Episode 3 Holiday Hit Squad

# Ole, ole, feeling hot, hot, hot #

Millions of you are already flicking through your holiday brochures,

choosing where you're going to spend your two weeks in the sun.

We all put our faith and our hard-earned cash in the holiday industry

and hope it lives up to our expectations.

But sadly, that's not always the case.

Even a perfectly planned holiday can turn into a nightmare.

It was just a crash. And I heard the bones of my legs break.

-It's what you'd call a holiday from hell.

-I'm just appalled.

Agh. That hurts, yeah.

We are the Holiday Hit Squad and our mission, quite simply,

is to ensure that you get the best holiday possible

by sharing with you some of the tricks of the trade.

'We're travelling the world to some of Britain's favourite hotspots

'to see what can happen when your holiday goes seriously wrong.'

-It's really frightened you, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

You just want to go home.

'I'm pulling back the covers...' This bed has cockroaches crawling over it.

'..to reveal the type of hotels that you wouldn't send our worst enemies to.'

-That's a long way down.

-It is.

-You are not going to survive that.

'And I'm turning holiday horrors...'

Passports, driving licences, cash,

absolutely everything on the back seat had gone.

-'..into holiday heaven.'

-That is just so beautiful.

-Coming up on the programme...

-'We're in Thailand with a couple

'whose view from their hotel balcony was a work in progress.'

It was just a complete construction site going on next door.

'We're in Spain at the one place you don't want to visit as a tourist.'

-He said it is broken.

-It is broken?

-Yeah.

'And in Greece, at a rundown hotel that's lost its spark.'

If you see anything like that, please don't touch it.

More of us complain about hotel accommodation

than anything else to do with our holidays.

But it does seem as if, no matter how much research you might do,

you never really know what's in store for you until you actually check in.

'We've all been there. You've booked a hotel that looks like it had it all.

'Luxury rooms, fine dining and stunning views.'

# I know a place where the sun hits the sky #

'But have ended up with a barren bedroom, mediocre food

'and a location that leaves a lot to the imagination.

'Frankly, it's time we put our foot down.

'So we're visiting some of those horror hotels

'on a quest to bring them back up to standard.'

Well, I've just arrived in Rhodes. Great weather and a lovely view. I'm about to check into the Hotel Maran.

Now, the thing to say about this place is it's a basic two/three star,

so quite affordable and certainly a popular destination for British holidaymakers.

What doesn't matter is the star rating. What does matter is that the simple things are right.

It's got to be clean, it's got to be safe and it's got to be enjoyable.

So, I'll check in and see how we get on.

'It looks like a great location.

'The 80-bed Maran Hotel is just nine miles from Rhodes old town

'and a short walk from some spectacular coastline.'

# Ooh, heaven is a place on earth #

'But online reviewers have complained about its very basic facilities

'and its low levels of cleanliness.'

Right, this is 233.

This is me.

OK.

So, it's kind of, I think, what I was expecting.

So it all looks fairly clean on the floor.

The bed sheets look clean.

It's got a basic kitchen unit, a simple hob, en suite, it's got air-con.

So for the money, two/three star, I think this is probably just about what you expect to get.

'Owner Terry has been in charge for over 20 years.

'Rooms may only cost 25 Euros per night,

'but with complaints on the up and bookings going down,

'he's asked us to help save his hotel.'

# Save me

# Somebody save me #

'I've only just arrived and I've already heard from one guest who's less than impressed.'

-Hey, Derek, how you doing?

-All right?

-Good to see you.

Now, I'm curious to learn about this bathroom of yours. Is it here?

-Yes. We're having a bit of a smell in here.

-Yeah?

-We've got this awful smell coming up.

-It's definitely coming from that drain?

-Definitely.

-I can't smell it.

-It seems OK.

-It's when we have a shower and the water's going down.

Oh, yeah.

-Oh, that's strong, isn't it?

-It's very strong. Very strong.

As I say, you can smell it now, can't you?

-It just hasn't been cleaned at all.

-It's absolutely terrible.

-That's not good at all.

-It's not good at all. When I took the cover off,

-it was just all gunge, thick with hair, really matted up.

-Urgh.

'Derek is clearly not happy.

'I think it's time to call in reinforcements.

'Simon Gregory works as a health and safety inspector for a large multinational company.

'First he wants to check out the bedrooms.'

Right, now, here we have what I would probably describe as a bedroom that's typical in this hotel.

First impressions as you come in?

OK, first impressions as I walk in, what am I looking for?

The main thing I want to see in the bedroom is a fire alarm,

smoke alarm, any form of protection from fire.

Now, the first thing is I'm looking for a fire plan on the back of the door over there.

There isn't anything at all when we walk in.

Nothing in the corners, no smoke alarm at all.

-I can't even see a smoke alarm.

-Exactly. Smoke alarm, where is it? There isn't one. So big, big problem.

'Fire safety should be a priority in a room that's advertised as self-catering

'and so should basic kitchen hygiene.

'This little gismo will check whether the cutlery has been properly cleaned.'

Just to give you an idea, 0 to 30 is the parameters for what it should be.

That's basically clean.

Any more than that is dirty.

# Cos you're filthy #

-90.

-I think the cleaning is working in here, it just needs to be tighter.

'And the same goes for the bathroom.'

OK, 75. It isn't clean.

What we'll do is recommend that they give it another clean.

I'll also find out whether they actually clean these regularly.

But by the looks of it, it's not filthy.

'Everything about the Maran seems tired and unloved.

'And in the bathroom, I've found something that's truly shocking.'

Now, I don't think that's still connected to the mains,

but I don't know, and it doesn't feel like it should work like that.

It's not ideal, no. You've got lots of exposed wires there.

It's not good at all. The main thing I would say is please don't touch it.

If you see anything like that, anything that gets broken, report it.

'Exposed wires could be lethal,

'especially in a bathroom.

'Coming up, Simon's worried that guest safety is on the slide.'

It's just an accident waiting to happen, in my opinion.

'And I put hotel manager Terry on the spot.'

-The rooms don't seem to have smoke alarms.

-No.

'Two and a half million British holidaymakers visit Majorca every year.'

# We are young, we run green

# See our friends, see the sights

# Feel all right #

'But while most of us are having the time of our lives on the beaches,

'as ever, I've been given an access-all-areas pass

'to join the army of people whose job it is to keep us safe from crime,

'to help us if we lose our travel documents...' Oh, dear.

'..or calm things down if the partying gets a bit out of hand.'

-What's happening?

-There's a fight here.

-They're fighting.

'Tonight I investigate what happens if you find yourself in need of emergency medical treatment.'

# Feel all right #

SIREN WAILS

Here on the island of Majorca, over the last two years, they've seen an increase of 132 percent

in the number of Britons who need to be hospitalised,

for everything from falling off hotel balconies

to road accidents, broken bones, food poisoning and serious illness.

So I'm here this week to see how Britons abroad are supported by the medical professionals.

'The Juaneda Hospital treats up to 100 tourists a day in high season.

'Claudia La Vell's holiday has been interrupted by stomach pains

'so severe that she's been rushed into the A&E department by her husband, Steve.'

-What's brought you here?

-Yesterday afternoon, my other half started feeling ill

and started being sick.

Didn't know what it was. We'd both had the same sort of food and the same drinks.

-And you felt fine.

-I felt fine, no problems at all.

-And she just got progressively worse.

-How concerned are you about her?

Yeah, I'm worried. Just hanging on and see how we get on.

'With as many as one in five tourists suffering from some kind of tummy bug whilst abroad,

'it's the most commonly reported travel illness.

'But coordinator Natalia has already run some tests

'and she's brought Claudia the results.'

We can see you are dehydrated

and there's a little bit of infection.

You have gastroenteritis. So it's going to be necessary to keep you overnight.

-OK.

-OK? And you cannot eat or drink anything.

'A bout of gastroenteritis and a night in hospital

'is not what Claudia and Steve had in mind

'when they booked their summer holiday.'

Booked in a room here for a night, have you?

-You OK?

-No sunbathing.

-No sunbathing.

-Not what we had planned, is it, eh?

-No.

'Poor Claudia's going to have to spend the next 24 hours on a hospital drip.

'Last year, on average, 70 British people were hospitalised every week whilst abroad.

'And older travellers can be even more at risk

'as they are more likely to have pre-existing medical conditions.

'After spending yesterday enjoying the sunshine,

'73-year-old Kevin Amer is the latest arrival to the hospital's A&E department.

'His anxious wife Maureen is in the waiting room.'

-You must be a bit worried.

-Oh, very, yes.

Really. We don't know whether he's had one of these TIAs.

-A mini-stroke.

-Yeah. And he had a little episode last night

and then this morning he had another one,

and so we called the Juaneda doctor.

He came out and said he thinks it's better if he comes and gets checked out.

'With Kevin showing all the telltale signs of a classic stroke victim,

'the hospital are taking no chances

'and send him for an immediate brain scan.

'Kevin is going through everyone's worst holiday nightmare,

'becoming seriously ill whilst abroad.'

It can be a bit overwhelming when you're in a foreign hospital if you don't speak the language

when you've got, as you have here, four people around you

all speaking in a language you don't understand.

'If you're insured, efforts will be made to have you treated

'in a hospital where English is spoken.

'If not, you may be able to claim back on translation bills.

'This scan will help determine whether Kevin has suffered any permanent damage.'

Well, they've moved you, so what's going to happen now?

Well, he's going up to a room and I think he's going to be in for a couple of days.

They're going to do some more tests. And I'm staying with him tonight.

-You're going to stay in the hospital tonight, are you?

-Yes.

-They've got double beds here.

-Not looking forward to that.

'Luckily, they're insured.

'But Kevin and Maureen must now wait to see how many nights of their holiday they'll spend in hospital.

'Later in the programme, we'll be back with Kevin at the Juaneda Hospital

'as he waits to hear his test results.

'And we'll meet Janine who, after a day at a water park,

'took more of a slide than she bargained for.'

I'm hoping I haven't broken it, but it is very painful across here.

These days, almost half of us choose to book our holidays ourselves

rather than go through a travel agent or a tour operator.

You've got the world at your fingertips or at the click of a mouse.

It really is just all too easy.

But it's also easy for things to go wrong.

Helen investigates.

'Most of us can't bear the thought of missing out on an annual holiday.

'It's a chance to escape our everyday lives.

'We dream of the perfect getaway.'

# I'm so excited

# And I just can't hide it #

'But no matter how well a holiday is planned,

'for some, the dream can turn into a nightmare.

'I'm meeting travellers who've had the holiday from hell.'

Flames rushed out of this bottle, straight in Kirsty's face.

'And doing my best to give them an experience that is simply unforgettable.'

That is amazing. SHE LAUGHS

For most of us, going on holiday is a chance to visit somewhere new and exciting.

But if you've never been there, how can you make sure

that the holiday you're booking is all it's cracked up to be?

'Nicky and Rob Ritchie are a prime example of a new generation of holidaymakers

'who have abandoned the travel companies to plan and book their holidays independently.'

We don't usually book package holidays.

We tend to book hotels and flights and make our own itinerary.

'But even seasoned travellers can come a cropper when booking online.

'In 2011, they booked a hotel in Thailand through a website

'advertising luxury rooms.'

It had a really nice view into the Bay of Patong,

it was just far enough away where it was escaping the noise.

Everything looked ideal for what we were looking for, nice and tranquil and close to the sea.

'The Ritchies paid £300 upfront

'and were thrilled at the prospect of spending five days basking on Thailand's tropical beaches

'and living the life of luxury

'in what looked like a dream hotel.

'Arriving late at night, the Ritchies went straight to bed.

'But the next day, they had a rude awakening.'

ENGINES WHIRR

It was probably about eight o'clock,

maybe half seven in the morning when the banging was going on.

We didn't know what all the noise and commotion was outside

so we opened up our curtains

and there was just a complete construction site going on next door.

'This video, shot by Rob from his bedroom,

'shows the full extent of what was going on right on their doorstep.'

BANGING

There was workers outside, trucks going past,

workers lifting, pulleying things up.

There was all the semi-permanent village which had been erected next to us.

It was a tin town, like a shanty town.

They had all the animals living there and all the rubbish, which they burned on a daily basis,

so you constantly had smoke going over from all the burning rubbish.

We expressed that we weren't particularly happy

about the whole situation. They said there was very little we could do.

Refunds were not to be given under any circumstance. That was it.

'Robert and Nicky were trapped.

'They'd already paid for their accommodation so moving hotel wasn't an option.'

-We were a bit disappointed, weren't we?

-To say the least.

We'd expected a little bit more going there

and we got a lot more than what we actually bargained for.

-We felt a bit disappointed and let down.

-We felt a bit deceived.

'On their return to Liverpool, they complained to the internet company

'and demanded a refund.

'They eventually received half their money back,

'but their holiday had been ruined.'

I think that they should have put a disclaimer on there

to say that it didn't represent the pictures that they had on their website

and that building work was being done.

You're never guaranteed a problem-free holiday

because things can go wrong.

But making a few simple checks before you go away

could mean the difference between a dream holiday and a nightmare one.

'We'll be coming back to help the couple out later in the programme.'

# Sun is in the sky, oh, why, oh, why would I wanna be anywhere else? #

'The Spanish island of Majorca,

'Britain's favourite holiday destination.

'But the one place you'd rather not visit when you're here is Juaneda Hospital.

'Kevin Amer was rushed in yesterday with stroke-like symptoms.'

-Hi, Viv.

-Hello!

-Morning.

'Viv is one of the hospital's interpreters,

'who's on hand to help us Brits in distress.'

As a rule, they'll come in with dehydration,

it's one of the primary problems.

But I think what it does do is it actually sets off all their underlying problems,

and people who have underlying problems, like high blood pressure and diabetes and so on,

they can decompensate, and I think this is what we see quite a lot of.

'It's touch and go as to whether Kevin can continue his holiday.'

# I need a doctor

# I need a doctor #

'Viv is on her way to tell him his results.'

-Hello!

-Good morning!

-Good morning!

'And whether he can leave the hospital today.'

And so it's a tiny little clot that's gone into a tiny vessel,

so it hasn't given a big stroke or anything like that.

The next test we've got to do is a cardiac ultrasound, OK?

And then if tomorrow everything is OK,

-perhaps we can let you go, OK? But it will depend on how you are.

-Yes.

All right. Thank you.

'Sadly, Kevin faces another night in the hospital

'and another night waiting to hear how much of their holiday is going to be affected.

'Meanwhile, patients just keep on arriving.

'In A&E, the Coward family have come straight from a water park.'

-Hello. You look as if you've been in the wars.

-Oh, hello!

-What have you done?

-I've been at the water park,

hence the wet skirt,

and I was going down one of those blue mat things you slide down with your wrists

-and twisted my arm.

-Oh, no!

I'm hoping I haven't broken it, but it is very painful across here.

Yes. SHE GASPS

'Janine is sent for an immediate X-ray.

'Swimming accidents rank among the most common causes of holiday casualties abroad every year.

'Janine has been one of the unlucky ones

'and can only hope to salvage at least the last two days of her holiday.

'Within minutes, the results are back.'

Well, by the look of it, the doctor's now got his X-ray and...

Yes, in fact, they're looking at it on the screen. He's telling her what she's done.

-He said it is broken.

-It is broken?

-Yeah.

-And is it the wrist or the arm?

-In two places. In the wrist, I think.

Two places in the wrist? You've really done a job on it, haven't you?

-I've been oh so brave.

-SHE LAUGHS Mummy's got two breaks?

'Nine-year-old Ruby is already something of a medic in the making.'

You're going to make a good doctor! SHE LAUGHS

'More British holidaymakers are hospitalised in Spain than anywhere else in the world.'

Do you get many British people

-having injuries like this?

-In summer, yes.

-Normal.

-THEY LAUGH

'Luckily, Janine won't have to spend the night in hospital.

HE LAUGHS Bye now.

'Though she may have to avoid the water slides for a little while.

'But at least she can continue her holiday.'

Well, I'm impressed.

From the moment that Janine, her husband Alan

and that gorgeous little daughter of theirs walked in here

to the moment where they're now getting into a taxi,

it's taken 45 minutes,

and in that time, Janine was seen by a nurse,

X-rayed, diagnosed,

had the plaster put on and sent home.

Now, that's what you call a team of professionals.

'But not everybody gets back to their holiday so quickly.

'Poor Claudia has to stay in overnight,

'and the following morning, I'm back at Juaneda to see how she's getting on.'

-Morning, Claudia.

-Morning.

-How you feeling this morning?

-A lot better than yesterday, thank you.

-Gosh, you were in a bit of a mess yesterday.

-Yes.

So how do you feel this morning about what they might say to you?

Erm... I'm hoping they'll say that things are improving.

I'm waiting for blood tests to come back.

-Hello, Claudia.

-Hi, Viv.

-How are you doing?

'Viv has brought the all-important test results.'

-Yes.

-No nausea, no feeling sick, nothing?

-Yeah, it's gone now.

Wonderful. OK. I've got some really good news for you.

-Have you?

-You're going to be going home.

-Oh, wonderful!

-You've got to take a little bit of care, mind you.

-Yes.

-Be more careful.

-It's the best news you've had today, isn't it?

-Yes.

THEY LAUGH

-See you later, Claudia.

-Yeah.

Bye now.

# Must be talking to an angel #

'Claudia may have to watch what she eats,

'but at least she can try to enjoy the last day of her break.

'Now Viv and I are on our way to see Kevin,

'who's already spent two nights in the hospital.'

So, Viv, what's the prognosis, then?

Well, I think all the news is good.

All your tests are clear, as you know,

and you know that what we think happened

is that you had a small little clot that broke off and went travelling.

The heparin injections that you received have dissolved that clot.

There's no permanent damage. So you are free to go

and you're in good shape, which is most important.

Seriously, I knew I'd be well looked after here.

-Bye now.

-Goodbye.

-Bye.

# A lovely day #

Well, we've waited two days to see that sight.

Happy ending and it's really good to see him looking so well.

'Yet another satisfied customer for this team of professionals.

'More than 800,000 of us visit Thailand every year,

'from backpackers on a budget to families visiting the resorts.

'They're drawn to the stunning beaches,

'exotic food, Far Eastern culture

'and lively nightlife.

'But as with any holiday destination, it's not without its dangers.'

Two Thai guys came up beside us

and leant in and grabbed by bag.

I had a side bag on and I was holding it, as well,

and I grabbed hold of it back and they cut the straps

so I grabbed the straps and they cut the straps away from my hand, so they had the bag.

You've got to keep your wits about you

and be mindful of the darker side of Thailand.

If you get in trouble here,

it's a higher price to pay than maybe you would pay in the UK.

'So if things do go wrong,

'who's there to pick up the pieces?

'We're meeting the local saviours

'whose job it is to help holidaymakers in distress.' SIREN WAILS

-'From embassy staff...'

-I need to get an extension, another 14 days on my passport.

-OK.

'..to volunteer paramedics and tourist police.'

Calm down! Everybody calm down!

'No-one wants difficulties on their holiday,

'but here in Thailand, at least you'll be in good hands.

'Two hours south of Bangkok is the resort of Pattaya,

'where the Thai authorities have set up a police force that's dedicated to helping holidaymakers.

'David and Barry are two of the British officers who regularly help tourists in trouble.

'Barry from Liverpool has been in the force since it was set up over 15 years ago.'

We're here, really, with two roles.

One is a community role,

generally in this street to liaise with people,

to relate to them, to answer their questions,

and then at the other side of it, if there is trouble here

of a violent nature or drunken behaviour,

then we are here under the authority of the regular Thai police

to take whatever action is necessary.

'With 250 bars and clubs, the Walking Street area of Pattaya

'is renowned for its nightlight.

'And things are about to hot up for Londoner and ex-security veteran David.

'This tourist has been attacked in a bar

'and is unable to communicate.'

We're trying to find out what has happened.

At the present time, no-one seems to know.

He's been in some kind of fight somewhere.

I've been trying to assess his injuries and get him to hospital.

We have an ambulance coming down.

'Luckily for this traveller, it's all in a night's work for David and Barry,

'who make sure that he receives medical attention.

'Although badly bruised, the man was released from hospital a few hours later.

'Fortunately, not all tourists here end their night on a stretcher.

'Barry's next customer is British holidaymaker John,

'who's facing a problem of a different kind.'

I went to Siam Commercial Bank,

the nearest ATM to where I was,

put my card in and it swallowed the card

and it said, "Contact your issuing bank."

Have you any theory about why the credit card was swallowed?

No. As far as I know, the balance is absolutely fine.

'These days, we take it for granted

'that we can access our cash from any ATM in the world.

'But the Foreign Office does recommend carrying a mixed wallet

'that includes cash, traveller's cheques and pre-paid cards.

'There's no sign of the machine being tampered with,

'and luckily for John, he has friends who can tide him over.'

-I'll buy you a drink if I ever see you.

-OK.

Some people say it's to do with a blip in the electricity supply

and it misreads the card or doesn't accept it,

but there'll be no problem about getting it back.

'Despite Barry's reassurance, John decided to play it safe

'by cancelling his card the next morning.

'The Khaosan Road in Bangkok is where you'll find most of the action in Thailand.'

# The rhythm of the night, dance until the morning light #

'Packed with hotels, hostels, restaurants and discos,

'it's the beating heart of Bangkok's tourist scene.

'The Khaosan Road police station is open 24 hours a day.

'23-year-old Alex Hindman is on a month-long organised tour of Asia.

'It should be the trip of a lifetime,

'but it's only the third day of his holiday

'and he's arrived at the police station with an urgent problem.'

I was going to the Cambodian border

and, er, we were on the train

and I left my bag in the taxi.

'Alex is stranded alone in Bangkok.

'He's lost everything. His wallet, cash, credit cards,

'and most importantly, his passport.'

I'm going to go to the British Embassy tomorrow to sort out my passport.

For now, all I want to do is get some food and water and go to bed.

'With a flight to Cambodia booked for the morning,

'his group will have to go ahead without him.

'The next morning, stranded Alex heads off to the British consulate, hoping for a rescue plan.'

This is the first time I've ever been abroad quite far away,

and on my own.

'With all his travel documents lost and very little cash,

'Alex is trapped.'

# This is the worst trip

# I've ever been on #

-Hello.

-How can I help you?

I've lost my passport. I need to... This one.

All right, so we need to see your flight

before we issue a passport to you,

because we need your flight to support the document.

-Right, OK.

-So you may need to book your flight before, yeah?

Oh, OK. Thank you.

'British passports are worth up to £2,000 on the black market,

'so the embassy won't issue a temporary one

'without clear evidence of a planned journey.

'As Alex has missed his flight to Cambodia,

'he now has no option but to book another.'

8,400 bahts. That's about £200.

So much money wasted.

Please work. No!

It's said that it can't process the payment. Ohh.

'Once he realised that his bag was missing,

'Alex did exactly the right thing

'and cancelled all his bank cards.

'But now he's stranded in Bangkok.

'Desperate times call for desperate measures.

'Time for a midnight call to his big sister.'

# But I wanna go home

It's about three, four o'clock in the UK, I think.

She's going to kill me.

# I still feel all alone

# Just wanna go home

Hello, Claire. I need you to book me a flight.

Yeah. I'm sorry it's really late, but I'm in the embassy right now

and I need it otherwise I can't get the passport.

'His sister may have agreed to book another flight to Cambodia tomorrow,

'but Alex still needs an emergency passport

'and they cost £97.'

4,940 bahts, please.

Can I take that for you?

-Do you take dollars?

-Erm, no.

Or you can pay by card.

The thing is, I lost all my cards and my money when I lost my passport.

-All right.

-Is there no way around it?

-One moment, please.

# Let me go home

I can't believe they make you pay for one, an emergency passport.

You can't use it again, so why would they make you pay for it? It should be free.

'Some 60,000 British passports are lost every year.

'And without his, Alex is in danger of missing his second flight to Cambodia in two days.

'Coming up, in their eagerness to get home early,

'Laura and Leon are going nowhere fast.'

Leon decided to put them in the safe to keep them safe

and we were rushing in the morning, so we completely forgot and left them.

'And Alex hits rock bottom.'

-Does the embassy do emergency loans or anything like that?

-I'm sorry?

'Here on the Holiday Hit Squad, we're travelling the world to give you the best possible holiday advice.'

-Coming up on the programme...

-'I'm in Greece

'where the Maran Hotel's health and safety manual seems to have gone up in smoke.'

Smoke alarms. The rooms don't seem to have smoke alarms.

'I help the couple who booked a room with no view in Thailand.'

It was a tin town, like a shanty tin town.

'And in Egypt, we found a hotel that you may want to evacuate for good.'

I can't imagine what would be worse, trying to get away from a fire

or having to climb down this fire escape.

-'From mozzie bites...'

-She's not just sucking my blood, she's also peeing on me.

That's a lady.

'..to the holiday sneezes...' HE SNEEZES

'..all too often, an avoidable ailment can ruin our week in the sun.'

A burn like this, I mean, aside from the fact it would've ruined the holiday, it's very dangerous.

'So I've been finding out what we can do to make sure that we spend our holiday

'on the sun lounger and not the sick bed.

'This week, we're looking at how your tummy can cause you all kinds of trouble.'

Chris, diarrhoea, food poisoning,

they crop up just too often in people's holiday memories, don't they?

I thought to illustrate some of the ways you can get diarrhoea,

I'd swallow a small camera and we can have a look at my bowel.

It's first thing in the morning and I'm going to swallow this amazing camera pill

which is going to take photographs all the way through my guts.

-And it's still in there.

-It's still working its way through.

-And where's this, then?

-This is the muscular bag of the stomach

and the stomach doesn't digest food, it squeezes it and cleans it with acid.

But certain bacteria that give us food poisoning, viruses, as well, and certain parasites,

are not killed by acid. They've evolved the ability to survive the harsh conditions of the stomach.

'And it's these bacteria and viruses

'that prevent the body from properly digesting your food.'

Well, now it's really been broken down and it's just kind of liquid.

Yeah, I'm afraid this is what it looks like. It's liquid poo.

This is about to go into the large bowel where the liquid, in my case, will be taken out of it.

If you've got a large bowel infection,

that liquid won't be able to be taken out of it.

Your large bowel might be leaking fluid, and that's when you get diarrhoea.

'Even something as simple as washing your hands

'can reduce your risk of diarrhoea by 30 percent.

'Only if you do it correctly.'

# I've got protection

# From your infection #

The key thing is, palms together,

then backs of hands, fingers interlaced.

You've washed bugs off your own hands and you don't pass on bugs to anyone else.

'But what's most likely to harbour bugs is the food we eat.

'And it's not always the healthiest looking that's the safest option.'

There's some paradoxes about where we get the bacteria, which foods are most dangerous.

Things like this lovely, fresh salad. In a lot of parts of the world,

-human excrement is used to fertilise fields.

-Yuck!

Salad, of course, is hard to clean, you can't clean it with hot water and you don't cook it.

So in some parts of the world, salad can be quite a risky thing to eat.

Often places it's safe, but you do have to be very conscious of that.

Ideally you eat fruit that you can peel.

'The cost of your meal is no guarantee, either.'

Five star hotels are often the worst places to eat,

because they've got buffets under hot lamps that serve, essentially, as bacterial culture mediums,

and if the food is reheated, if it isn't changed a lot,

that can cause real problems.

And that's why food like this, street food, is often safer.

So if there's a big queue of local people, the same people go there day after day,

those guys can't poison their customers

in the way that a hotel that caters to tourists, they'll never come back, it doesn't matter.

So, Chris, if we've taken all precautions but you still get diarrhoea or food poisoning,

what can you do to make life a bit more comfortable?

I've had it and it's terrible. There are a few things you can do.

The first thing is rehydrate. You can do that with the sachets,

but they can be quite expensive. Three of these just make up one bottle. You might need four a day.

50/50 juice and water with a pinch of salt does exactly the same job.

Finally, we used to think that drugs that stopped you needing to go to the loo were bad

because they kept the bugs inside you.

We don't think that anymore. There's no evidence that they prolong the course of the illness.

So if you've got a long bus journey or a flight,

take a drug like loperamide, which stops the bowel from moving.

'To make sure a runny tummy doesn't ruin your holiday, here's the Hit Squad's hit list.

'Remember this mantra.

'Always drink bottled water and use it to brush your teeth, as well.

'Even take care to keep your mouth closed in the shower.

'And if you're really worried,

'water purification tablets can be the perfect solution

'to make water safe to drink.'

# Sunshine #

'The Holiday Hit Squad's mission to make sure you have the perfect holiday

'has brought me to the Greek island of Rhodes,

'where they enjoy over 300 days of sunshine every year.

'At the Hotel Maran, health and safety inspector Simon and I

'have already uncovered smelly showers...' Oh, that's strong, isn't it?

'..and rooms which, frankly, could do with a good scrub.

'Reviews here have been so bad that manager Terry

'really needs our help.

'Down by the swimming area, Simon spotted clear signs of neglect.'

OK, Simon, so this is the kids' pool. If you want anywhere to be particularly safe, surely it's this.

-Very much so.

-What are you looking for?

-OK. First of all, we notice we've got a big slide

-going into a very small pool. It's also a very old piece of equipment.

-Yeah.

And the depth of the water it's going into, a foot and a half, two feet?

Ideally it wouldn't be here. It's an accident waiting to happen, in my opinion.

'Every year in Europe there are over 200,000 serious injuries in swimming pools.

'And most of them are to children.

'Next, Simon wants Terry to show him the kitchen.'

We've got some sausages.

So on there we have...

OK, so by the looks of it, these have expired.

-Oh, sorry.

-What I would say is, just when the guys are putting things in,

they're checking the temperatures on a regular occasion,

-just get your staff to have a quick check of dates.

-I always do that.

'It's not just the out-of-date food that has Simon worried.'

One of the things I want to look at in here

is the fact of cleanliness, cos it's back of house.

What do you do currently in regards to pests?

-I put regular traps on the outside.

-OK.

In an open area, you always get some pests coming in.

We've got a door over there that's wide open, obviously for ventilation.

We've got a dirty area behind here. There could be bits of food build-up, bacteria.

For Colin the Cockroach and Ronnie the Rat,

he's going to have a field day in there, he's having a party.

So what we want to try and do is firstly, keep this area clean,

that's the main point I want to hit home.

Secondly, placing your actual traps in here...

If you've got a big kitchen and you're feeding lots and lots of people,

the health and safety has to be tip-top, no question.

The feeling here is that when you have a snack bar, it's a bit more casual,

you just do things a bit more as you want rather than how the textbook says you should.

The sense I'm getting from Simon is maybe standards here have slipped just a little bit.

Thank you very much.

'Hotel owner Terry has asked to hear our feedback,

'and I can at least open with a positive.'

I'll start by saying, generally everyone we spoke to

really liked you, you come across very well in this, OK?

So they like the customer service. That's a big plus point.

It's a family business so we've got our personal touch in it.

'But there are also a lot of negatives.'

Smoke alarms. The rooms don't seem to have smoke alarms.

No, because when it was built,

-it was a plain room, it wasn't with a kitchenette.

-Yeah.

-And that was done later.

Now you have cooking facilities in the rooms, it's crucial, isn't it?

You wouldn't know about it until you saw smoke billowing out.

'Simon's other major concern is kitchen hygiene.'

You do run a snack bar in the kitchen

and there's a few issues with cleaning there that could be a bit better.

But also a sense that you could get a slightly better system involved.

You could label things as they go in the freezer, what date they went in the freezer, that kind of stuff.

A good system there, so that anyone could come into the kitchen and check labels and dates and stuff.

-That can be done.

-He goes on about it, Simon,

his favourite phrase is, "It's easy to clean what you can see."

And that's absolutely true. It's easy to mop floors that you can stand on,

it's difficult to get to the stuff that's hard to reach.

He would say once a week, a deep clean,

getting underneath and behind units, cos that's where dirt builds up

and that's where you're going to get rodents and infestations like that.

I just got a feeling maybe you do all your big cleaning at the end of a season

or before a season, but not during the season.

-No, we doing during the season, as well.

-OK.

'And cleanliness is also a problem in the rooms.'

Some of the bathrooms,

the drains, there seemed to be an odour coming through

which would suggest a blockage or something happening there. Worth looking at.

They shouldn't have because we've got a very good drainage system.

Yeah. I did smell it when I was there

and it did seem a bit strong. It might be worth a little look.

Just little tweaks and making sure everyone's safe, it goes a long way.

There's always something you can improve on.

What we can do with the little that we have, we try to do our best.

-Well, thank you for showing us around.

-OK. Nice having you here.

'It's been a tough year for the Maran and takings are down,

'but Terry seems keen to take on board our suggestions.

'Sadly, since our visit, things have changed.'

It's been four months since our visit to the Maran.

Now, we left Terry with a list of improvements that were vital

to make his hotel safe and hygienic for customers.

And we were keen to return to see whether he'd put our advice into practice.

'But Terry has closed the hotel for the winter.

'He says that he didn't make enough money over the summer

'and so doesn't have the cash to make the safety changes that are so desperately needed.'

It's sad that Terry doesn't know whether he can afford to make those improvements.

But when it comes to guest safety, you can't afford not to.

For most of us, holidays are the only time of the year

that we get our loved ones, our family, our children, all to ourselves.

An uninterrupted break, completely away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.

Because holidays are so precious, we want them to be perfect,

problem-free, and at the very least, safe.

One way of making sure that happens is to find out as much as you can before you book.

'Remember the Ritchies? They decided to arrange their own holiday

'and booked accommodation in Thailand based purely on pictures on a website.

'When they checked in, they received a nasty shock.'

There was just a complete construction site going on next door.

'I've invited Rob and Nicky to join me on holiday in Corfu.

'But I've challenged them to prove that they've learned from their Thai experience

'by doing some proper research before they book.'

That one doesn't look too good, does it?

It's not that far from the beach, though.

'When booking a hotel independently,

'there are some key clues that are worth close investigation.'

What's really useful now is to look at user reviews.

Go online, see what travellers have written about a hotel.

You can look to see what someone wrote last week or last month,

to make sure you're getting really up-to-date information.

'Having spent time researching all their options,

'Rob and Nicky are off to Corfu, confident that this time

'they're getting exactly what they're expecting.'

'The three-star hotel is in the old town

'and costs around £142 a night.

'The rooms are large and have a lovely view of the harbour.

'It's a world away from the Thai hotel the couple last stayed in.

'So what should we watch out for when booking our accommodation independently?

'Check the location.

'Think about noise levels, how close you are to the beach or facilities,

'and make sure you're exactly where you want to be.

'If you're worried, don't be afraid to ring a hotel

'to find out of they have any building work.

'And don't be fooled into thinking that hotel stars

'are a guarantee of quality.'

Different countries classify hotels in different ways.

So five stars in the UK isn't the same as five stars anywhere else in the world.

On top of that, different places prioritise different facilities,

maybe a 24-hour concierge, a large foyer or even a lift, that aren't that important to you.

So it's always worth checking that a hotel meets your needs.

'Now Rob and Nicky have arrived in Corfu,

'I've invited them to join me for a cruise.'

-Hello!

-Hello, captain.

We have got this boat for the afternoon.

So, jump aboard.

'I want to find out how their extra research helped them choose their hotel.'

I was surprised that you went for a hotel near to Corfu Town.

We decided we'd stay in Corfu Town as a base,

but then during the day, rent a little motorbike

and sort of shuttle out to beaches during the day and have an adventure.

'It sounds like the time they spent before booking has really paid off.'

The hotel has been great. The facilities there

-and everything about the hotel was ideal, really.

-Yeah.

And then we found some really nice restaurants

and tried local food,

and the whole experience has been really great.

# Well, I know that it's a wonderful world

'Rob and Nicky seem to have learned from their mistakes

'and hopefully this trip has made up for the awful time they had with their hotel in Thailand.'

# And I know that it's a wonderful world

# When you're with me #

-'Stinky loos...'

-Absolutely disgusting.

-'..rotten fish...'

-That needs to go in the bin.

-'..and gifts left by previous visitors.'

Dusty, used sock that someone's left behind.

'My squad of inspectors and I are travelling the world on a mission

'to raise hotel standards for Brits abroad.'

Looking further under the bed,

there are two dead cockroaches underneath.

'And tonight, our intrepid inspector faces horror in Hurghada.

'The Sand Beach Hotel in Egypt seems to have it all.

'20 minutes from the airport, with a private pool,

'it awards itself a decent three stars.'

# Welcome to the Karma hotel

# Looks like heaven but could be hell

'Bedrooms cost up to £50 per night.

'But guests have slated everything from grubby bedrooms to sloppy food.

'Can it really be that bad?

'Vince Matthews is a UK environmental health inspector.

'If there's any dirt here, he'll find it.'

This is quite a tired, rundown hotel.

You'd normally find quite a lot of maintenance issues,

so the kind of things we're looking for, broken tiles, things that people can trip on.

So this is a perfect example of the kind of broken bits of maintenance

that we're probably going to find all over the hotel.

So something to tell the manager on this one.

'And the frighteners don't stop there.'

This is such a strange design of pool. You've got this slope

with water coming down it.

All it takes is for somebody to be sliding off there, crack their head, fall into the water.

You add to the fact that there's no life-saving equipment here,

there's in lifeguard, really, really, really dangerous.

'Apart from the lack of safety here,

'I don't know about you, but that suspicious-looking stain on the bottom of the pool

'doesn't make me want to take a dip.

'Inside, the first thing Vince wants to check out

'is the fire escape route.'

So, this is a fire exit that opens inwards, which isn't great in a fire situation,

you want something that you can get out quickly. And it leads out...

..to somewhere I just would not want to go if the place was burning down.

There's a roof here that you absolutely wouldn't want to walk on.

And you walk round the corner to a set of ladders

that I couldn't even think about climbing down all the way to the ground floor.

I can't imagine what would be worse, trying to get away from a fire

or having to climb down this fire escape,

because both are lethal.

'But these aren't the only hotel horrors.'

# Food, glorious food

'The restaurant has a buffet serving both hot and cold food.

'But just how is it prepared?

'First impressions are poor.'

# Glorious food #

'For a start, the cockroaches are having a field day here.

'And to top it all off, there's a problem with the temperature of the fridges.'

Here you are, look, look. See?

30. So it's hot, too hot. We need to stop using that fridge, yeah?

-OK.

-Definitely. Promise me.

-Yeah, OK.

-Promise me. Don't use it again.

If this was at home, you'd shut it down on the spot.

'Time for Vince to give his verdict to Hermada, the man in charge.'

My biggest worry, if you like, is the kitchen downstairs.

I suppose the biggest thing I'd say is it needs a clean. Yeah?

You must see that when you go round. It needs a lot of cleaning.

We have a company, a special company

that comes every 15 days

to clean the equipment, the kitchen, the walls, everything.

If you have a company that come in, definitely be on top of them.

Use that company if you have something like that.

And the other thing that stands out is the fire safety stuff.

So we've got a lot of exits

that go onto the roof and down the side.

We have a company, we already make a contract with them...

-Yeah.

-..to take care of all these things.

Get those guys in, because there's quite a lot of things around,

you've got signs pointing different ways,

we've got fire hoses all wrapped up.

And the danger is, we just want to make sure everyone is safe, really.

If there was ever a fire, God forbid,

you just want to make sure that everyone can get out.

That's the main priority, isn't it?

'Hm. Vince doesn't seem convinced.

'Blaming outside contractors for the hotel's many failings

'is simply not good enough.

'As a health and safety expert, he's given the Sand Beach Hotel

'a low score in almost every category.'

'Next we're back in Thailand's exotic capital city, Bangkok,

'where close to 1,000 British holidaymakers are helped by the British Embassy every year.

'Alex Hindman is travelling around South East Asia,

'but he's lost all his credit cards, money and passport.'

# It's a cruel, cruel summer

I've only just got enough for the passport,

and I've got nothing to live on until I get my flight.

And nowhere to stay.

So, I need...

I need emergency cash from somewhere.

'Alex isn't the only tourist in trouble at the embassy.

'Despite Laura and Leon being seasoned travellers,

'they're also stuck without crucial documents.'

Lost our passports. We've left them in Ko Tao.

We were in the hotel in Ko Tao

and Leon decided to put them in the safe to keep them safe

and we were rushing in the morning

so completely forgot and just left them.

And then we arrived in Bangkok eight hours later

-and, er, realised that we'd lost them, didn't we?

-Yeah.

The fee is 1,940 bahts, please.

-Er, can we pay by card?

-Yeah, sure.

'As experienced backpackers, Laura and Leon knew that it's vital

to keep valuables in different parts of their luggage.'

I luckily had my bank card separately.

-Yeah.

-So we didn't really...

-It's been at the bottom of your bag.

I've kept it in my wallet in the bottom of my big rucksack

just in case anything else happened,

-so luckily we still have a card that we can use.

-Yeah.

-Brilliant. Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

'So whilst they can head off to their hotel for a few hours' rest,

'poor Alex barely has enough money for food and shelter.'

Does the embassy do emergency loans or anything like that?

-I'm sorry?

-Do they do emergency loans of money at all?

No. No.

What we can do is contact your friends,

your family in the UK, and transfer to you.

I've not got any cards so how do I get the money?

Er...

Once you get your passport, we can transfer by...

They send you and you can show your passport to them

-and then you can receive the money.

-OK. Right.

-Yeah.

-Right. OK.

'Only in extreme circumstances will the British Embassy arrange an emergency loan.

'But with correct ID, Alex will be able to arrange for cash to be transferred.

'And luckily for him, his temporary passport is now ready.'

-It's finished now.

-Right.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Good luck. Have a safe ride home.

-Thank you.

'Less than 24 hours after losing his passport,

'Alex is free to continue his trip with his friends.'

I feel much more relieved now. I can finally get this moving again and get to Cambodia tomorrow.

I've been looking forward to meeting them, it's just...

-I've got to pay them all back now.

-HE LAUGHS

'And Laura and Leon can travel home as planned.'

-This is your passport.

-OK.

-All right, thanks very much.

Thank you. Whoo-hoo!

Here it is. We can travel home now. Passport.

# It's looking like a beautiful day

-Well, that's it for today's programme.

-Here's what's coming up next week.

'I investigate a hotel teeming with unwelcome guests.'

They carry their eggs.

So when you stamp on one, it's more than likely you pick their eggs up and then you spread them around.

'I try to help a couple devastated by an increasingly common crime.'

There was this bang on the back of the car and I just didn't know what was going on.

'And I'll be with the British Consul where drama is all in a day's work.'

Oh, dear.

Until then, that's it from the three of us. Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

# I predict a riot #

.