# Getting refused at a hotel **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363 "2013-03-30T16:51:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/121 "2013-04-04T15:54:40Z")
…Kardashians? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/122 "2013-04-04T15:59:07Z")
I’d guess Roma / gypsies, based on what **StusBlues** described. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/123 "2013-04-04T16:06:47Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > That’s a [protected class;](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class) excluding disabled people _on the basis of their disability_ is illegal. Yes, I realize it is illegal but thinking that would stop people from _quietly_ engaging in that behavior is not realistic. It was a guess based on the fact that regulations were made more stringent and knowing how people react when they have to increase their work load/change their procedures to accommodate changed law. Glad to hear that wasn’t the case. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/124 "2013-04-04T16:34:34Z")
Why would hotels discriminate against the disabled? Sometimes it took a couple minutes to shuffle reservations to get an accessible room open, but otherwise it’s a non-issue. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/125 "2013-04-04T16:49:15Z")
Liability issues, possibly. Many non-chain hotels or those run by lazy franchisors still aren’t in compliance with the ADA. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/126 "2013-04-04T17:49:26Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Why would hotels discriminate against the disabled? Sometimes it took a couple minutes to shuffle reservations to get an accessible room open, but otherwise it’s a non-issue. Bad feelings after dealing with the rebranding of hotel rooms, requirements to have accessible rooms in all room categories, updating reservation systems both in house and through web portals and travel agent systems, making accessible rooms available through all booking channels while also attempting to ensure that these rooms were not booked by able bodied guests just wishing to have the extra space in the room. It was just a guess and more based on the fact that the discrimination was described as quiet vs any hard knowledge. I was also picturing the discrimination being along the lines of ensuring that your accessible rooms were not the premium example (poor views, odd layouts and other factors that may make a room less desirable to a guest). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/127 "2013-04-04T18:29:36Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Online reservations were new when I was in the biz. The only times I remembered locals calling in was for fumigation or painting, which is fine. But if a local booked in advance, I think it’d be fine. Trouble makers don’t tend to plan ahead like that. What do you do for out of town trouble makers who do plan ahead and make reservations? I would imagine for many big festivals or other events, people plan on coming into town and partying. And with online reservations, you wouldn’t be able to tell if John Doe and his two friends that will be staying in a room together will go to the music festival all day and come back to the hotel and crash an not cause any trouble, or if they’ll want to continue the party at the hotel and will make noise all night. If people come in with a reservation but look like they’re big partiers who could be trouble, can you turn them away? This question is for anyone who works/worked at a hotel. It’s not an issue for me, since I’m not a partier, but I was just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/128 "2013-04-04T18:46:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Liability issues, possibly. Many non-chain hotels or those run by lazy franchisors still aren’t in compliance with the ADA. I’m sure this happens now and then, but in these cases the hotel needs to make up a reason to deny the disabled person. If they explicitly tell them “we’re not renting you a room because you’re disabled,” then they can be liable for damages in a civil suit. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/129 "2013-04-04T23:53:42Z")
That’s what the original commenter was talking about - quiet discrimination. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/130 "2013-04-05T00:23:56Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > Bad feelings after dealing with the rebranding of hotel rooms, requirements to have accessible rooms in all room categories, updating reservation systems both in house and through web portals and travel agent systems, making accessible rooms available through all booking channels while also attempting to ensure that these rooms were not booked by able bodied guests just wishing to have the extra space in the room. > > It was just a guess and more based on the fact that the discrimination was described as quiet vs any hard knowledge. I was also picturing the discrimination being along the lines of ensuring that your accessible rooms were not the premium example (poor views, odd layouts and other factors that may make a room less desirable to a guest). Naw, it doesn’t work like that. For managers, it all comes down to things that immediately cost money. The questions are: 1. Is this person going to trash my room? 2. Is this person going to cause a ruckus that causes me to lose guest loyalty? That’s basically it. I know you guys are just making a guess about a cryptic comment, but I think it’s important to get a handle on why this discrimination happens at hotels. It’s all about immediate risks. If someone flushes their clothes down the toilet (this happens!) or throws the TV (this happens) or bleeds all over the carpet (this happens), it’s on the manager’s dime, At a family-owned hotel, this is essentially the same as having to pay for it out of your own bank account. Bad guests are expensive in a very real way. > [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > What do you do for out of town trouble makers who do plan ahead and make reservations? I would imagine for many big festivals or other events, people plan on coming into town and partying. And with online reservations, you wouldn’t be able to tell if John Doe and his two friends that will be staying in a room together will go to the music festival all day and come back to the hotel and crash an not cause any trouble, or if they’ll want to continue the party at the hotel and will make noise all night. If people come in with a reservation but look like they’re big partiers who could be trouble, can you turn them away? > > This question is for anyone who works/worked at a hotel. It’s not an issue for me, since I’m not a partier, but I was just curious. In my experience, people coming for conventions and other events tend to focus on one or two hotels, so those hotels are generally prepared to handle it and won’t have a ton of non-convention guests to bother. And any people staying out outlying hotels are probably the ones looking for a quieter night anyway. There is also the fact that people who have the financing to travel in from out of town and the wherewithal to plan a vacation often have something to lose, so you have something to threaten them with. With kids and lowlifes, you can’t threaten them with anything- no credit to screw up, no clean record to mar, nothing. You essentially have no leverage in convincing them to not trash the room or otherwise abuse the property. Sometimes you just have to suck it up. I remember getting blindsided by a poorly chaparoned teen cheerleading competition. I spent much of the night awake and responding to noise complaints and trying to keep the offending rooms under control. You do what you can, but you can’t prevent all of the problems. Indeed, that’s one of the reason why it’s so important to avoid the obvious bad guests- there is enough random stuff happening from the normal ones, that you aren’t going to want to deal with the really bad ones. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/131 "2013-04-05T01:44:29Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > Your rule would require the authors of local codes to presume any possible conditions that would warrant an exception.. In France, essentially, a business owner can’t refuse to sell anything to anybody, with very few exceptions (that have been decided by court precedents rahter than laws ad codes), and it seems to work just fine. So, it’s not an unsurmountable obstacle. (I wouldn’t know if/how it applies to the specific cases of hotels/restaurant discussed in this thread, though). ---
**Author:** ![Frumpy\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Frumpy\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frumpy_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/132 "2013-04-06T02:32:12Z")
Ya know. I like the fact that this kinda tacked off into a cool discussion on legal issues and situations, but it kinda ticks me off that the OP has dissappeared… ☹ Takin’ my time to helps the peoples and the peoples don’t come back. … ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/133 "2013-04-06T03:13:43Z")
> [@Jane\_D\_oh](#): > > … > > And yes, there is a class that is quietly (very quietly) discriminated against in hospitality. But it isn’t blacks or Jews or hookers (although hookers are bad for business). You know, the whole point of the Dope is fighting ignorance. Plus you’re anonymous. Like bubblegum: Either bring enough to share with everyone or don’t bring any at all. Can you PM me now? Now I’m all worried. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/134 "2013-04-06T05:14:27Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > You know, the whole point of the Dope is fighting ignorance. Plus you’re anonymous. > > Like bubblegum: Either bring enough to share with everyone or don’t bring any at all. > > Can you PM me now? Now I’m all worried. I think the group in question is Irish Travellers. (Yes, that is the correct spelling.) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/135 "2013-04-06T06:45:56Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I think the group in question is Irish Travellers. > > (Yes, that is the correct spelling.) That was my assumption as well. ---
**Author:** ![Frumpy\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Frumpy\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frumpy_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/136 "2013-04-06T08:03:01Z")
Wasn’t this whole irish thing already covered in the [Blazing Saddles post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=686109)? ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363/137 "2013-04-06T09:29:35Z")
Could be, but then, where I worked they would only be refused on the way they dress & their manner when they come in. In that sense they would get the same treatment as absolutely everyone else, they might just statistically be more likely to exhibit traits that get you turned away. I don’t think I’ve ever had any travellers of any kind come in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-refused-at-a-hotel/654363.md?page=6)