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Dear Abby: Frustrated hoteliers vent

● DEAR ABBY: Thank you for the letter about hotel workers and how we're not baby-sitters. I am shocked how often parents leave young children unattended in the rooms. They assume if the door locks behind them, the child is contained and safe. Not true! Many times, toddlers with limited speaking ability open the door and end up roaming the floor or the lobby. It's frustrating trying to locate the absent parents in the gym, spa, restaurant, shop or bar. I want to make sure your message that hotel staff cannot be baby-sitters and conduct business is repeated even more sternly. Thank you, Abby! - Hotelier in Orlando, Fla.

DEAR HOTELIER: When I printed that letter, I had no idea it would touch so many nerves. Read on: ● DEAR ABBY: I travel 10 to 12 times a year, and I can see what the writer is talking about at almost every hotel I stay in. I was in a hotel restaurant in Washington, D.C., recently. A couple had their 2-year-old with them. The child was running wild all over the restaurant, which had a large 2-foot-deep fountain next to it. The staff repeatedly requested that the parents keep their child near them and received no support. Needless to say, the child wandered over the bridge by the fountain, crawled through the railings and fell in face first. (It was about 10 feet from where I was sitting.) I jumped in and pulled the kid out while the parents and staff just watched. Do you know those parents never even thanked me? They just took the child and finished eating! - David in Lake Jackson, Texas

DEAR DAVID: Just when I think I've heard everything, I receive a letter like yours. ● DEAR ABBY: I have worked at a hotel in northern Minnesota for three years. We often host kids' sports teams and their parents. The parents regard these tournament weekends as a private getaway and often leave their children alone in the hotel. With no supervision, the children run up and down the halls, make noise and disturb other guests. Thank you, Abby, for urging parents to pay more attention to how their children behave at hotels. It's not only for the benefit of other guests, but also for the safety of their young ones. DEAR DESK CLERK: You're welcome.