Hotel ordered to pay €5k to blind woman for discrimination over guide dog

Woman told there was no room suitable for the guide dog and that she should have requested a room designated for disability

The woman's partner said that the dog was highly trained, so there was no requirement to stay in a room specifically designed for disability.

A Kilkenny hotel has been ordered to pay €5,000 compensation to a blind woman for discriminating against her by refusing to accept a room booking that included her guide dog.

Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudicator, Andrew Heavey ordered Kilkenny House Hotel to compensate Pamela McKeogh for discriminating against her on disability grounds under the Equal Status Act.

Ms McKeogh's partner, Kevin Ryan, told Mr Heavey that an online hotel booking had been made for a one-night stay for November 19, 2019.

On November 14, Mr Ryan received a message from the hotel via the online booking agent that it would not be possible to bring the guide dog.

He stated that he subsequently spoke to the hotel manager who informed him that he himself had dogs and if the guide dog was present in the hotel the other dogs would “bark all night".

Mr Ryan said the hotel manager then said that “he was cancelling the booking and didn’t want to hear any more about it”.

No requirement for disability room

Mr Ryan told the WRC that on staying in other hotels, there was never a requirement to stay in a room specifically designated for disability usage as the guide dog is highly trained and sits and sleeps on a special mat and does not move from it.

He said that even the suggestion of needing to use a room designated for disability usage further adds to the discrimination as it is not necessary for Ms McKeogh to stay in such a room.

In his findings, Mr Heavey stated that while the hotel stated that it did allow guide dogs, there were no rooms available on the night in question.

I do not accept this contention as the message sent the day after the booking was made is quite clear and unambiguous.

Mr Heavey said he also noted from Mr Ryan’s submission that the hotel policy on pets changed in December 2019 and that guide dogs are now accepted “although at the material time in November 2019, I am satisfied that this was not the case”.

He accepted Mr Ryan's evidence concerning his interactions with the hotel manager about the other dogs barking all night.

Mr Heavey said that this was explained by the hotel’s solicitor who confirmed that the manager lived adjacent to the hotel and his own dogs would be aware of the presence of the guide dog.

He said he accepted Mr Ryan’s contention that while the hotel manager may well have accepted the booking, the reality was that once the guide dog was not permitted in the hotel, it would no longer be possible for them to stay there.

Mr Heavey stated that with limited disability rooms available and in circumstances where Ms McKeogh did not need such a room, “it is my view that this process presents a barrier to the complainant availing of a special offer online and further compounds the less favourable treatment she received".

He concluded that “in all of the circumstances of this complaint, I find that the complaint is well founded”.

The WRC adjudicator said that it would have been far preferable if the hotel manager had attended to give evidence "but despite an adjournment to facilitate his attendance, regrettably the hotel manager remained unavailable to attend due to ill health”.

Hotel's response

In correspondence with the WRC, the hotel stated that it does allow guide dogs but that there was no such room requested by Ms McKeogh’s partner at the time of booking and, on the night in question, none of those rooms were available.

The hotel added that Ms McKeogh could not have stayed with her dog in any other room as this would have required extensive cleaning following her stay.

In further correspondence, the hotel manager stated that the four bedrooms that were set aside for disability usage were not available on the day in question.

He stated that while he did indicate that the hotel may not be suitable for a guide dog, he did not refuse to allow Ms McKeogh and her partner to stay at the hotel.

In the letter, the hotel manager further stated that he had personal experience of disability and if discrimination was perceived to have occurred in this case, he was truly sad and sorry for that perception.