Tui warns hotels on balcony safety

Tui is cracking down on hotels that flout health and safety rules for families.

The operator is particularly concerned about hotels that put families in rooms with balconies that have sizeable gaps between railings.

It will impose a ‘child bar’ on some properties, meaning families with children under a certain age cannot book the hotel with Tui.

Previously, Tui required hotels to agree not to allow children aged under five into rooms with gaps in balonies more than 10cm wide.

Tui said this “wasn’t always happening” and had decided to make them unavailable for agents to book on its browser.

The first hotel to have the child bar imposed is the Melia Jardines del Teide Tenerife.

Restrictions will be lifted if hotels reduce balcony gaps.

A Tui spokeswoman said the policy was not in response to any particular incident and it did not indicate how many hotels were likely to be affected.

“The health and safety of our customers is paramount,” she said. “We regularly audit all hotels to ensure they meet industry standards and we take appropriate actions where necessary.”

Nikki White, director of destinations and sustainability at Abta, said members, such as Tui, were responsible for conducting their own hotel risk assessments.

She said: “Abta, together with leading experts in their various fields, has produced a health and safety technical book which offers detailed guidance for members and their suppliers.”

Thomas Cook last week axed more than 100 partner hotels that failed to meet its standards.