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Gay couple 'denied double room'

A gay couple claim that a receptionist at a hotel refused to let them stay in a double room and "insisted" they take one with separate beds. Nick Hurley claims that staff at the Thistle Hotel Barbican, in London, treated them in a "homophobic" manner

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Full interview: Gay couple 'denied double room' at hotel

A gay couple from Manchester say a hotel receptionist refused to let them stay in a double room and insisted they take a room with single beds.

Nick Hurley claims he and his partner Gavin McLean were treated in a homophobic manner by staff at the Thistle Hotel Barbican in London.

Mr Hurley says in today's society the way they were treated is completely unacceptable.

Statement from Thistle Hotels after gay couple 'denied double room'

Thistle Hotels have released a statement after a gay couple claim that a receptionist at a hotel refused to let them stay in a double room and "insisted" they take one with separate beds.

The entire team and I take this matter very seriously. No form of discrimination is acceptable in our hotels and we regret what happened to Mr Hurley and his partner.

This morning we held team meetings across all Thistle Hotels to reinforce that we do not tolerate any form of discrimination and to remind every employee of the culture and beliefs of the whole company for equal positive treatment of every individual.

A full review is taking place at the hotel with staff members on duty Saturday evening. Whatever the outcome it is clear that we failed to appropriately communicate why there were no double rooms available to Mr Hurley and his partner.

We unreservedly apologise again to Mr Hurley and his partner.

– Mike DeNoma, CEO Thistle Hotels

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Gay couple 'denied double room'

A gay couple from Manchester say a hotel receptionist refused to let them stay in a double room and insisted they take a room with single beds.

Nick Hurley claims he and his partner were treated in a homophobic manner by staff at the Thistle Hotel Barbican in London. A spokesman for the hotel has apologised and says they are investigating. But Mr Hurley says in today's society the way they were treated is completely unacceptable.

  1. National

Gay couple 'denied double room' at hotel

A gay couple from Manchester claim that a receptionist at a London hotel refused to let them stay in a double room and "insisted" they take a room with separate beds.

Web designer Nick Hurley and his partner said staff at the Thistle Hotel Barbican, in London, treated them in a "homophobic" manner.

A spokesperson for the hotel chain said they were investigating the matter and that the company did not tolerate homophobia.

  1. National

Thistle Hotels investigating 'homophobic incident'

A spokesman from the Thistle Hotel Group has told ITV News that they are investigating claims that a receptionist denied a gay couple access to a double room at a London hotel.

From our initial investigations it appears that the couple booked through an online booking system which didn't work properly and so when they arrived at the hotel there were no double rooms available. We are very sorry if the couple feel they have been badly treated and we are now looking into the situation.

Having spoken to Mr Hurley we understand that the couple were not to upset that there were no double rooms available, but rather with the manner in which this information was conveyed. We have offered them a free night in one of our hotels but they have refused this offer. Thistle Hotels does not tolerate homophobic behaviour and will investigate this matter thoroughly.

– Chris King, Thistle Hotel's spokesman
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