LC Geezer

Unbelieveable.

BBC NEWS | Wales | Soldier is refused room at hotel

The Metro Hotel (Woking) can be contacted on 01483 727100 if anyone feels like expressing their views. I don't have a fax number or emal addy for them yet.

stilover

What a fcuked-up country this is.

Bet they'd take an illegal imigrant in if they had the money.

Ant

makes me laugh, my brother in law is in afganistan and where I live in Mansfield rebbecca Adlington gets a open top bus and £400 shoes from the mayor and our soldiers get naff all. Really infuriates me

Wool sarrrr

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Contact them here

Contact Metro Hotels

Frankly unbelievable or is there more to the story, would be hard to see what it could be though.

David Lock

Shocking thing to have happened.

BUT - I bet there is another side to the story. These are quite a few miltary bases in the Woking area, like Bisley for example. A few exuberant parties and a smashed up bar might well have resulted in a ban on the military.

But, of course, an exception should have been made in this case. dl

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

email sent, thats really bad!!

Leslie

I have also sent a strongly worded email. I am absolutely disgusted at their policy in this respect.

Les

PeteBrant

Why are people sending emails when they don't know the full story?

Like Davidlock says, perhaps the hotel has a policy based on previous problems.

AJF

iTrader: (1)

may have something to do with the night club next door and the amount of fight at weekends with lads from local barracks wokings well know for it

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

It will 100% be that reason. A load of drunk squadies probably trying to almost rape any woman in the hotel and no doubt smashing the place up or fighting.

They do a great job for this country but a lot are little more than trained thugs and once off the leash act as such.

No doubt the policy is in place to protect their business which you cant argue with.

Common sense should have been applied in this case though.

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

I believe that this place has probably had problems in the past, I know of a few places that are funny about you being in the forces, If there was a group of them you can understand in a way,
I know a lot will say he has served his country and should be allowed to stay where he wants, if there is history of problems why hasnt he got the right to refusal?

Yes I have my flame suit ready but i also know a lot of forces guys who have promised to be good in B&B`s etc and then had a goodnight out, got a bit rowdy etc then laugh about the state they have left places afterwards.

Brett

r32

I sent a polite.mail, there is no good reason why this Gentleman was refused, he wasnt even in uniform, I think its disgusting. We should honour those who would lay down their life for their country.

It wasnt a bunch of young sqaddies having a stag do, it was a respectacle guy visiting a sick colleague

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I dont think it will be some anti war protest, its probably an anti Squaddies policy, i suspect that the hotel has had issues in the past, if in the past they had been impecabbly behaved and left the rooms like they had never been there, been quiet and polite then I doubt there would be a knock back.

I remember when working in a pub, a couple of local lads that were in the army coming back, used to turn up drink from whenever they arrived until someone carried them home, repeat until they had to go back, usually having messed themselves, threatened someone or got their ***** out !

However, that is no excuse for them to victimize one soldier, it should be done based on the actual threat, not a blanket ban.

PeteBrant

Well blanket bans are in effect in lot sof situation. I mean go out at night and a lot of places wont admit a group of 5 blokes. They could be travelling monks and it won't matter, thems the rules.

At the end of the day, its private property, and they can, within the law, enact any policy they want.

If they have a policy of no military personal, its no different to somewhere else having a policy of no children

RyanSTI

iTrader: (1)

soldiers are not thugs, there highly trained highly motivated servants of the queen. its a discrace that he wasnt allowed to stay at that hotel.

the problem is these guys dont get to go out every friday night like most of us, so when they do go out they want to have a brillant time, which can lead to being a little excessive.

tmo

This is absolutely disgusting, but typical of this country.

How many illegal’s got a free hotel room that night then ??????

Suresh

Indeed and indignant members of the public can phone, fax and mail them and also boycott their business.

warrenm2

and if they said no muslims Pete?

Torquemada

Hmmm, knowing the area, I'm inclined to agree that it's not an anti war thing either. As said, more than likely due to probs with squaddies in the past.
Personally I have full respect for the jobs they do for our country but I wouldn't like a load of them drinking in an establishment I ran or for that matter one that Iwas drinking in as it always ends the same way.
A bit of a strange one banning just one guy but maybe they expected more to turn up or something.
I don't think it's quite as bad a situation as the papers and some of you guys on here have decided it is, fortunately!

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

I don't understand why he felt the need to show them his ID card when checking into a hotel in his own country. There must be more to it than that!

Flatcapdriver

Because there's a huge part of the population who are gullible enough to accept mainstream media reporting as fact without bothering to avail themselves of the facts.

A strange 'story' anyway. Why would he feel the need to show his military ID anyway given that its main use is for identification within the military and not required for civilian use and its not as if he's obliged to show any form of ID when booking a hotel room.

As you say - probably more to this story than meets the eye.

PeteBrant

What if they did? What has that got to do with this story?

Or what if the solider was a Muslim, imagine that!

I'm not asure what illegal immigrants have to do with this story either, which people bizarrely keep mentioning.


As far as I am aware, it is now unlawful to refuse goods or services on the basis of religion or beleifs.

Lets be clear, I didn't say I agreed with the soldier not being admitted, I said I didn't understand why people were writing to express thier disgust about a story they only have partial details on.

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

It is a strange one this. Maybe he showed his military ID as a form of ID. Perhaps he did not have a credit card to swipe. Who knows

coolangatta

Having lived for the last six years in a city with a large US military base attached, I can fully sympathise with this hotels policy.
There are many establishments/businesses here, mostly bars and clubs, that exclude military personnel.
The military gather in bars that cater for them. The bars that are GI friendly have increased security/doormen/bouncers, pretty much non existent in other places, and also the military send out security patrols (Military Police) of their own to keep a lid on things.
Why should a business be forced to have additional costs thrust upon it to accomodate people who cause problems. Of course not all military people cause trouble but a significant minority do. That's enough to make the difference

farmer1

Having spent a year in fareham there are quite a few places there which ban the Navy and other Organisations and for good reason because every wed, thurs, fri, sat without fail it would kick off the police would be called and stuff would be broken. Generally because they would congregate in large groups of people with a lets kick off we've got safety in numbers attitude.

farmer1

It also has to be added that there are other establishments which thrive of this and just operate a run dwon place to milk money out of the drunken behaviours.

Luan Pra bang

Most likely they have had problems in the past with squaddies behavior and have a hotel policy that says no forces or no large groups of forces personel, that the receptionist misunderstood. Any one who has seen army personel on a night out knows that their behavior is unnaceptable for any nice establishment and the stories ex forces people have told me are disgusting. Even if it was one person it is quite possible that 4 more may have turned up to share the room. An ex army bloke I know told me about when a few of their 'regiment' got invited to someones house. 15 turned up in the end wrecked the house ate the goldfish stole the pet dog and returned it next day with an expleteive shaved into the dogs coat.
People then wonder why some have a downer on forces personel.

Abdabz

Seems to me that the hotel will have had problems in the past with squaddies wrecking the place so they dont let them stay...
If that's the case then I dont see why the hotel doesnt say so and then once they have said so no-one on this green and pleasant land can have a problem with their policy...

They might sign up to do a risky job but it doesnt entitle them to the freedom of every corporate enterprise in the land, least of all one run by yanks

Jerome

In the US, I got a big discount by showing my British Army ID card.

Here in the UK I wouldn't show my Army ID for fear of getting the same treatment as the soldier in the article.

Quite why he didn't have his driving licence or other form of ID on him I can't imagine.

It has to be said though, many towns have had problems with squaddies causing trouble and refuse patronage etc. A lone soldier checking in to a hotel shouldn't be a cause for alarm though.

PeteBrant

BBC NEWS | Wales | Soldier ban explanation demanded

They will probably look at emails too - Hope you were all polite.