Airbnb said they suspended the host and are now investigating the matter after pals Jemma Louise Gough, 38, and Jamie Lee Watkins, 37, were denied a stay in Manchester
Two pals who booked a trip to Manchester for a concert were left “gobsmacked” after being denied an Airbnb stay simply because they were “from Wales”.
Jemma Louise Gough, 38, and Jamie Lee Watkins, 37, had been planning to travel from Cwmbran, South Wales, to see Australian music DJ Sonny Fodera perform at Co-op Live in November. But when they tried to book the one-night stay at a private property in the city, their reservation was abruptly declined. The pair, who wrote on the listing that they were coming ‘from Wales to see the gig’, were left baffled and politely messaged the host to ask why. The response came back bluntly: “Because you’re from WALES.”
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Jemma, a school support officer and mum-of-two, said the message left her stunned. “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 absolutely horrendous.” It comes after another Brit abroad slammed an all-inclusive hotel food, asking ‘what on earth is this?’
Jamie asked the host for further explanation as to why they’d had their booking rejected, saying it was ‘discrimination under the Equality Act 2010’. She said her message was read, but received no response. Registered nurse Jamie, who attempted to make the booking through her account, said: “I just thought, ‘oh my gosh, how can you say no just because I’m from Wales?’.
Se added: “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. If [they] 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, okay, that’s fine. That’s an explanation.”
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.”