Short notice, too many guests or pets not allowed – these are the reasons you might expect when an Airbnb host tells you to find somewhere else to stay.
This wasn’t the case for two gobsmacked music fans, who had their innocent request to stay in Manchester rejected because they were Welsh.
Jemma Louise Gough, 38, and friend Jamie Lee Watkins, 37, had requested an Airbnb room in the city so they could see Australian DJ Sonny Fodera at the Co-op Live Arena.
The pair, from Cwmbran in South Wales, were trying to book a double room for just one night in November.
They told the Airbnb host they were coming ‘from Wales to see the gig’ when everything went awry.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Jemma and Jamie then received an email telling them their booking request had been rejected.
When they asked why, the prospective host replied: ‘Because you’re from WALES.’
Mum-of-two Jemma said: ‘We had an email that our booking had been declined and we were getting a refund.
‘We wrote “Hi, can I ask why it’s been declined?”, with a kiss, very politely.’
The school support officer said her ‘mouth hit the floor’ when she read message telling her the booking was cancelled because of where she was from.
She added: ‘Nothing else other than ‘because you’re from Wales’.
‘It was nothing about us going to the concert or whatever, it was just discrimination of the country.
‘We’re amazing people, the Welsh are lush. I don’t know what me and my friend – or the whole of Wales – did that’s so horrible. It’s absolutely horrendous.’
The pair shot back asking for more explanation, and told the host it was ‘discrimination under the Equality Act 2010’.
According to Jemma, that message the host read that message but did not reply.
Registered nurse Jamie, who was the one trying to make the booking, said: ‘I just thought, “oh my gosh, how can you say no just because I’m from Wales?”.
‘It was really blunt, just one line: because you are from, in capitals, Wales. What difference does that make? I was just a bit shocked really that people still say things like that.’
Jemma took to social media to express her outrage at the cancellation.
She said she ‘had to tell the world about this’ adding they had reported the host.
An Airbnb spokesperson said: ‘Discrimination, including on the basis of nationality, has no place on Airbnb. As soon as this report was brought to our attention, we reached out to the guest to provide our support and suspended the host while we investigate this matter.’
The holiday rental company do have an Open Doors initiative, which means the company provide support to guests who feel they have been discriminated against.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
