A gay couple is claiming that a hotel forced them to take a room with two twin beds even though they booked a double room.
Nick Hurley, 22, and Gavin Maclean, 28, from Manchester, booked a double room at the Thistle City Barbican hotel in east London for last Saturday night. However when they went to check in, the receptionist made them take a room with two beds.
The couple was visiting London for the weekend and has just returned from a show when they tried to check in at 11:30 pm.
"When we got there, we tried to check in, and the receptionist looked at us and said 'are you sure you want a double room or do you want single beds? He had obviously seen it was two guys. We said 'we've booked a double and we'd quite like one," Hurley told the BBC.
"He then looked at us and said 'are you sure you don't want single beds?' He insisted on repeating that question," Mr Hurley continued. "He said we'll have to put you in a family room, with single beds. There were no doubles left in the hotel."
Hurley told the BBC that he felt that the receptionist was homophobic. He feels that they were being bullied by the hotel for being gay.
"This kind of thing is basic bullying," he told the BBC. "It can't happen. If anything comes out of this, it should inspire organisations to change."
Hurley also took to Twitter to describe the issue.
"Homophobic receptionist at @ThistleHotels refused me & my bf our pre-booked double room. Insisted we take a "family" room w/ separate beds," he said.
Gay rights group Stonewall was upset to hear about the incident.
Subject to the facts being as reported, it's sad to see that this sort of thing is still happening as it's been unlawful for five years," Stonewall's chief executive Ben Summerskill told the BBC. "A major hotel company must be well aware they can no more turn away a gay couple than a mixed race couple, even though they might not approve of them either."
The BBC contacted the hotel. Spokesman Chris King said he didn't speak to the staff involved in the incident but he apologized for the way that the couple felt that they were treated. He also said that there had been a mix-up in the bookings and there were no double rooms available by the time the couple got to the hotel.
"We apologise for the way they feel," he said.
The couple has been offered two free nights at any Thistle hotel in England.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
