How do I get rid of unwanted transexuals?

September 10, 2004 9:20 AM

A friend of mine I know online works at an old hotel in New Orleans and he's trying to get rid of a group of trannies who are in and out at all hours of night running an escort service or some such shit. He called the cops but they seemed to not really care. What methods would you recommend for getting rid of them? Keep in mind the head one is about 6'6", and about 400 pounds, so brute force isn't in many cases an option.

Also, there's about 10-15 of them total.

posted by angry modem to human relations (14 comments total)

Get a new job.

Other than refusing service to them there isn't really anything that can be done. If this escalates, it'll at least turn into a crime that the police will be interested in.
posted by esch at 9:29 AM on September 10, 2004

Armed security guards. Lots of them.

Invite a couple of church groups in to picket and to take pictures.

Put a big sign on the window: "ATTENTION: Beware of transvestite prostitutes." Include pictures of their faces.

Better, post the above sign all over the neighborhood. Don't include the hotel's address, though, or you might attract more people you don't want.

Find out if the trannies have other lives and threaten to share their secret with people they'd rather not know.
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:45 AM on September 10, 2004

raise the room rate? (doubt he has control over it, tho.)
posted by Hankins at 9:49 AM on September 10, 2004

When I was in college I worked in a lot of hotels, because I could get paid to do my homework. Anyway, I've had to deal with my fair share of prostitutes and freaks in my day. One place in particular was the Carlton Hotel. While they rented rooms to plenty of nice, normal folks, we also had a building next door where we rented out weekly studios. Some of the people were cool, but there were others who were less desirable. By the time I quit, I was on a first name basis with the cops and I saw some terrible tragic shit that I'll never forget.

Anyway, the worst thing about having prostitutes in the hotel is that they create more work for you. Now if they want to sell their bodies (that sucks) that's their business. But, they aren't going to do it my hotel. Prostitutes get phone calls all night long. It sucks. Anyway, if I got a hooker in the hotel, I'd wait until thier payment ran out and then I'd lock them out of the room. You refuse to take anymore payment and only open the door for them to get their stuff. It sucks, but, you can't have those kind of things going on in your business.

I also found it handy to keep a baseball bat under the desk. I never hit anyone with it, but when you want someone twice your size to shut up it helps to slam that thing down on the counter nice and forceful like. A 70 year old midget who worked there taught me that trick. Toughest SOB I every met.
posted by trbrts at 10:07 AM on September 10, 2004

I suppose just asking is out of the question.

It's a hotel. If you ask them to leave and they don't, isn't that something they can be arrested for? Change the locks. Surely you have a credit card on file for them. Why is this hard? Don't hotels have a system for dealing with guests who turn out to be trouble?
posted by y6y6y6 at 10:10 AM on September 10, 2004

MetaFilter: a group of trannies who are in and out at all hours of night

I couldn't resist.

But seriously, if they're determined to use this hotel as their base of operations, all you can do is make it undesirable to them (which, unfortunately, may make it undesirable to actual guests, too).

Threatening or harassing them is just likely to wind up with them exacting revenge, and I don't think anyone wants to feel the wrath of a 400lb tranny (unless he's paying for it by the hour).
posted by uncleozzy at 10:18 AM on September 10, 2004

Best AskMeFi question yet!
posted by Fupped Duck at 10:32 AM on September 10, 2004

where in town?
if it's the tranny sector i doubt he'll ever be rid totally of them but if they are recent additions, the only way i know is to make it too inconvenient to bother. disconnecting public phones or restricting them, private security to enforce if they are not customers, large standard warning signs, and i suggest some canny pointed signs about HIV/STD transmission with big arrows toward where they stand, and pointed floor cleaning with strong odors in their general direction to keep em moving. (additives can make it very unpleasant in a constricted area.)
if these hustlers have nothing to lose and are on different drugs, they will be tougher mentally but weaker physically against emetic reactions.
like sick sticks, nausea/gastric distress is a very effective disabler.
maybe "special" desk mints for the ladies? (many non harmful suggestions there.)
posted by ethylene at 10:46 AM on September 10, 2004

Many years back, I had a somewhat similar situation. I was living in a house that had been split up into apartments, and a group of prostitutes of assorted genders ended up renting one of the upstairs rooms. At first it was ok, as they cleaned the bathroom, which was something the rest of us were unlikely to do.

However, johns, loud late-night new wave disco, and visits from the constabulary began to throw a pall over the situation.

I seem to recall the solution involved 6 am, Black Flag's "Damaged", and someone's bass amp wheeled up to their door.

/not really relevant, bored at work.
posted by alex_reno at 11:19 AM on September 10, 2004

You can get rid of the tranny but you can't take the tranny out of New Orleans.

All the suggestions thus far (except for the excellent trbrts suggestion) are all administratively based. If your friend does not have administrative power then get another job. I know that sounds like an easy answer but New Orleans is always going to have a certain, mmmm ambiance, so I don't think you can change that, but there are nicer parts of New Orleans.

Most trannies have been to hell and back (Hedwig and his angered itch... not inch), so there's probably not much you can do that they will react to. The best is to raise prices and make a very inhospitable place for them (close down the bar for awhile, put crosses in rooms, make sure you patrol the hallways).

I think perhaps the biggest thing no one has said is the installation of cameras. Make sure people see them and put them everywhere. You don't even have to hook them up, but if the clientele things it is being watched, they'd be less apt to do their business there. John from suburbia doesn't want Martha to know about his late night, coke-filled ass play. Or maybe he secretly does...
posted by geoff. at 11:24 AM on September 10, 2004

I'm confused... He's running the hotel? Then why not just refuse to rent them rooms?
posted by taz at 11:56 AM on September 10, 2004

A 70 year old midget who worked there taught me that trick

This is my new favorite phrase. I will attempt to work it into a real conversation sometime today. Thank you trbrts
posted by shinynewnick at 12:48 PM on September 10, 2004

Uhh, this is way more simple than you are all making it out to be.

Choice #1 (requires cash outlay): Use hotel electronic locks and get them set to only allow a certain number of unlocks per night (say, 2) before management must be called. When you get called you can ask why and suggest how you will escort the person to their room to unlock it with the master key because "the timer can't be reset".

Choice #2 ("free"): Ensure residents at the hotel know that the hotel policy allows one to re-enter the building only twice per night. At night you lock the front door and put up a sign "Ring the bell for service". The clerk will then open the door, and if the face is familiar, the person is escorted to their room, and if there's another guest, their name is taken down and the room billed for the extra guest.

Both ways are suffieciently embarassing for johns and sufficiently inconvenient for hookers I would assume, all the while being reasonably convenient for a normal customer.

But I don't run a hotel so it's just my guess. I did get an A in systems analysis, though. :-D
posted by shepd at 5:30 PM on September 10, 2004

The camera idea is good, though I'd go a step farther. Make sure the customers can see themselves on camera too.

On the other hand if this guy is just a desk clerk and if the actual proprieter is willing to rent to these people I'm not sure it's appropriate to keep them out. I'm assuming the owner isn't a senile old man who thinks he's renting to some nice girls who happen to get a lot of guests.
posted by substrate at 6:47 PM on September 10, 2004