In the wake of several high-profile sexual assaults on hotel maids (remember this guy? And this one, too?), some hotels are now offering self-defense classes for their housekeeping staff.
Management at the posh Pierre hotel, where Egyptian banker Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar attacked a maid, brought in a second-degree black belt instructor, Mary Ann Carron, to teach hotel staffers a series of self-defense moves designed to deter sketchy guests. Carron taught the staff how to attack with their hands ("Don't strike with your fist because you could break your knuckles!") and stomp the assailant's feet if they sneak up from behind. "She was testing you," said one staffer. "I feel prepared."
While a half-hour class likely won't turn the maids into Bruce Lee-style kung fu masters (they'd need at least an hour for that), it is, at the very least, a good start. So far, the Pierre is one of the few hotels offering self-defense classes for its staff, though a spokesman for the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council said he thinks other hotels will start doing the same.
