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 when they were told ‘Because you’re from WALES’
Two best mates were gobsmacked when their Airbnb reservation was turned down simply because they hailed from Wales.
Jemma Louise Gough, 38, and Jamie Lee Watkins, 37, were looking to secure an £83 double room in Manchester for a single night’s stay. The duo, journeying from Cwmbran in South Wales, planned to attend a performance by the Aussie music maestro Sonny Fodera at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
They mentioned in their booking request that they were ‘coming from Wales to see the gig’, but were flabbergasted to receive an email just over an hour later informing them of the rejection. Upon querying the reason for the cancellation, the host bluntly replied: “Because you’re from WALES”. It comes as one holidaymaker claims to have found the best Airbnb in England.
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The astounded friends have since levelled accusations of ‘xenophobia and horrendous discrimination’ against the property owner. School support officer and mother-of-two Jemma recounted: “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.
“She wrote ‘because you’re from Wales’, in capital letters. My mouth hit the floor – nothing else other than ‘because you’re from Wales’. It wasn’t about us attending the concert or anything, it was sheer discrimination against our country.
“We’re amazing people, the Welsh are lush. I’ve no clue what me and my mate, or all of Wales, have done to be seen as so terrible. It’s xenophobia. It’s absolutely horrendous. I’m white, so I don’t think it’s racism, but to a certain degree it’s racism to the country, isn’t it?. It’s definitely discrimination, it’s horrendous.”
Jamie pressed the host for a proper explanation regarding why their reservation had been turned down – arguing that it constituted ‘discrimination under the Equality Act 2010’. She revealed her message had been read, yet she received no reply whatsoever.
Qualified nurse Jamie, who had tried to secure the booking via her profile, explained: “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.
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“If she had said ‘I don’t want people going to concerts and coming back if they’d had a drink or something, I’d be like yeah, OK, that’s fine. That’s an explanation. But she gave no explanation apart form ‘because you are from Wales’.”
On Airbnb, the ‘superhost’ who turned down the booking, is described as a ‘friendly and easygoing’ foodie. When approached for a statement today (Fri), the host chose not to comment.
The en suite double room she offers, which itself has garnered an average 4.97-star rating from 300 reviews, has been temporarily removed from Airbnb’s listings.
A spokesperson for Airbnb made it clear: “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.”