Interesting article in the Telegraph today about hotels and 'Sleepwalkers'. Apparantly hotel staff are being given specific training on how to handle sleepwalking guests. Most noticeably, naked, sleepwalking guests.
I seem to recall I've touched on this in the past, but I really can't face going back through my posts to find out which one it was in!
Anyway, I thought I'd recount the training I received from the former night manager on what to do upon finding a naked sleepwalker/naked 'hallway sleeper'.
1) Go to the nearest housekeeping closet, and fetch a set of towels - Do this before waking the guest (minimises embarrassment on their part)
2) If they are lying down, cover them with the towels - Again, this minimises embarrassment (unfortunately, if they are walking, there's not a lot you can do!)
3) Attempt to wake them by making a loud noise close to their head - This ties into the 'dead' wake-up procedure (it's not uncommon for a guest to take a swing at you as they wake)
4) Establish whether or not the guest is drunk - This is usually quite obvious
5) Check your Guest Sheet, and find out which room the guest is staying in - If you're not carrying your Guest Sheet, YOU'RE AN IDIOT!
6) Let the guest into their room with the master key - Again, if you're not carrying the master key, YOU'RE AN IDIOT!
Finally, some general points:-
a) KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE
b) AVOID STARING AT THEIR... AREAS
c) WISH THEM A GOOD NIGHT
and, finally, finally
d) WASH YOUR HANDS!! - Who knows where the guest may have been....
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4 comments:
I always thought it was extremely dangerous to wake or "shock" a sleepwalker... ?
How many people have you actually... er... "experienced" sleepwalking there, or at other hotels?
When I've seen documentries on the subject, I've tended to feel that out of say, 5 people they feature, 3 or 4 actually give me the impression they are faking their "sleep eating" or whatever thing they do, and there's really only one or two who look genuine.
"Who knows where the guest may have been...." Love that.
I've never seen a sleepwalker, naked or otherwise. I'd be quite interested to know how regular an occurance it actually is in hotels etc.
Awh that's what's missing from my job, sleepwalkers. I want some!!!
I've seen roughly 6. It isn't a fantastically regular occurrance, though it is becoming more frequent. For example, the first one I saw was in my first week, and I then didn't see one for months. In the past 2 months, I've seen 3.
In regards to shocking them, I have absolutely no idea. I tend to go by the principle that no one likes being woken up, but that no real harm can come to them. I may be wrong, I'm open to feedback!
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