Airbnb host cancelled guests ‘because they were Welsh’

[dutchman]

Two friends’ accommodation booking rejected after ‘superhost’ knew where they were from



Two friends have accused an Airbnb host of “xenophobia” after they were rejected for a room booking because they were Welsh.

Jemma Louise Gough, 38, and Jamie Lee Watkins, 37, had been trying to book an £83 double room for one night at the property in Manchester.

They were travelling to the city from Cwmbran, South Wales, to see the Australian music producer Sonny Fodera at the city’s Co-op Live Arena.

In the reason for their visit, they wrote they were coming “from Wales to see the gig”. Just over an hour after their booking request, they were emailed to say it had been rejected.

When they asked why the booking had been cancelled, the host responded with the message: “Because you’re from WALES”.

Ms Gough, who works as a school support officer, said: “My mouth hit the floor – 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 xenophobia. It’s absolutely horrendous.”

Ms Watkins, a nurse, who attempted to make the booking through her account, said she would have understood if the host was concerned about “people going to concerts and coming back if they’d had a drink or something. That’s an explanation”.

She added: “It was really blunt, just one line: because you are from, in capitals, Wales. What difference does that make?”

Ms Watkins asked the host for further explanation for the rejection, saying that it was “discrimination under the Equality Act 2010”.

She said her message was read, but received no response, adding: “I was just a bit shocked really that people still say things like that.”

Ms Gough posted on Instagram and Facebook to complain about the experience. The video gained thousands of views and comments from social media users who shared it.

Katie Jones, the “superhost” who rejected Ms Gough and Ms Watkins, describes herself as “friendly and easygoing” on the app. She has also spent eight years hosting and has an average 4.96-star rating.

The en-suite double room, which has an average 4.97-star rating with 300 reviews, has since been suspended by Airbnb from its platform.

An Airbnb spokesman 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.”

Ms Jones was approached for comment.

[dutchman]

I'll hazard a guess it was because they're both female but the owner couldn't say that?