a specific emergency or time pressured event meaning you needed him out immediately? Hope you and he are all ok.
if it was just a frustration/inconvenience then not much you can do other than plan against a future occurrence

He's 18 so needed a room of his own but I never thought he's sleep so heavily