Accepting guests in holiday accommodation, or rather refusing guests in holiday accommodation, has been in the news recently when a gay couple were refused a room in a Cornish Bed and Breakfast. The couple were awarded £3,600 in damages earlier this year when they were refused a room by the Christian owners who argued for the men to share a bed was against their religious beliefs.
A second claim has now been brought against a B&B in Berkshire, and in a twist on the story, gay only accommodation is now being investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to assess if they are discriminating against heterosexual couples, despite no claims be made against them.
For holiday home owners, discrimination rules apply in the same way, where owners are not allowed to refuse bookings based on:
- Disability
- Sex and sexual orientation
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race, including nationality and colour
- Religion or beliefs
One of the key issues for self-catering operations refers to age discrimination, in particular accepting groups of young people. The rules above prohibit accepting bookings if the party is of the same sex, whether they are couples or friends holidaying together.
Instead, refusing bookings from parties under 25 is a commonly used restriction. But is it legal to do this? The Equality Act of 2010 states discriminating against guests on the basis of age is not permitted – it is held in the same regard as race and sexual orientation.
There is a clause for exclusion from discrimination laws, known as an ‘objective exclusion’, where circumstances make it impractical to adhere to the rules, for example converting a listed building for wheelchair access. Under this exclusion it could be argued that a group of young, same-sex guests, on a hen or stag weekend for example, could cause damage to a property and disturbance to neighbouring properties. But this has yet to be successfully argued. And while a test case has not yet been brought to court, it remains an unclear area. Holiday Let Insurance policies cover owners for public liability legal costs but would they cover legal costs in the event that an owner was taken court after refusing a booking based on the age of the party?
Many tourism companies use age as a marketing tool to target customers. So anyone who books with the likes of Club 18-30 and Saga will know what they can expect on holiday. But both companies accept bookings from customers of any age over 18.
The Government have recently completed a consultation exercise where companies have been able to voice their opinions and concerns. The results have yet to be published so it remains to see how self-catering operators will be affected, but the implications of being forced to accept young parties could be significant for the industry.
