The Day a Hotel Guest Passed Wind and Passed Away.
Or was it the other way around?
It wasn’t until 20 years in the hotel business that I had my first client death, which is very odd as there are many deaths in these establishments and most seasoned hoteliers have seen quite a few.
My father Charles used to tell the story of a client dying when he worked years ago at the Park Lane Hotel, London (now the Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel). There is often dark humour in tragedy, so here goes.
Charles was on duty and received an emergency call to go to one of the guest rooms as someone was having a heart attack. He arrived at the same time as the Head Housekeeper and they both rushed in to find a very large American guest lying on the floor, face up and with his poor wife in hysterics next to him.
His grey complexion and blue lips gave a hint as to what was the cause of his apparent unconsciousness, so Charles and the housekeeper went to their roles immediately. After checking to see if he was breathing (he wasn’t) and seeing that his airways were clear, Charles started to apply heart massage and the housekeeper applied air to the American.
They had a good rhythm going, but Charles knew at this point that the man was already dead and was not coming around, however for the sake of his wife they…
