Guest deaths will fall into two categories; Suspected Natural Death (e.g. Heart Attack), and Suspected Unnatural Death (e.g. Suicide / Criminal Activity). In both cases the local Police and SATIB24 need to be notified. In the case of a Suicide, or Criminal Activity, where no CPR efforts were warranted – the scene needs to be evacuated and secured until the Police arrive.
Hotel Staff Responsibility
The hotel’s responsibility in this situation is pretty straightforward. Whether it is a housekeeper, security officer, or establishment manager who discovers a potentially deceased victim, the first responsibility must always be to check the body to determine that the guest is actually dead and not merely asleep. Tap the guest on the shoulder and check for a pulse and listen for breathing. If there are no signs of life, notify the front desk or manager by two-way radio or cell phone. ONLY use a two-way radio if the cell phone is not working or more than 2 minutes’ walk from the scene to prevent the communications being widely broadcast.
There are three unique aspects that an establishment must consider when dealing with situations where guests have committed suicide on the property.
The first is the “crime scene” aspect. The location where the body is found must remain unaltered to the extent possible so that the police may conduct a proper investigation. If the police and/or coroner determine that the guest’s death is actually a result of unassisted suicide, then there is no person alive to prosecute and the investigation ends promptly. But if they determine that the guest was assisted by a second party in their suicide, or perhaps the authorities believe that the guest was the unwilling victim of a criminal act, but the scene was arranged to appear as if the guest took their own life, an uncontaminated crime scene will assist the police in furthering their investigation. Therefore, it is critically important that hotel employees who arrive upon a possible suicide or crime location do not touch any aspect of the scene unless absolutely necessary to save the life of the victim.
The second unique aspect is the “gore factor”, especially if a guest commits suicide in a public area of the establishment. Think of a guest jumping from a balcony and landing on the establishment’s sidewalk. It will be messy, and guests may adversely affected if they witness the impact or see the impact site.
When this happens, SATIB24 will advise but the establishment must respond immediately to ascertain the guest has died and to cover over the impact site until the police arrive. Very large dark-coloured tarps made of waterproof material should be readily available to cover over the scene in the event this situation arises. Immediately cordon off the area and redirect all traffic away from the location. Do not allow any person into the area until the police or coroner clears the site. Keep all guests, media, and non-responding employees as far away from the scene as possible. This is where management and security must uphold the utmost discretion in order to maintain some semblance of dignity for the deceased, the deceased’s family, and the reputation of the establishment.
The third unique aspect when dealing with suicides (and violent crimes) that occur on property is the “public relations” aspect. Not surprisingly, most people are put off by the thought of suicide or violent crimes occurring. Few would want to stay in an establishment where they knew a suicide or violent crime had occurred. And even fewer would want to stay in the same guestroom where such an incident has played out. Therefore controlling the scene post-incident and restricting access and the flow of negative information is critical.
Details should only be shared with those who have a legitimate need to know, not with those who wish to know what happened. In any location where a messy death has occurred, the establishment will need to sanitise the area. For a guestroom, this will typically involve placing the guestroom out-of-order and replacing all soft goods in the room, including the mattress, linens and perhaps carpeting and draperies. Case goods and hard surfaces will need to be thoroughly disinfected. This procedure may be more psychological than sanitary in nature, but the establishment has to be able to defend that it took appropriate actions to cleanse a death site before returning it to use by the general public. For deaths that occur in a public area of the hotel, close down that wing or area and redirect traffic away from the location until the area has been sanitized.
SATIB24 will require the following information as soon as possible after the incident is reported;
- Full name of Guest and Date of Birth
- Guest Nationality
- Copy of Passport
- Travel Insurance information
