Calvia hotels plan code of conduct

In the early hours of Saturday morning, 23-year-old Charlotte Faris fell some 15 metres from a third floor balcony to her death in Magalluf.
Faris is the third Briton to suffer a fatal fall at a Majorcan hotel in less than a month.
Benjamin Harper, 28, from Twickenham, fell from a balcony on 20 April. It is believed that Harper, a roofer, had gone for a cigarette.
Three days earlier, Adam Atkinson, 20, from Castleford died in the resort after falling down a stairwell.
In fact, this year, the number of Britons dying during the summer on Majorca has become so high that the Foreign Office website now carries specific warnings for tourists intending to visit the island.

Troublesome
However, the Palmanova - Magalluf Hotel Association intends on taking further action and are in favour of drawing up a code of conduct for holiday makers, especially potentially troublesome ones.

This third fatal accident was all over the TV and print media in the UK over the weekend and the hoteliers are seriously concerned about the damage such widespread media coverage of these tragedies are causing the resort.

But, more importantly, they want people to come to Calvia and enjoy themselves and return home safely so, many are in favour of a code of conduct which would give hotel directors a set of measures to follow to handle and control potentially problematic guests.

The President of the Palmanova-Magalluf Hotel Association, Sebastian Darder, said yesterday that hotel directors and staff have been deeply upset by the recent deaths.

Darder said that all three were accidents and not the result of the so-called “balconing” fad which has been gripping resorts across the Mediterranean over the past few years leading to numerous deaths or critical injuries. “But that is not how they have been reported in the foreign media and it is not fair on their families nor the hotels and resorts,” he added. “All these reports will do is create social alarm and that in the end will have a negative affect on the resorts and its economy,” Darder said.
Rights “We, as hoteliers, have to respect the rights of our clients when they are on holiday and provide them with the best possible care and attention, however, should we see any warning signs that could lead to tragedy or trouble, we must be in a position to take preventative action if and when possible,” he stressed.

Hoteliers are expected to begin discussing the code of conduct over the next few days but it is going to be very hard finding ways of controlling guests and their behaviour 24 hours per day.