Pontins told to stop screening Irish names
Discussion
vulture1 said:
Ever been to alton towers on easter holiday weekend. That is an eye opener...
I've a second home in its catchment area. .thinking of letting it out with potentially 2 family rooms and a sofa bed in each of the 2 lounges over the summer..It woukd be perfect for 2 families (apart from the out door space is a bit tight- there's a park about 1/4 mile away..just need to cross a main road.)
About £600 for a week?
I think 10 weeks at £600, and 10 weekends, in term time , at £300 ?
What the Airbnb take on this? Avoid auto booking ? Only take people with good reviews from hosts.?
I have to say that this thread does not contain the posts / replies that I would have expected to see - particularly given the specific title.
Banning travellers - absolutely
Not taking bookings from people with Irish surnames - somewhat dodgy for all sorts of reasons - one of which being it almost certainly won't weed out travellers as they are very unlikely to use (or even have) a genuine surname.
Far, far easier to just turn them away at the gate - if you can't tell by looking at them, then just ask one of the kids a polite question.
Banning travellers - absolutely
Not taking bookings from people with Irish surnames - somewhat dodgy for all sorts of reasons - one of which being it almost certainly won't weed out travellers as they are very unlikely to use (or even have) a genuine surname.
Far, far easier to just turn them away at the gate - if you can't tell by looking at them, then just ask one of the kids a polite question.
XCP said:
If a pub can get away with excluding football supporters ( Many do), and nightclubs can exclude anyone they don't like the look of, I don't see why Pontins can't exclude travellers or whatever they are.
I once stayed at a Pontins at Bournemouth. There was a cigarette burn in the bath.
I agree, however there has never been a Pontins in Bournemouth.I once stayed at a Pontins at Bournemouth. There was a cigarette burn in the bath.
omniflow said:
I have to say that this thread does not contain the posts / replies that I would have expected to see - particularly given the specific title.
Banning travellers - absolutely
Not taking bookings from people with Irish surnames - somewhat dodgy for all sorts of reasons - one of which being it almost certainly won't weed out travellers as they are very unlikely to use (or even have) a genuine surname.
Far, far easier to just turn them away at the gate - if you can't tell by looking at them, then just ask one of the kids a polite question.
HmmmmBanning travellers - absolutely
Not taking bookings from people with Irish surnames - somewhat dodgy for all sorts of reasons - one of which being it almost certainly won't weed out travellers as they are very unlikely to use (or even have) a genuine surname.
Far, far easier to just turn them away at the gate - if you can't tell by looking at them, then just ask one of the kids a polite question.
Not as easy as you make it sound unfortunately
Basically these fine types seem to believe they can rock up and any place they rock up to becomes their patch
That is their mindset. They then believe its for you to negotiate with them to leave not theirs to negotiate to stay
The problem for Pontins is not that they were discriminating against Irish travellers, they were discriminating against people with certain Irish surnames - so you didn't have to be a Traveller or even Irish to be excluded.
I for one am probably on the list - and I've never stayed in a caravan in my life (although I do have a motorhome
).
I for one am probably on the list - and I've never stayed in a caravan in my life (although I do have a motorhome
).omniflow said:
I have to say that this thread does not contain the posts / replies that I would have expected to see - particularly given the specific title.
Banning travellers - absolutely
Not taking bookings from people with Irish surnames - somewhat dodgy for all sorts of reasons - one of which being it almost certainly won't weed out travellers as they are very unlikely to use (or even have) a genuine surname.
Far, far easier to just turn them away at the gate - if you can't tell by looking at them, then just ask one of the kids a polite question.
Definitely not easy at all to turn them away at the gate! Banning travellers - absolutely
Not taking bookings from people with Irish surnames - somewhat dodgy for all sorts of reasons - one of which being it almost certainly won't weed out travellers as they are very unlikely to use (or even have) a genuine surname.
Far, far easier to just turn them away at the gate - if you can't tell by looking at them, then just ask one of the kids a polite question.
A queue of 4 white Audis arrive, everyone already drunk, ready for a very boozy weekend of fighting and vandalism.
"Sorry, you lot can't come in..."
"bubber bubber bubber why not bubber bubber!!!"
"because you're obviously trouble"
"kebab kebab kebab balls!"
"sorry, pardon?"
BOOM. It'd be like the Somme at the front gate, if everyone at the Somme was an illiterate thief with a boot full of catalytic converters.
XCP said:
If a pub can get away with excluding football supporters ( Many do), and nightclubs can exclude anyone they don't like the look of, I don't see why Pontins can't exclude travellers or whatever they are.
Because being a supporter of a football club is not one of the protected characteristics in law. Turning away someone because of how they look is a bit of a grey area. Not dressed correctly, that's fine if the policy is no trainers or t shirts. But they couldn't turn someone away because they were black, or Asian and they didn't like that look.Barring people because of their surname isn't legal, if it's done to exclude a certain race/nationality/ethnic group. It's not legal for Delaney or Murphy, as it wouldn't be legal for Cohen, Goldberg, or Patel .
Did the instruction say blanket ban them based on name, or did it read more as "for f
ks sake if you see these names on a booking please triple check it!"
They'd have been better hiding it behind automation in the booking system not sticking it on paper as a list, that way no one could run to the press with it.
ks sake if you see these names on a booking please triple check it!"They'd have been better hiding it behind automation in the booking system not sticking it on paper as a list, that way no one could run to the press with it.
Alucidnation said:
I agree, however there has never been a Pontins in Bournemouth.
I must be mistaken. Stayed at some similar establishment whilst on duty at the Tory conference in 1990. I apologise to Pontins for the slur.
ETA. apparently it closed in 1995. I am not surprised.
Edited by XCP on Wednesday 3rd March 09:43
Evolved said:
poo at Paul's said:
navigated round the human st on the corridor going to my room (seriously!!)
The most apt reply based on username ever t on the corridor going to my room (seriously!!)I’d have checked out seeing that. Grim.
I completely sympathise with Pontins on this but their method of filtering was always going to get caught out at some point. I’d guess losing a fair few innocent Irish named customers is outweighed by the costa incurred of fixing and paying for the damage caused by the bad ones.
It's really not on. And I can see why they're in trouble for it.
But if you're desperately trying to make a living and your average booking from a Wilson, a Patel, an Oyeleke or a Jones makes you a £100 profit, and the average McDonagh booking costs you £100 and a fistful of complaints from good customers, then there's a management challenge to try to tackle. Somehow.
But if you're desperately trying to make a living and your average booking from a Wilson, a Patel, an Oyeleke or a Jones makes you a £100 profit, and the average McDonagh booking costs you £100 and a fistful of complaints from good customers, then there's a management challenge to try to tackle. Somehow.
pquinn said:
Did the instruction say blanket ban them based on name, or did it read more as "for fks sake if you see these names on a booking please triple check it!"
They'd have been better hiding it behind automation in the booking system not sticking it on paper as a list, that way no one could run to the press with it.
Ah - you mean hide their illegal behaviour. That's good advice.ks sake if you see these names on a booking please triple check it!"They'd have been better hiding it behind automation in the booking system not sticking it on paper as a list, that way no one could run to the press with it.
It looks like they WERE trying to hide this policy - and were only found out when an employee called them out.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff