After-prom parties shouldn't be held at hotels, manager says

The general manager of the Lord Elgin Hotel says students should ideally hold after-parties under the supervision of their parents, not hotels.

David Smythe says the Lord Elgin tries to keep track of when prom nights are held in order to be prepared, but online booking can make it difficult to track what booked rooms are being used for — whether it's a family reunion or conference or prom.

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When students appear and it becomes clear to hotel reception staff that an after-party might take place, "we typically have them sign an agreement with the hotel stating and outlining rules and regulations of appropriate behaviour while staying in a hotel," Smythe says.

If students spread word about booked rooms on social media, unwanted guests can turn up, he says.

"So it's not uncommon for a hotel to experience, at 2 in the morning or 3 in the morning, a group of kids trying to come in to go to someone's room, and it's at that point that the hotel must take appropriate measures and prevent those kids from gaining access to all the guest rooms," Smythe says.

"These kids shouldn't be left in the responsibility of the police and hotel staff to monitor them and secure them. Hotels are really not designed for post-prom parties. That's not really what hotels are all about."

For more, including an interview with a man who books party buses, click on the video player above.

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