Recently, I covered how a surprising number of hotels have a policy of not allowing stays for guests who live within a certain radius, seemingly to keep out homeless people. Well, here’s a real life example of this that’s getting a lot of attention, and interestingly, the hotel group has now been forced to apologize.
Holiday Inn tells guest “I know you’re from the street”
Two Brews is a charity that tries to help homeless people in the UK. The country recently saw some below freezing temperatures, leading to an amber cold weather health alert across the country, with the UK Health Security Agency warning of the risk of increased deaths.
So the charity booked hotel rooms for some homeless people, so that they could avoid the cold weather. The charity attempted to book two homeless people with substance issues (that’s a detail they share, and I want to be through in covering this) at the Holiday Inn Manchester on a pre-paid rate.
However, upon arriving at the hotel, the front desk agent stated that they wouldn’t be allowed to stay there, despite the room having already been paid for. As the front desk agent explained, based on a recording taken by someone working for the charity:
“Guys, I’m not going to lie to you, I’m not going to be able to check you in. Full truth and transparency, I know that you’re from the street and the hotel doesn’t allow it. It’s not a personal thing. We know people, I’ve been doing the door for a long while. It’s the company’s policy. It’s not mine personally, it’s the company’s.”
The people behind the charity said they were furious about how this was handled, with one person saying “it was so cold, it made me so angry, it’s so frustrating and I had a wave of emotions.” They claim that they then managed to accommodate people at the Travelodge, where they booked nearly 30 people over the course of two nights.
Holiday Inn & homeless man speak out about incident
IHG, the parent company of Holiday Inn, has apologized for this situation, stating that it “aims to make hotel facilities available and accessible to all guests equally.” Here’s what the hotel group stated:
“After speaking with team members, we recognise that this incident is not in keeping with our policy of welcoming all and should have been handled differently. We sincerely apologise to the guests affected and are taking steps internally to strengthen our training.”
One of the two people who was denied check-in explained in an interview how this all made him feel:
- “It made me feel so small, because we’re homeless, it made me feel a bit categorized, gutted.”
- “From there, I thought to myself ‘bloody hell,’ same again. I was used to it, really. Getting knocked back and knocked back… I was upset about it, thinking I’m going to be out there tonight in -6C.”
- “I’m panicking now, majorly panicking, thinking I’m going to be freezing tonight.”
- “There have been times when I woke up in this cold and cried. Your toes get cold, your fingers are cold, bad chest, you know, you become ill, and especially if you’re lying on the floor with no cardboard, the cold comes through your body… you end up with a really bad chest.”
Bottom line
A charity booked a couple of homeless people at the Holiday Inn Manchester during a cold front, with below freezing temperatures. Despite the rooms having been paid for, the guests were denied check-in, with the front desk agent explaining it was due to the hotel’s policy, and it wasn’t his decision.
The charity managed to get the pair booked at a Travelodge, and IHG ultimately apologized, saying that its hotels should be welcoming to all.
What do you make of this Holiday Inn Manchester incident?
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