The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Geraldine Ward €2,500 after finding Meadow Court Bar & Restaurant Limited discriminated against her by cancelling her pre-booked accommodation because she is a member of the Traveller Community. The WRC decision was dated 7 August 2019.
Ward and her sister had travelled to attend their uncle’s funeral. The hotel said it was fully booked and that Booking.com had oversold its room allocation. The adjudicator found that explanation lacked credibility, noting the hotel allocated rooms to booking agents and that Booking.com was unlikely to sell a room it had not been allocated.
The WRC found Ward’s confirmed accommodation was most likely cancelled because of her Traveller identity and awarded compensation for the effects of the discrimination. A separate allegation about the provision of food and payment was not well founded: the adjudicator found that Ward and her party were not denied service and that the handling of her card did not amount to discrimination.