Many regular travelers have faced the prospect of crossing a hotel or airline picket line. And it’s no fun, whichever side you are on.
Airline strikes are usually pretty high-profile, but in the case of a hotel, it’s quite possible to show up without having even heard of the problem in advance. And with a guaranteed reservation, many guests — even those sympathetic to the union position — may not want to risk losing the cost of a night’s stay, and thus will cross the picket lines.
But as uncomfortable as crossing that line might be, guests in the Radisson Paraiso Hotel in Mexico City last week found that labor problems could make a stay much worse. As reported in Travel Weekly, a publication for travel agents, striking workers not only picketed the hotel, they locked guests out as well.
Apparently, the workers started the incident by running through the corridors and yelling “Fire.” Once all the guests were outside, they were not allowed back into the hotel. Period.
For two days. Even to retrieve medicine, money, passports or anything else.
Fortunately, nobody died. And about 24 hours into the lockout, doctors did appear to help those who needed prescriptions. Many guests who had planned to fly out from Mexico City during the lockout, however, were unable to leave. Even if they were willing to chance their belongings being sent home, most of them didn’t even have their passports.
No word yet on what if any compensation Radisson will offer guests, although free nights and then some are probably in order. Beyond relocating those who were locked out at alternate hotels and stating “we regret that guests were inconvenienced.”
Now, while “inconvenienced” is probably a mild term to describe how the locked out guests felt, this appears to have been an isolated incident. At least no other hotel union is or has threatened such an action, to my knowledge.
But it does highlight one general travel concern, while you don’t want to have all your necessary items with you outside the hotel, it’s not a bad idea to have some of them. Normally, a passport is safer at your hotel (in a safe if possible) than in your purse. But carrying a copy can be very helpful – for everything from tax refunds to identification.
A passport copy could also be more than helpful if you either misplace or forget your passport upon departure. (And yes, it’s been done. More than once.)
In addition if you take daily medication, a couple doses with you at all times is a good safety net. That way any delays in returning to your room, at least won’t become medical issues.
This doesn’t mean you need to take a backpack or ten-pound purse with you at all times while traveling. Although my husband would argue that I ignore this advice with my purse regularly. Which is fine, he doesn’t have to carry it.
But the lockout is a reminder, part of travel is the unexpected. And while most surprises are likely to be pleasant ones, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for the others.
(Photo: eatmorechips/Flickr Creative Commons)
