Hoteliers look for ways to cope with abusive guests

Hotel staff are being forced to deal with increasingly aggressive and abusive behaviour from drunk or disgruntled guests, say hoteliers and police.

In Blackpool, some hoteliers are keeping sticks or baseball bats handy to protect themselves and Glasgow police last week ran a special seminar on how hotel staff should deal with violent guests.

Josie Hammond, secretary of Blackpool's Hotel and Guest House Association, said there had been an "alarming increase in petulant, playground behaviour" among middle-class, middle-aged guests who appeared to have left their inhibitions at home.

For example, one couple ripped up the wallpaper in a hotel foyer, piqued at having to park their car two streets away. Another couple threw their breakfast around the dining room each morning because they were angry at having to share a room with their children after the coach tour operator over-booked.

Hammond saw this behaviour as a symptom of a more argumentative society that was more aware of its rights, but often misinterpreted them. She advises isolating any trouble-makers: "Most do it for an audience," she said.

She added that she did not believe Blackpool was any more prone to difficult guests than many other parts of the country.

Strathclyde police last week called in aggression management specialist Maybo to hold a workshop on hotel rage for 50 employees from 13 hotels mostly in Glasgow.

PC Ronnie Smith (also secretary of Glasgow's Hotel Watch) said the workshops aimed to "reduce the fear of crime and make people feel they are safe in their workplace. Difficult customers can be stressful without committing a crime."

But many do commit crimes: the latest Health and Safety Commission reported that attacks on hotel and catering workers resulting in serious injury are running at more than one a week. Hundreds of lesser incidents go unreported.

Glasgow Hotel Watch spokesman Michaela Loughney said that the much higher expectations of business travellers staying in exclusive hotels - especially over technology in their rooms - often lead to confrontations. Mandy Scott, general manager at the Glasgow Copthorne, attributed much bad behaviour to the stresses of travelling, often exacerbated by alcohol.

by Angela Frewin