Had a scare with a guest we thought may have been unconscious or deceased.

[David526]

We had a scare with a guest who did not answer their phone nor their bedroom door for many hours.  A taxi came twice to pick them up but we could get no response knocking on their locked door, calling their cell or the bedroom extension.  Luckily, it was not a problem, as they had gone out without advising us and the taxi driver got the directions mixed up.

I did not have any emergency contact information for her or contacts for any others who were attending the congress with her.  Nor did I know how to contact her next of kin.  

If she had been deceased, or unconscious requiring medical assistance, who do I call?   Perhaps we should have guests fill in an emergency contact sheet on arrival with medical insurance information as well, to be able to coordinate their care - in case they are unable to commuicate for themselves.

[CarlandDiane0]

Whew, David! Dodged a bullet there! (Well, your guest did more than you, am I right?)

In the US, you'd call the police if you found a guest had died in your rental space. The reason is that this qualifies as an unattended death, which automatically is handled by the police to ensure the death was not the result of foul play.

If the cops don't believe it's necessary or appropriate for them to handle it, they'll advise you whom to call. It could be a local funeral home, for instance. (In fact, if upon investigation the police don't believe the death is suspicous, they'll likely have you contact a funeral home to remove the body. The cops probalby will only take the body to the city morgue if they have reason to believe a crime has been committed.)

And if you find a guest unconscious and requiring medical assistance, I'd call an ambulance. Not sure what their next of kin could do for an unconscious relative even if you were able to reach them. The faster you call for medical help, the better.

That's how I'd approach it, anyway. Others may have different advice.

Carl & Diane

Casita de Milagros

San Marcos, TX

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[MicheleandLouw0]

I had a similar scare last week. Two you students rented my cottage and did a day trip with a car they rented from someone unbeknown to us for a day trip into a National Park. We live in Botswana and we have lots of dangerous wildlife and predators. They did not return after their day trip. I started calling around to Wildlife departments the following day (I thought they might arrive late the previous night) and received news from the officials that afternoon only that the students were stuck in water and were spotted by a pilot doing a scenic flight with clients. A rescue vehicle was sent out and dropped them at my house at 2am on the following morning.

 They were dehydrated and as hungry as lions but fortunately unharmed. They went against our advice to use a safari operator and do a guided tour. The had absolutely no 4x4 driving experience and  the whole incident cost them a lot of money! They were supposed to book out the day after their bush trip but I had to close the dates on my calendar for 2 more nights as they only returned on the second night. That cost them more money. They learned a very expensive lesson as they also had to pay for the recovery of the vehicle.

This situation had me very worried and wondering how will I get hold of their relatives if they are not found or something happened to them.  It also made me draw up a Guest Arrival Slip that I will now put in my cottage and request guests to complete. But I also feel that this information should be available for host to see on a guests profile after a confirmed booking.

Michele, Maun Botswana