I've written about this on other forums but want to see what you guys think about it!
My dowtown Montreal hotel attracts young people under 21 years of age from nearby places where the drinking age is 19 or 21. It is 18 in Quebec. Every weekend & during spring & college breaks we get these kids that come here mainly to drink! Our bars close at 3a.m.. This means that from about 3:30 to 5:00 we receive MAINY noise complaints as they return to the hotel & gather in each other's rooms.
For about 25 years we applied the "3 strikes & you're out" rule. We'd warn you once, twice & throw you out if we got a third complaint. We'd call the police if necessary.
About 2 years ago the lawyers at the police department decided that an hotel room is a temporary home. The Charter of Rights does not allow them to throw someone out of their home. So now they are not allowed to help us evict these people making noise. We are supposed to call & they can give tickets for breaking the noise bylaw. On a busy weekend I have waited 45 minutes for the police to come for a serious incident. I can imagine the wait time to come to give a noise complaint ticket. In the meantime the guests being disturbed become madder & madder & almost always seek compensation, something they don't if the situation is handled like in the old days.
I can live with the police not helping us. Throwing the kids out before their "lease" (room rental) is up is against civil law but we have lawyers that could fight this if in fact the kids wanted to come back to take us to court. My main problem is that I have been told by the police that if I open a door & enter a room to throw someone out, I CAN BE ARRESTED FOR BREAK & ENTER!
Most states & provinces have laws that allow an hotel to throw out people causing a disturbance because unlike a landlord, we can not check references of people we accept as guests & legally can not refuse someone willing to pay for a room. We don't have a law like this.
Your thoughts?
My dowtown Montreal hotel attracts young people under 21 years of age from nearby places where the drinking age is 19 or 21. It is 18 in Quebec. Every weekend & during spring & college breaks we get these kids that come here mainly to drink! Our bars close at 3a.m.. This means that from about 3:30 to 5:00 we receive MAINY noise complaints as they return to the hotel & gather in each other's rooms.
For about 25 years we applied the "3 strikes & you're out" rule. We'd warn you once, twice & throw you out if we got a third complaint. We'd call the police if necessary.
About 2 years ago the lawyers at the police department decided that an hotel room is a temporary home. The Charter of Rights does not allow them to throw someone out of their home. So now they are not allowed to help us evict these people making noise. We are supposed to call & they can give tickets for breaking the noise bylaw. On a busy weekend I have waited 45 minutes for the police to come for a serious incident. I can imagine the wait time to come to give a noise complaint ticket. In the meantime the guests being disturbed become madder & madder & almost always seek compensation, something they don't if the situation is handled like in the old days.
I can live with the police not helping us. Throwing the kids out before their "lease" (room rental) is up is against civil law but we have lawyers that could fight this if in fact the kids wanted to come back to take us to court. My main problem is that I have been told by the police that if I open a door & enter a room to throw someone out, I CAN BE ARRESTED FOR BREAK & ENTER!
Most states & provinces have laws that allow an hotel to throw out people causing a disturbance because unlike a landlord, we can not check references of people we accept as guests & legally can not refuse someone willing to pay for a room. We don't have a law like this.
Your thoughts?
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