A hotel which told a man it was full when he booked under a "common" Traveller Community surname - only to accept a reservation under a different relative's name just hours later - has been ordered to pay €5,000 for racial discrimination.
In a decision published today, the Mulroy Woods Hotel was found in breach of the Equal Status Act 2000 after upholding a complaint by Martin McDonagh, who claimed he had been "denied accommodation" because he was a member of the Travelling Community.
Mr McDonagh’s case was that he secured a booking for himself and members of his family to stay at the Mulroy Woods Hotel on the night of 20 August 2023 using the hotel booking platform, Booking.com under his own name.
Mr McDonagh’s barrister Niamh Quinn BL, who was instructed by Garrett J Fortune & Co Solicitors, submitted that her client had a phone call from the hotel at 12.40pm on 19 August in which he was told it had "no availability" the following night and that it had to cancel his booking.
His case was that the hotel told him there had been a "glitch" on the Booking.com site which led to his booking being confirmed.
At 3.30pm that afternoon Mr McDonagh made a fresh reservation on Booking.com - but this time made it under the surname of a relative of his who was also planning to stay at the hotel that night, whose surname was 'Fitzgerald’, the WRC was told.
The booking was accepted - and when Mr McDonagh phoned the hotel to ask for a cot to be provided, there was "no difficulty raised, nor did the hotel mention any issues with overbooking of rooms", it was submitted.
He went on to make two more bookings for other family members which were all confirmed "without issue", the tribunal was told.
Mr McDonagh’s case was that he went to the hotel reception on 20 August and asked why he had been told there was no availability.
"He did not receive an answer," Ms Quinn submitted. Mr McDonagh told the tribunal he felt "too uncomfortable" to stay there that night.
Ms Quinn argued that Mr McDonagh was "discriminated against by the Mulroy Woods Hotel based on his surname and membership of the Travelling Community" - as her client had been able to book in using "non-Traveller surnames without any issue".
"There was no glitch with the Booking.com website… the Mulroy Woods Hotel used this as an excuse to legitimise their discrimination," Ms Quinn submitted.
WRC adjudicator Marie Flynn noted that there was "no appearance by, or on behalf of" the hotel at a hearing into the matter last month and that Mr McDonagh’s evidence was "uncontested".
She noted that Mr McDonagh’s surname was "often identified as a common surname within the Traveller Community" while the alternative name he had given for the second booking was "not readily identifiable as a common surname within the Traveller Community".
The subsequent bookings made by Mr McDonagh were all "accepted by Booking.com and honoured by the respondent", Ms Flynn noted.
She found that Mr McDonagh had established an inference of discrimination which the hotel’s management was would need to rebut if it was to defend the claim - but that she had been "deprived of the opportunity to hear its views" by its failure to appear before the tribunal.
Ms Flynn found Mr McDonagh was "discriminated against" on the grounds of his membership of the Travelling community and awarded him €5,000 in compensation.
