Hotel Sues Over Homecoming Damages

VAN NUYS —  A hotel is suing the parents of 16 Taft High School students who rented rooms the night of a homecoming dance in November, throwing a party that allegedly left several rooms in shambles, disrupted guests and ended only after police were called.

Airtel Plaza Hotel filed a small-claims lawsuit Monday, seeking $3,327 in damages, much of which would go to cover about 30 rooms for which it compensated angry guests on Nov. 15, 1997, said Kevin McCarthy, the Van Nuys hotel’s general manager.

An April 22 court date in Van Nuys Municipal Court has been set.

For the night of the homecoming dance, parents of 16 students from the Woodland Hills school reserved rooms for their sons and daughters, McCarthy said. Students began arriving at 11 p.m., and by midnight nearly 300 of them had come to the hotel. Employees called police.

“Word must have gotten out at the high school that there was a free party at Airtel Plaza Hotel,” McCarthy said.

Students began spilling out of the rented hotel rooms into the corridors, he alleged, ripping out ceiling tiles, smashing exit signs and spraying fire extinguishers.

“There was no consideration for my other guests,” McCarthy said. “They were banging on doors, running up and down the corridors, vandalizing my hotel and creating havoc.”

On Friday, one parent contacted declined to comment on the allegations. Others did not return phone calls, and some could not be reached Friday night.

According to a Los Angeles Police Department report, the raucous party lasted five hours and resulted in damage to furniture, carpeting and wallpaper. The report estimated the hotel’s loss at $4,000.

Hotel officials called a meeting with parents and school administrators in January at the school and said they were looking for repayment for the lost revenue, McCarthy said. Several parents denied their children were involved, and one inquired why business insurance wasn’t picking up the tab, he said.

The hotel sent out letters following the meeting, telling parents that the hotel would not file a claim with its insurer because its policy carried a $5,000 deductible.

“We ask that you please reflect on what is fair and equitable to resolve this matter, and whether you want to contribute voluntarily at this time . . . to get closure on this unfortunate incident,” the letter reads.

No one responded to the letter, McCarthy said, adding that the hotel had little choice but to sue.

“We’re in business for a profit,” McCarthy said. “We can’t lose that kind of money.”