Travel Rules and Regulations…
This year in our hotel room on the island of Amorgos I was amused to find in the guest information folder a helpful copy of the Regulations, Article 8 of the Law 1652/30-10-86 which is a list of rules associated with renting a room. These made entertaining reading and the following extracts were the pick of the bunch:
Article 1
“The hotelier may refuse the leasing if the clients a) Looks conspicuously ill, b) is under the influence of alcohol or c) has an untidy appearance.”
This seems a bit harsh, whilst I agree that a hotel might not want to let a room to a drunk what if someone who needs a room had suffered from sea sickness on the ferry and was looking a bit green or was just a bet dishevelled at the end of a long day back packing? Who decides what constitutes being untidy I wonder? My daughter can turn a hotel room into a scene of total devastation and would be obliged to leave after about five minutes or so!
Article 8
“If the room is leased for a fixed time the hotelier has not the right to break the lease unless the client a) transgresses the regulations, b) is taken ill suffering from a contagious disease or any other disease causing inconvenience to other clients, or c) behaves against the commonly accepted moral law.”
This seems a bit unfair on anyone feeling a bit unwell or has a cold with an annoying cough for example and I would be intrigued to know exactly what the commonly accepted moral law is, it sounds as though this could be interpreted as almost anything?
Article 20
“The client on arrival at the hotel must hand over to the hotelier or to the competent director the precious or of considerable value articles and the money that he carries with him, against receipt.”
Can’t help thinking that is going to be a bit inconvenient, especially the money bit, how are you supposed to eat?
Article 21
“In case of illness due to an infectious or contagious or mental disease as well as in the case of death or suicide of a client the hotelier is entitled to compensation by the client for the expenses he underwent as a result of the happening.”
My advice is try not to have any sort of illness that might be messy, such as diarrhoea for example, and if you are going to kill yourself do it in a way that is quick to clear up otherwise your family are going to end up with a large bill. On the other hand I’m not sure how relevant this illness rule is because under Article 8 a sick client will already have been thrown out on the street and that includes the mental cases who might do themselves in.
My personal favourite just has to be:
Article 23
“It is forbidden a) the preparations of meals or decorations by the clients in the hotel room also the taking of meals in the room with the exception of sick clients, b) the use of petrol engines or electrical appliances, c) the use of electrical current for other purposes than lighting or shaving”.
You will have spotted the inconsistency here because clients aren’t allowed to be sick (see article 8), who in their right mind is going to use a petrol engine in a hotel room and why is it ok to use electricity to shave but presumably not to dry your hair?
It goes on “d) the washing of linen or clothing, e) the placing of luggage in the corridors, f) the changing of position of the rooms furniture and the operating of holes into the walls for hanging photographs, g) the keeping of domestic animals, h) gambling, i) noisy music and songs which might cause inconvenience to others.
This is a pretty comprehensive list of don’ts and I have personally broken at least half of these rules. I have certainly eaten food in my room, used electrical appliances, washed my dirty underpants out in the sink, played cards for money, kept a turtle in my room, reorganised the furniture on the balcony and put my bag down for a moment or two in the corridor. On the other hand I haven’t ever used a petrol engine or a Black and Decker drill to make holes in the wall or organised a rave in my room.
Article 24
“If the client violates the provisions of the regulations, continually makes noise and behaves in an improper way he may be considered as undesirable and asked to leave the hotel within twenty-four hours and evacuate his room”
I wonder why, if someone was behaving so badly, they get twenty-four hours notice to leave when a sick person, it would seem, has to vacate immediately – this hardly seems fair!
Have you ever come across any odd rules and regulations when travelling?
Great photos!
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Thank You!
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I can’t count the number of times I’ve hung/draped laundry around a hotel room. Washed a lot of clothes in the bathtub and re-arranged the furniture too. Oh, and once I brought a dog and cat. Luckily I’ve never been kicked out.
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Oh Peggy, you are a rebel!
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That’s an interesting list. In Durango, Colorado, I found a journal in a hotel room. Apparently, they meant for everyone who stayed in the room to write something.
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That could be a good way of getting new material for a blog post!
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As documented innumerable times on my blog I have hung wet laundry from every available hook, door jam and window sill in more countries than I can count. Likely an international arrest warrant is out for me .:)
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Listed as ‘most wanted’ on Interpol files is my guess!
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I’m not sure I’d want to stay at a place with such fastidious rules and regulations. How utterly rude if one catches a cold and gets kicked out in the cold. So much for hospitality!
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I imagine that it is an official document written by a junior officer that no one really takes any notice of!
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I think you have stumbled upon a hotel for retired lawyers and people who have worked in insurance.
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That is a good point John, it would be a good venue to hold a convention!
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oh, wow! what a story!!!
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It is the poor translation that makes me smile most!
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In years of travelling I’ve never come across such drastic rules. And I wonder what sort of ‘decorations’ they had in mind when he added them to the things you couldn’t make in your room? The nearest thing I have is a card I was given at the Wailing Wall in Israel with a name, a ‘phone number and a Bank address to which I could send money for the card owner to say a prayer for me. Distant prayers via credit card. I thought I’d seen everything then.
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They are a great set of rules don’t you think?
I assume that I am correct in thinking that you didn’t send any money!
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“Undesirable” could get any of us thrown out. (Except me) 😀
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I suppose the document is deliberately vague so that it can include almost anyone!
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“In case of death or suicide by the client the hotelier is entitled to compensation by the client.” I wonder how he’ll manage that.
Also, why did you have a turtle in your room? And why prohibit only the keeping of “domestic ” animals? Wild animals(or foreign animals, I suppose, depending on what he means by domestic) are allowed?
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The Turtle became my friend after we were stuck in a lift together!
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OMG! These rules/regulations are quite harsh, hilarious and ridiculous! Andrew, you’re a brave man!Thanks for sharing.
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Apparently they became law in 1986 but 30 years later hardly anyone takes any notice of them. Still funny though. Thanks for commenting.
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that’s a pretty impressive list of rules I must say. Whenever I see lists like that I think of the situations that must have caused them. They all have a “name” on them. At some point the poor proprietor of said establishment had to deal with contagious customers, petrol engines in his rooms, and sadly a suicide or two I will bet. No way he just came up with those rules for no reason.
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The interesting thing is that this was (is) a National Greek Law – http://www.grhotels.gr/EN/TouristGuide/UsefulInformation/Documents/REGULATIONS%20CONCERNING%20THE%20HOTELIERS%20AND%20THEIR%20CLIENTS.pdf
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Well, things must have been good in Greece at the time those laws were instituted. ie. Nothing more important to worry about. 😉
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That was such fun. I am roaring with laughter. I always arrive at the hotel looking disheveled. Something about traveling always musses the hair and wrinkles the clothes. This hotel obviously discriminates against the ill and infirm. We should immediately organize a protest. As for re-arranging the furniture? I’m wondering whether I’ve ever left everything where I found it. My favorite hotel with this sort of attitude was in Oregon. They had a laminating machine and control issues. Literally every surface of the establishment had a laminated sign instructing you on the fine points of utilizing their facilities. Whether you were taking a shower, ironing your pantaloons or partaking of the breakfast buffet, there was their way or the wrong way – and if you did it the wrong way, they offered an appropriate threat.
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This is a National law of Greece, not just this hotel! I have never seen them displayed before which I suspect no one really takes much notice. I like the Oregon hotel story. Thanks!
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Andrew, where you took a turtle?
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Corfu Victor, an inflatable of course!
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Did the cleaning staff leave dust under the bed or were they allowed to do that? (Did they polish the taps?~ and the shower head too)
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I confess that I didn’t check these details.
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You should have left one of the notices under the bed!
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Whenever I start to feel just a tad suicidal I will try to remember to give Amorgos a miss.
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Actually this is a set of regulations that applies to the whole of Greece – http://www.grhotels.gr/EN/TouristGuide/UsefulInformation/Documents/REGULATIONS%20CONCERNING%20THE%20HOTELIERS%20AND%20THEIR%20CLIENTS.pdf
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OK. So when I’m down I will give the whole of Greece the flick.
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And the crazy thing is, they only set these rules because someone has done it in the past.
I break the laundry rule all the time….and until hotels stop charging $10 to wash a shirt I’ll continue to do so.
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And I will not report you!
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Sounds like these were reluctant hoteliers. I once showed up without reservations at 10 pm to the Grand Marriott in Bucharest dragging a black plastic bag and really bad attitude. They graciously welcomed me.
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If you are paying why wouldn’t they welcome you?
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True, but I hadn’t paid yet…
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Interesting read of a loopsy list, indeed. So no washing of socks, no eating, and no coughing. But might it be ok if I go in as a fit person and trampolines on the bed til it breaks…
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It is set of regulations that urgently need to be reviewed!
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Dame, I’d be sweating to do anything in a hotel room .Re-positioning furnitures is a violation? LOL. And the word “must” in Article 20 really makes it commanding and scary. 😀
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As I say, I don’t think people take these regulations too seriously any more.
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Bad news all round, Andrew! 🙂
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It is ok if you behave yourself!
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Not much use to me then 🙂 Christmas at home, Andrew?
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Christmas in Whitley Bay this year Jo, what about you?
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Heavens, that’s close! (to here 🙂 ) Cooking, at home… some Polish family arriving 4th Jan.
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Hope you have a good one.
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