At Parrot cove lodge, as well as almost every other Hotel in the world we do have a security guard on duty at night.

It is not that we have real security threats, but it is more to have a person available to deal with after hour check-ins and early check-outs and to have a go-to person at night for our guests, so I can have my much-needed beauty sleep.

There is a person for every job, and most of the guys I hired over the years love their job, but personally I would hate to do this shift. I think it is brutal to stay up all night, patrolling a small area and I admire the good guys I had over the years that stay alert and awake all night.

Over the years we’ve also had quite some jokers and funny incidents where you really ask yourself ‘what was this guy thinking?’.

I had a guy calling me at 6:00 am, where I normally have my first coffee, (and really need it). His shift just ended, and he wanted to go home. He asked me if I could take him home with my car. When I asked him why he wouldn’t take his bicycle as usual, he mentioned he brought it to work last night but couldn’t remember ‘where he parked it’.

People familiar with our small hotel, understand it is very hard to lose a bicycle on a ½ acre property….

One morning, doing my rounds at the breakfast table, where I check with my guests on their experience with us, I asked a couple how they were sleeping. They said they had 2 nights of terrible night rest. Shocked I asked them why. They mentioned that the room was perfect, the bed was comfortable, the AC ran at the right temperature so that was not the issue.

While pressing them to find out what the issue was, they mention that my security guard had chosen a chair just outside their door to take a little break. But the last 2 nights the little break lasted for 6 hours, which wasn’t what bothered the guests, what bothered them was the fact that he snored so loud that it kept them awake! They actually taped it on their phone, and I have to admit it sounded like a whole family of howler monkeys sitting on their roof!

Totally embarrassed I laughed it of with my guests, who luckily where very understanding and I had ‘a fatherly talk’ with my security guard…..  

Then not so many moons ago I again needed to hire a new guard. The successful applicant was a strong, healthy-looking lad, probably almost double my weight. He looked very alert, switched on, and eager to work.

On the third night of his job he called me at 3 am to come down immediately. Most people understand that getting a call around 3 in the morning cannot mean anything good, so I got dressed in 6 seconds and rushed down to the hotel, ready for, and expecting the worst. At first, I couldn’t find my guard, but then I saw him sitting on the steps. I asked him what was going on?

His reply was to groan, ‘ Me belly da hurt’. Not totally understanding the scope of his emergency I asked him again what was going on.

Again, he groaned that his belly was hurting him. I asked him if there was any medical history I should know about, or if he was on any medication. He said no, but he often has belly pain. When it happens, at home he would ask his wife to ‘rub his belly’ and he always feels much better after that.

He asked me since his wife wasn’t there if I could rub his belly…!

I have been through extended first aid training and have dealt with serious issues over the years. This surely wasn’t one of them. I asked him if he really thought it was a good idea to wake me up at 3 in the morning to ask me to rub his belly and his answer was YES.

Since I slightly disagreed with him on that matter, I did send him home…