Courts / Cork / Report
Hotel that 'humiliated and embarrassed' members of Traveller family ordered to pay €11k
Summary
In November 2023 the Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Oriel House Hotel Ltd must pay €11,000 in compensation to Margaret O'Sullivan, her partner Joseph O'Donovan and her sister Theresa O'Sullivan after the hotel refused them accommodation on 6 July 2021. The family had booked a dinner and overnight stay to celebrate a First Holy Communion. At check‑in the receptionist told them the hotel was overbooked, and after two managers approached them the group was hurried out of the lobby. The hotel offered a €600 cash refund in the car park but no alternative lodging or meal. The tribunal found the hotel's claim that it could not distinguish Travellers from settled guests was implausible and that the family was discriminated against on the basis of Traveller identity.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Hotel that 'humiliated and embarrassed' members of Traveller family ordered to pay €11k. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- July 6, 2021 Other
- 2023-11-09 Publication
Why: "The older one, especially, knew the reason for refusal," Ms O'Sullivan said of the children. CNI source report
Places mentioned
- Oriel House
Topics
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