We are at the Stanford Court hotel in San Fran for the weekend. I had to leave for work this morning. My Mother aged 78 heard the fire alarm going off mid morning and following the directions, helped my handicapped step Father age 90 down 4 flights of stairs exiting the building. It was harrowing and these elderly people found themselves alone in a alley behind the hotel. Having no one tell them any thing further, they then walked back around to the front of the hotel to the front desk. Mom was having some anxiety and asked to talk to the Manager. When he was located and told about the situation, his response was that the hotel was under construction and the fire alarm had to be turned on regularly. Further the hotel did not see any reason to tell the guests about this or to mention that the alarm was only a test. I do not find this response at all reassuring .I wondered if this is the normal procedure for testing alarms, and am unclear how to react to the lack of concern about the well being of these older guests. Any suggestions would be appreciated.