An Inverness hotel has hired door staff over the festive season to search guests’ bags and confiscate hip flasks and bottles of booze.
Management at Kingsmills Hotel on Culcabock Road launched the new policy – only for Christmas events – to prevent partygoers sneaking in their own alcohol.
It comes as hotel staff were “frustrated” with people smuggling in flasks in previous years.
Some guests at the hotel’s Christmas party were stunned when the door staff politely asked them to open their bags on Friday, December 13.
One hip flask and 12 bottles of wine brought from outside were confiscated.
Booze confiscated at Kingsmills Hotel
One woman told The P&J: “My daughter-in-law went with a group of co-workers to a Christmas night out at the Kingsmills Hotel on Friday night.
“Like a lot of people, she thought drinks would be expensive. She put a little hip flask in her handbag.
“However, when they went to hang up their coats all the bags were searched, which she had never seen before.
“You would expect it at a festival but never heard of a hotel doing that before.”
All drinks spotted were confiscated and placed inside the cloakroom, for perpetrators to retrieve them when leaving.
She continued: “Ironically, she did it because in some places you can pay £15 for a large glass of wine, but it turned out she had a spirit and coke, and it was only about £5.50, not as expensive as she had thought.”
People sneaking drinks in hotel is ‘frustrating’
Craig Ewan, Operation Director at Kingsmills, explained they hired door staff for Christmas events due to people sneaking in drinks in previous years.
He said: “This is a licensed premises and by law, you cannot bring alcohol into licensed premises and consume it.
“In previous years, we actually had a lot of people turning into these party nights bringing secret Santa gifts that included wine or spirits and then consumed it within the property.
“We made it a very clear part of our terms and conditions this year and we sent a follow-up email to every table host to remind them of the policy so people wouldn’t be disappointed.
Mr Ewan said that bag searches are something they started this year for Christmas due to previous “frustration”.
He said: “Alcohol is part of our bread and butter. When you see empty bottles under tables after events there’s real frustration.
According to the director, Friday night was the first one in which drinks were confiscated.
He said that about 12 drinks were put away in the cloakroom.
‘Would you expect to walk in a pub with your own pint of beer in your hand?’
Kingsmills Group CEO Tony Story told the P&J he cannot understand why people do this.
Mr Story said: “We must obey the licensing regulations and unfettered consumption of alcohol is not something that we permit.
“Why people would think it would be okay to take your own drink to something like that is beyond me.
“Would you expect to walk in a pub with your own pint of beer in your hand?”
Do you think confiscating booze is a good idea? Let us know in the comments below.
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