MADRID (AFP) - A Spanish hotel chain is looking for stressed guests who will be allowed to let off steam next week by smashing
the interior of a central Madrid hotel as part of its refurbishment.
NH Hoteles will select, with the aid of a team of psychologists, 30 people who will be able to take part in the destruction of the 146 rooms
at the 11-year-old hotel on July 3, the company said in a statement. "They will be given helmets and sledgehammers and will be able to
knock down walls, tear up carpets and break furniture," it said. "They will be allowed to break everything they find in the hotel, the bedrooms,
the bathrooms and the common areas such as the reception hall," it added.
Candidates for the "roomolition" must take a strength test, a psychological test and a medical test to determine how stressed they are before
they are selected to take part in the event. The physical activity involved in smashing the hotel rooms will generate endorphins that help
eliminate tension, the company said. "Who hasn't dreamt at one time or another, in the middle of a stress crisis, about breaking everything
that falls in their path?" it asked in the statement.
NH Hoteles plans to re-open the hotel in September with a more modern decor.
