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It's both sad and frustrating that an entire industry treats suicide as merely a cost of doing business. That these statistics are hidden from the public is als

It's both sad and frustrating that an entire industry treats suicide as merely a cost of doing business. That these statistics are hidden from the public is also a shame. Instead we prefer to sweep away the deaths of people because it's bad for business. Because it's gruesome and the reality is too much to bear.

shard972 8y ago
I'm curious how you think the industry should be treating suicide? I'm not sure if the hotel of death is the right way to go about things, and checking up on every guest from in-town to see if they are going to kill themselves doesn't seem very practical. > Instead we prefer to sweep away the deaths of people because it's bad for business. Because it's gruesome and the reality is too much to bear. I assume the "we" here refers to society? If so, I don't really see the issue of not announcing to everyone that there is a dead guy here and parading them around or something. The issues behind suicide are quite complex and even if we are talking about suicide driven by a disconnection from all aspects of society, i don't see how hotels can even hope to help fix this problem.
- slededit 8y ago
  I find people need someone to blame for things. It makes the world seem more manageable. It’s not really a rational reaction to the situation.
- DanBC 8y ago
  There are some quick easy things hotels can do. They can sell only small quantities of medication commonly used in suicide attempts. They can make it harder to access the rooftop of buildings. They can put small signs giving contact details for a suicide prevention organisation in key places. These aren't going to end suicide, but they do help reduce the numbers.
  - EmpirePhoenix 8y ago
    They do already, even without any goodwill, a suicide costs north of a few thousand, so it makes sense to try to reduce them.
TazeTSchnitzel 8y ago
In general, it's not the hotels' fault that guests commit suicide. Maybe Las Vegas hotels which are also casinos deserve some scorn, however.
- tunap 8y ago
  I was in Vegas last month for work & a woman was wailing in an adjacent room from 3am until I left around 6:30am. It was unsettling, to say the least. I could only imagine what events led up to her crisis & what fallout followed. It made for a sobering day of contemplation... I struggled w/ gamblig addiction in my youth. Coincidentally, I was asked no less than 5xs that day if I had bought my billion dollar lottery ticket... nobody cared for my response; "You can't lose if you don't play." On topic, sorta: does anyone know the comedian who's skit is about a follow up phone call from management(police?) concerning a murder in an adjacent room she was staying in? Heard the skit on the radio a few months back and have wonderwd/searched for her name to no avail.
onetimemanytime 8y ago
People want to kill themselves, very hard to stop. If not hotels, they'll choose another way. As for hotels: You pay $250 for the room and do NOT want nosy employees asking or watching you carefully, 99+% just want to stay there and be left alone, unless they call you.
- Xylakant 8y ago
  While it's basically impossible to stop a person that is really really determined to kill themselves, many suicides can be prevented by making the means less available. For example, reducing the package size of paracetamol and requiring blister packaging instead of bottles reduced the number of suicides in Britain: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/a-simple-way-to-reduce-suicides/ https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/a-simple-wa... You can still walk into as many pharmacies and buy as many tablets as you want in total, so in theory this shouldn't change anything. People still can - and do - kill themselves with tablets. In practice, it requires a much more premeditated plan which seems to hold off a substantial quantity of people.
  - isostatic 8y ago
    The rational mind would see no difference between having to pop the pills out of the blisters individually or just having a tub of them. A rational mind treats "I want to commit suicide" as a problem, and comes up with a myriad of solutions. It's not exactly hard to commit suicide in theory. However people who commit suicide tend not to be thinking rationally, and it's amazing how small things can really help with reducing suicide.
    - onetimemanytime 8y ago
      Probably they want to kill themselves a certain second, but as climb the stairs, load the magazine or start unwrapping the Tylenols they change their minds. (The mind is fickle like that, different people handle life issues differently so I pass no judgment. Personally, I think suicide is somewhat selfish, unless your children, parents /those dependent on you are cared for. But even with material things, they need the person in their life.)

shard972 8y ago

I'm curious how you think the industry should be treating suicide? I'm not sure if the hotel of death is the right way to go about things, and checking up on every guest from in-town to see if they are going to kill themselves doesn't seem very practical. > Instead we prefer to sweep away the deaths of people because it's bad for business. Because it's gruesome and the reality is too much to bear. I assume the "we" here refers to society? If so, I don't really see the issue of not announcing to everyone that there is a dead guy here and parading them around or something. The issues behind suicide are quite complex and even if we are talking about suicide driven by a disconnection from all aspects of society, i don't see how hotels can even hope to help fix this problem.

slededit 8y ago
I find people need someone to blame for things. It makes the world seem more manageable. It’s not really a rational reaction to the situation.
DanBC 8y ago
There are some quick easy things hotels can do. They can sell only small quantities of medication commonly used in suicide attempts. They can make it harder to access the rooftop of buildings. They can put small signs giving contact details for a suicide prevention organisation in key places. These aren't going to end suicide, but they do help reduce the numbers.
- EmpirePhoenix 8y ago
  They do already, even without any goodwill, a suicide costs north of a few thousand, so it makes sense to try to reduce them.

TazeTSchnitzel 8y ago

In general, it's not the hotels' fault that guests commit suicide. Maybe Las Vegas hotels which are also casinos deserve some scorn, however.

tunap 8y ago
I was in Vegas last month for work & a woman was wailing in an adjacent room from 3am until I left around 6:30am. It was unsettling, to say the least. I could only imagine what events led up to her crisis & what fallout followed. It made for a sobering day of contemplation... I struggled w/ gamblig addiction in my youth. Coincidentally, I was asked no less than 5xs that day if I had bought my billion dollar lottery ticket... nobody cared for my response; "You can't lose if you don't play." On topic, sorta: does anyone know the comedian who's skit is about a follow up phone call from management(police?) concerning a murder in an adjacent room she was staying in? Heard the skit on the radio a few months back and have wonderwd/searched for her name to no avail.

onetimemanytime 8y ago

People want to kill themselves, very hard to stop. If not hotels, they'll choose another way. As for hotels: You pay $250 for the room and do NOT want nosy employees asking or watching you carefully, 99+% just want to stay there and be left alone, unless they call you.

Xylakant 8y ago
While it's basically impossible to stop a person that is really really determined to kill themselves, many suicides can be prevented by making the means less available. For example, reducing the package size of paracetamol and requiring blister packaging instead of bottles reduced the number of suicides in Britain: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/a-simple-way-to-reduce-suicides/ https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/a-simple-wa... You can still walk into as many pharmacies and buy as many tablets as you want in total, so in theory this shouldn't change anything. People still can - and do - kill themselves with tablets. In practice, it requires a much more premeditated plan which seems to hold off a substantial quantity of people.
- isostatic 8y ago
  The rational mind would see no difference between having to pop the pills out of the blisters individually or just having a tub of them. A rational mind treats "I want to commit suicide" as a problem, and comes up with a myriad of solutions. It's not exactly hard to commit suicide in theory. However people who commit suicide tend not to be thinking rationally, and it's amazing how small things can really help with reducing suicide.
  - onetimemanytime 8y ago
    Probably they want to kill themselves a certain second, but as climb the stairs, load the magazine or start unwrapping the Tylenols they change their minds. (The mind is fickle like that, different people handle life issues differently so I pass no judgment. Personally, I think suicide is somewhat selfish, unless your children, parents /those dependent on you are cared for. But even with material things, they need the person in their life.)