Barred from hotel

December 2016

Isaac* is a Maori man and a regular drinker at his local hotel. He has a gambling addiction and had previously elected to self-exclude from the gaming room within the hotel. However, on one occasion Isaac managed to get into the gaming area.

When Isaac went to the hotel the next day to ask why he had not been kept out of the gaming area, he was told by the manager that because he had broken the self-exclusion agreement, he was now barred from the entire hotel. Isaac was upset and felt that someone from a different background would not have been completely barred. 

Isaac lodged a complaint with ADNSW.

The new licensee of the hotel denied discrimination but said he was keen to resolve Isaac’s issues. He said there had been a turnover of staff and this may have been why Isaac had not been identified when he went into the gaming room. He also said it was unlikely Isaac would have been barred from the hotel as a whole, just the gaming room.

During the process of investigation, it was revealed that Isaac had an intellectual disability, which may have contributed to the confusion over the extent to which he had been barred.

At the conciliation conference, the licensee listened to Isaac’s concerns and assured him that he was not barred from the entire hotel. The licensee said that Isaac was welcome to return, but Isaac said he was embarrassed by the whole incident and was reluctant to do so.

The licensee offered to meet with Isaac outside the hotel, escort him in and introduce him to the new management. Isaac was pleased with these outcomes and the complaint was resolved. ​

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual.