No room at the inn for homeless after charity’s booking cancelled

A HOTEL cancelled a Christmas booking for a group of homeless people after being told that guests from the same charity project left a hotel in disarray last year.

Raise the Roof Homeless Project claimed it was being discriminated against after the Royal Hotel in Hull cancelled its booking for 28 people on Dec 24 and 25.

The charity announced its plight on Facebook and its post went viral. Another hotel group offered to put up the homeless people while a fundraising page brought in more than £9,000. However, the Royal Hotel said in a statement that it cancelled the booking after a female employee from the charity itself called to warn it of trashed rooms, fires, and theft at an Ibis hotel used by the charity last Christmas.

“She had rung to warn us that the group had caused serious problems at the Ibis and that she felt we should not take the booking,” the hotel said in a statement. “The hotel has a number of families and tours staying at the hotel over the Christmas period, which we feel would suffer if the booking was taken.”

Hayley Ann Harrington, from Raise the Roof, originally told The Daily Telegraph that the Royal Hotel had failed to give them a reason and she believed that the group had been subject to discrimination.

She said hotel staff did not say when the group would receive a refund of the £1,092 deposit had it paid for 14 twin rooms. But the hotel claimed it had told the charity it would accept the booking but “with conditions”.

No one from the charity was available for further comment. Ibis confirmed it had taken a booking last year but denied the charity had caused any problems. Meanwhile, Vivid, a London-based travel company, offered to pay the deposit and help find alternative accommodation.