Ballincollig hotel ordered to pay compensation after declining to host a Traveller girl’s confirmation

A FOUR-STAR hotel in Cork has been ordered to pay out a total of €11,000 compensation after declining to host a Traveller girl’s confirmation celebration.

At the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Adjudicator, Thomas O’Driscoll has ordered the pay-out after finding that Oriel House Hotel Ltd trading as Oriel House Hotel discriminated against three individuals on the Traveller grounds under the Equal Status Act.

The mother of the girl celebrating her confirmation, Margaret O’Sullivan, stated that her daughter had her confirmation on July 6, 2021, and it was decided to celebrate the occasion by booking rooms and having a meal at the Oriel House Hotel.

The Oriel House Hotel is situated in Ballincollig, Co. Cork, 9.5km from Cork city centre and is a member of the Co Wexford-headquartered Talbot Collection hotel group.

'Overbooked'

On the day in question, Margaret O’Sullivan booked four rooms, an evening meal and breakfast for the party of guests and paid €600 up front with a Visa card.

However, when the O’Sullivan party later reached the hotel reception desk on the day, the receptionist said “sorry we’re overbooked” and then told Ms O’Sullivan that the rooms were being cleaned after Ms O’Sullivan stated that she had a reservation.

The hotel manager arrived shortly after to confirm that there was an overbooking and accommodation could not be provided. Ms O’Sullivan told the hearing that when she told the children they could not stay at the hotel, “they became terribly upset and started crying”.

Ms O’Sullivan said that they were “scurried” out of the hotel lobby in what she felt was a humiliating way in front of other people. Ms O’Sullivan felt that it was quite clear that the managers wanted them off the premises as soon as possible.

Ms O’Sullivan said that an assistant manager had followed them to the car park outside and enquired of her sister, Theresa O’Sullivan, as to whether she wanted the €600 back in cash. When Theresa O’Sullivan replied “yes” the assistant manager took out a wad of cash amounting to €600 and handed it over. Ms O’Sullivan described how humiliated and hurt she felt in the refusal of the hotel to provide accommodation. She stated that her children were deeply upset and the older one, especially, knew the reason for refusal.

Ms O’Sullivan arranged for her children to go to the cinema that night so as to forget what happened, but they came away early from the showing because they were so distressed.

When asked by her solicitor, Sinead Lucey of the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC), as to how the hotel staff might identify her as a Traveller, Margaret O’Sullivan said that she “talks like a Traveller and looks like a Traveller”.

Ms O’Sullivan spoke of being proud of being a Traveller and her Traveller culture. She outlined how Travellers like to dress up for special occasions, especially the female children, who were wearing distinctive dresses and jewellery on the day.

Findings

In his findings, Mr O’Driscoll commented even if there was an overbooking, he found it “hard to accept that the practice of a four-star hotel would be to corral discommoded guests with children, who were not members of the Traveller community, quickly out of the lobby in front of other people and offer them a substantial wad of notes as a rebate in the car park”.

He said: 

“This was done without any offer of food, though a meal was booked, despite having told them that their rooms were being cleaned and to wait a while in the lobby.” 

Mr O’Driscoll said that he was satisfied that the three complainants, Margaret O’Sullivan, her sister, Theresa O’Sullivan and Thomas O’Donovan who is a long-term partner of Margaret O’Sullivan but is not a Traveller, felt “humiliated and embarrassed” when ushered out of the hotel after the great disappointment of not being able to celebrate an especially important occasion.

Mr O’Driscoll has ordered the hotel to pay Margaret O’Sullivan €5,000 for discriminating against her, €3,000 to Theresa O’Sullivan and €3,000 to Joseph O’Donovan as he was associated with members of the Traveller community on the day and was also discriminated against.

In his findings, Mr O’Driscoll found that membership of the Traveller community for Theresa O’Sullivan and Margaret O’Sullivan was the material fact as to why they were denied accommodation and meals at the hotel.

The hotel denied discrimination and stated that a reservationist had made a mistake on the day when taking the late booking. The hotel rejected that the O’Sullivan party were easily identifiable as Travellers to hotel staff.

In evidence, the hotel manager stated that she had no idea that the O’Sullivans were members of the Traveller community. She said that Travellers had regularly attended at the hotel for various events prior to the day in question.

In his findings, Mr O’Driscoll said that he found the hotel manager’s evidence that there was a genuine overbooking to be unconvincing. Mr O’Driscoll also found the manager’s evidence that she had no idea that the O’Sullivans were members of the Traveller community as not to be plausible.