New Hampshire ski resort hotel offers humiliating apology to 40 UK students after destroying their passports and stranding them in the US: Box containing documents ‘accidentally’ dumped with rubbish and destroyed
- The Kancamagus Lodge management team have taken ‘full responsibility’ for the ‘mishandling’ of 42 Barr Beacon School students and the passports of four staff members.
- The students had to travel to the British Embassy in New York City, which is more than 300 miles away, to request emergency documents to fly home.
- Their stay in the United States was extended by four days while they awaited the documents. They were initially scheduled to fly home on February 25, but flew out on March 1.
A New Hampshire ski resort hotel has apologized to more than 40 UK students after accidentally destroying their passports, stranding them in the US.
The management team at Kancamagus Lodge have taken “full responsibility” for the “mishandling of our guests’ passports” after they “accidentally” knocked over a box full of UK passports while a manager was cleaning the administration office on February 19th.
‘While collecting items to dispose of, a box of passports belonging to one of our international ski groups was accidentally placed in our private and secure on-site rubbish bin. Our contracted and scheduled junk removal company emptied the dumpster and promptly destroyed all contents,” the management team explained.
“We take full responsibility and offer a genuine apology to our guests and the community. We have a responsibility to protect our guests and their information. Unfortunately, we did not live up to this responsibility and our actions threatened the trust of our guests that we have built over the years.’
The 42 Barr Beacon School students and four staff members had to travel to the British Embassy in New York City, which is more than 300 miles away, to request emergency documents to fly home.
The management team at Kancamagus Lodge have taken “full responsibility” for the “mishandling” of the passports of 42 Barr Beacon School students and four staff, after “accidentally” throwing them away while cleaning the back office.
The 42 Barr Beacon School students (pictured) and four staff members had to travel to the British Embassy in New York City, which is over 300 miles away, to apply for emergency documents to fly home .
Their stay in the United States was extended by four days while they awaited the documents. They were initially scheduled to fly home on February 25, but flew out on March 1.
Management was notified of the error after a chaperone asked to add a passport to the box and a staff member noticed the box was missing.
“We deployed our management team to try and rectify this action, but to our horror, there was no way to correct this action and return passports to our guests,” the statement said.
Due to the passport situation, the students stayed one more night at the Lodge. The group then traveled to New York on an impromptu sightseeing tour of the Big Apple as British officials scramble to sort through their new documentation.
“We have 42 students and four staff members currently in New York after 41 of the passports were destroyed while the group was staying at the hotel in New Hampshire,” Principal Katie Hibbs said. birmingham live last week.
His ski trip had previously been canceled twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Their stay in the United States was extended by four days while they awaited the documents. They were initially scheduled to fly home on February 25, but flew out on March 1.
The cohort of stranded children toured the Big Apple, seeing sights from the Staten Island Ferry and New York’s Central Park.
‘The group had to request emergency documentation to allow them to travel home. The British Embassy in New York has completed the applications with the students and the documents will be collected on the day of their travel to leave the US.
“The group is currently in New York, where they await their flight back home, four days later than planned.”
It is understood by students from 8 to 10 years and with ages between 12 and 15 years.
His ski trip had previously been canceled twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Parents have praised school staff for their ‘phenomenal’ response to the issue, with Hibbs adding that she was proud of her team for ‘handling this very complicated situation’.
The mother of one of the girls stranded in the United States told the BBC: ‘It was a really horrible shock.
The management team said they would work to review the protocol to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“This is the first time he has been away from his family for so long. And what they were doing was really challenging: skiing black slopes or blue slopes, depending on their experience.’
The mother, who did not want to be named, praised the teaching staff for supporting the students and Hibbs for implementing a plan and making sure parents completed the necessary paperwork within 24 hours.
“The way the director has been solving problems remotely has been fantastic,” he said.
The cohort of stranded children toured the Big Apple, seeing sights from the Staten Island Ferry to New York’s Central Park.
Hibbs added that staff “on the ground are supporting students to explore the city on a dwindling budget.”
