The Workplace Relations Commission found that Atlantic Troy Limited T/A Charleville Park Hotel discriminated against a minor on housing assistance and Traveller community grounds. It directed the hotel to pay €3,000 compensation and revise its credit card booking policy. The decision was dated 16 February 2022.
The complaint arose after the child’s family, who were homeless, sought three nights’ emergency accommodation in September 2018, with payment to come from the Department of Social Protection. The hotel said guests had to provide a credit card in their own name and argued that the family was seeking a home rather than hotel accommodation.
The WRC found that the hotel had already adopted a position against accommodating people receiving housing assistance. It concluded that the credit card requirement was used to deny the family equal treatment. The decision also found that the family’s Traveller identity was a material factor in the refusal, after the hotel referred to its experience with other Traveller families.