Gay Couple turned away at B&B

[greenbarncottages]

It will be interesting to see how this develops, and to understand precisely what the law has to say about discrimination.

In brief, owners of a B&B turned away a gay couple, middle aged men, who had booked.
The following is a link to the article in The Guardian:

http://tinyurl.com/yg8c3r8

My understanding is that a "hotel" or "private hotel" would not be able to turn the couple away, but I don't know if/how the law applies to a B&B. Is this currently well defined?
Maybe we're about to find out.

[barbersdrove]

my understanding is that it is illegal for any business to discriminate in this way. So, even if it's a B & B or Guesthouse and within your own home it is still a business. Quite right too in my mind.

[Der Alte Fritz]

The result was that the couple lost their case, even though they argued that they were only acting in accordance with their religious beliefs.

In short: If you take money from people for a service, you cannot discriminate against them on the basis of ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability, even if that service is offered in your own home.

Gone are the days of signs such as "No blacks, dogs or Irish"

However, although hotels are obliged to admit anyone, guest houses and bed and breakfasts can refuse entry to someone because they offer a service in their own home. You can refuse to admit someone but have to choose your reasons carefully - like you felt your own security was threatened or your credit check on the person was not satisfactory.

Personally, I think you would be mad not to promote your guest house to the gay and lesbian community, as a group they have more disposable income than families and couples are a lot less hassle than children.

Another area in which you need to be careful is guide-dogs or assistance dogs. There was a news piece on this recently as the numbers turned away from hotels is increasing. My understanding is that whatever 'dog policy' you run, cannot cover guide dogs or even assistance dogs (dogs which perform tasks for blind of deaf people) under disability discrimination grounds. You can charge extra for additional servicing but the dog is for all intents and purposes a 'person' and not a dog.