Dealing with the final check-out quite a task for hotels

A few months ago, a middle-aged Swiss national decided to end his life by jumping off his hotel balcony in Pushkar, Rajasthan. After the unsuccessful suicide attempt, which resulted in many broken ribs and multiple fractures, he announced to the doctors the reason for the extreme step: "I am so happy at this point that life cannot possibly have anything more to offer."

The world over, hotels often play host to guests who check in for their "final check-out", leaving behind problems for the hotel to deal with.

There are at least 50 to 100 such cases that the top five to six global hotel brands deal with annually, according to Bruce McIndoe, chief executive officer, iJET, a US-based global operational risk management firm. iJET, which also does security audits for hotels such as Starwood group, Intercontinental Hotels and Marriott, among others, also assists hotels in taking the necessary steps when there is an unnatural death in the premises.

Parallel to police investigations, hotels put together their crisis management teams to archive the CCTV camera footage, for instance. Also, not only are staff members interviewed extensively, the record of all the interrogation is maintained diligently. All this is to secure the position of a hotel against any litigation or prosecution that may follow.

In most cases, hotels go all-out to keep information such as the room number of the occupant under wraps. It was somewhat different, though, in the case of Sunanda Pushkar (the deceased wife of Union minister Shashi Tharoor) or Karl Slym, former managing director of Tata Motors, when a lot of information got out due to the profile of the people involved. Referring to Sunanda Pushkar's death in a Delhi hotel, an industry executive said, "There was a press conference right outside the hotel where the room number was repeated several times. That number is now etched in people's memory."

The room, where such incidents take place, is usually subjected to extensive refurbishing - from fresh carpeting and upholstery to new furniture and fixtures. "Hotels go for overkill in cleaning up the room, especially if a death has occurred there by unnatural causes," said McIndoe. Several hotels keep such rooms locked until public memory of the incident fades. But, there are customers who request hotels to book them in those very rooms where a celebrity committed suicide. For instance, a famous rock musician's "suicide room" in Sydney has become a tourist attraction of sorts.

While there is little one can do to avoid such incidents, most hotels do keep an eye on suspicious behaviour. "We check hotel rooms every eight hours. If there is a do-not-disturb sign for 16 hours, we are alerted," said Ajay Bakaya, executive director, Sarovar Hotels.

Hotels have also started to install break-proof large glasses on windows. While it is also to make sure the air-conditioning works efficiently, it does help in controlling the risk of guests jumping off the ledge. "A hotel is like a mini-city. Worse things can happen, such as a fire or even firing. Hotel personnel should not try to become heroes and indulge in any loose talk. They should just communicate with the investigative agency," said Rajan Bahadur, a senior industry executive.