B&B and hotel fined €2,500 each for turning away travelling woman.

freshpopcorn

Gerladine Ward traveled to Loughrea from Dublin to attend her uncles funeral.
She visited a hotel and a B&B in the town and couldn't get a room. She then managed to get a booking on bookings.com but when she arrived at the hotel she was told the hotel was fully booked.
Her sister was being severed food at the time in the hotel.

She took discrimination cases under the Equal Status Act to the Workplace Relations Commission and was awarded €5000.

I know locally when a travelling funeral is taking place the word is spread around town to lock your doors and be careful who you leave in.(Especially for pubs/hotels/etc).
I'd have done a little bit in the hospitality industry and know people involved in it and the attitude that would have being taken would be you'd be better with the fine than the damage that may have being caused.

What do you guys make of this?

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/5000-award-for-traveller-denied-room-in-two-hotels-38425447.html

Tzardine

Fair play to her. Sounds like she was clearly discriminated against.

Plumbthedepths

Nothing to make of it other than the hotel and the b&b discriminated against the woman and have now paid the price.

freshpopcorn

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

Nothing to make of it other than the hotel and the b&b discriminated against the woman and have now paid the price.

I was always told that it was better than pay the fine than pay for the damage that might have being caused. So,it's a win for the hotel.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Bullet dodged for the hotel and B&B. €2500 is less than the damage they’d likely have caused in anyways.

Plumbthedepths

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I was always told that it was better than pay the fine than pay for the damage that might have being caused. So,it's a win for the hotel.

Handy 2.5k for the woman , I can see several of her community booking this hotel.

Kivaro

These days when I hear about Travellers and culture, I always now presume that it is some type of compensation culture that is being discussed.

James Brown

Kivaro wrote: »

These days when I hear about Travellers and culture, I always now presume that it is some type of compensation culture that is being discussed.

Is Bailey a traveler name?

Overheal

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I was always told that it was better than pay the fine than pay for the damage that might have being caused. So,it's a win for the hotel.

Not really though: once word spreads that those B&B and Hotel are happy to print money for folks rather than treat them hospitably, they’ll be out a lot of coin and probably slapped with heavier fines and penalties for repeat violations/contempt of court.

Ironicname

Matt Barrett wrote: »

Is Bailey a traveler name?

???

freshpopcorn

Overheal wrote: »

Not really though: once word spreads that those B&B and Hotel are happy to print money for folks rather than treat them hospitably, they’ll be out a lot of coin and probably slapped with heavier fines and penalties for repeat violations/contempt of court.

Yes, they'd just have to be more careful in there excuse/reasons and they may be glitches with the booking system.
Most hotels have a plan in place to deal with this.
The reception staff/night porters/etc who'd be checking people in generally have a few lines to say and they generally work.
It happens a lot.

colm_mcm

Ironicname wrote: »

???

Obscure reference to Maria Bailey and her swing episode.

Overheal

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Yes, they'd just have to be more careful in there excuse/reasons and they may be glitches with the booking system.
Most hotels have a plan in place to deal with this.
The reception staff/night porters/etc who'd be checking people in generally have a few lines to say and they generally work.
It happens a lot.

What kind of lines?

freshpopcorn

Overheal wrote: »

What kind of lines?

Generally just rubbishy one's about one's rooms not being ready and maintenance/etc.
You generally have to say you'll go and check is a room ready/etc and ring the owner/manager upstairs and ye can make a decision then.
I know a good few people in smaller hotels and when people land in the middle of the night without a booking they are generally easier to fob off than if they already have one.

Ironicname

colm_mcm wrote: »

Obscure reference to Maria Bailey and her swing episode.

Oh right. Bizarre. Thanks.

Overheal

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Generally just rubbishy one's about one's rooms not being ready and maintenance/etc.
You generally have to say you'll go and check is a room ready/etc and ring the owner/manager upstairs and ye can make a decision then.
I know a good few people in smaller hotels and when people land in the middle of the night without a booking they are generally easier to fob off than if they already have one.

So they’ll just book ahead; not a lot of effort for that much cash.

Suckit

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Her sister was being severed food at the time in the hotel

Sounds painful.

freshpopcorn

Overheal wrote: »

So they’ll just book ahead; not a lot of effort for that much cash.

If there's a funeral taking place or wedding in the area the booking systems may go down.
If a booking is got they hotel would often take the chance off fobbing them off.
It happens a lot. Booking systems sometimes can make errors.
It happens a good bit.

punisher5112

Isn't it a wonderful country where certain ethnic minorities trash a place and have no penalty imposed.....

Free legal aid I'm sure too.....

Overheal

freshpopcorn wrote: »

If there's a funeral taking place or wedding in the area the booking systems may go down.
If a booking is got they hotel would often take the chance off fobbing them off.
It happens a lot. Booking systems sometimes can make errors.
It happens a good bit.

So the hotel is incapable of handling its own booking when I call ahead?

Overheal

punisher5112 wrote: »

Isn't it a wonderful country where certain ethnic minorities trash a place and have no penalty imposed.....

Free legal aid I'm sure too.....

Sounds like some primo bs right there.

freshpopcorn

Overheal wrote: »

So the hotel is incapable of handling its own booking when I call ahead?

Yes, if you do work in accommodation the odd time errors do take place.
Some city centers hotels even over book because they know not everybody is going to show up and they get caught out the odd night.
Then there's there other cases.
Work in a hotel for a while and you'll pick it up.

Overheal

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Yes, if you do work in accommodation the odd time errors do take place.
Some city centers hotels even over book because they know not everybody is going to show up and they get caught out the odd night.
Then there's there other cases.
Work in a hotel for a while and you'll pick it up.

And what is the penalty on the hotel for overbooking?

freshpopcorn

Overheal wrote: »

And what is the penalty on the hotel for overbooking?

You generally have to try and source them accomdation nearby and maybe taxi them to the location.

freshpopcorn

freshpopcorn wrote: »

You generally have to try and source them accomdation nearby and maybe taxi them to the location.

And how do the other hotels/b&b's react when it's travellers that they are taking in from the offending hotel?

Overheal

Ward J. Littell wrote: »

And how do the other hotels/b&b's react when it's travellers that they are taking in from the offending hotel?

Yeah what’s the secret passcode you hand off to the other hotel when you’re on the phone with them and the undesirable is standing right in front of you? Is it like a dry cough or what

Ironicname

Overheal wrote: »

Yeah what’s the secret passcode you hand off to the other hotel when you’re on the phone with them and the undesirable is standing right in front of you? Is it like a dry cough or what

Are you capable of having a conversation without being overtly condescending?

freshpopcorn

Ward J. Littell wrote: »

And how do the other hotels/b&b's react when it's travellers that they are taking in from the offending hotel?

That's something I'm unsure of.

I know sometimes people can fob people off with just the contact details/directions of the hotel and they don't bother making another booking for them.
If you have to tough you'd just make a booking somewhere else.

Overheal

Ironicname wrote: »

Are you capable of having a conversation without being overtly condescending?

Yes. Yes I am.

freshpopcorn

freshpopcorn wrote: »

That's something I'm unsure of.

I know sometimes people can fob people off with just the contact details/directions of the hotel and they don't bother making another booking for them.
If you have to tough you'd just make a booking somewhere else.

Surely that will affect the hotel's relationship with other nearby accommodation and lead it to getting a bad name in the industry? The hotel that fobs off it's problem customers to other hotels.

freshpopcorn

Ward J. Littell wrote: »

Surely that will affect the hotel's relationship with other nearby accommodation and lead it to getting a bad name in the industry? The hotel that fobs off it's problem customers to other hotels.

The other hotel may also be full and they might send people somewhere else.
They'd could do the same to you in the future tough.
In most cases when somebody who is sent to another hotel it's due to a room booking issue.

When I did work in hotels travellers often avoided city centre places tough and just called into small rural hotels that accepted cash simply because they didn't have cards.