UK: British holiday park operator Pontins has apologised to Irish Travellers and the Gypsy community for previously refusing to allow guests with surnames of Irish descent to stay at its parks.
In 2021, the i newspaper published a report on a secret blacklist of “undesirables”, which included names such as Gallagher, Boyle, McGuinness and more of Irish descent, and which were allegedly prevented from booking by Pontins. The practice was condemned by travel and hospitality industry leaders, and even led to a spokesperson for former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson labelling it as “anti-Traveller discrimination”.
The list was first uncovered by a whistleblower who reported the issue to the Equality and Human Rights Commission [EHRC] back in February 2020. They also revealed that the firm had monitored calls in its contact centre and refused reservations made by people with an Irish accent or surname in order to exclude Gypsies and Travellers from staying at its sites.
At the time, the EHRC said the practices employed by Pontins were tantamount to to racial discrimination and were in violation of the Equality Act 2010.
The equality watchdog later launched a formal investigation into Pontins in 2022 after the operator reportedly failed to comply with the terms of a legally binding agreement to address discrimination a year earlier. Following that, the EHRC developed a one-year action plan with Pontins to prevent discrimination against all types of people and communities across the business.
In February, the EHRC served Pontins with an unlawful notice and published the findings of an investigation which discovered “company systems and practices” designed to prevent Irish Travellers from booking accommodation at its holiday parks over a five-year period between 2013 and 2018. 11 unlawful acts, namely retaining a list of Irish surnames titled “undesirable guests”, monitoring calls, refusing or cancelling bookings made by people with an Irish accent or surname, and requiring guests to appear on the electoral register, were uncovered in total.
In response to the EHRC investigation, a Pontins spokesperson issued the following apology on Monday [2 September]: “On behalf of the owners, directors, senior managers and all of us here at Pontins, we would like to reiterate our apologies regarding the serious issues raised by the EHRC in their report.
“In particular, we want to apologise directly to the Traveller and Gypsy community. The refusal to allow guests to stay at our parks because we suspected they were Irish Travellers was clearly wrong.
“We accept the serious nature of the issues raised in the report. We deeply regret any distress caused, particularly to members of the Traveller and Gypsy communities who have been directly affected,” they added.
EHRC chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner said: “Race and ethnicity should never be a barrier to going on holiday. Pontins has today apologised to the Irish Traveller community it discriminated against and has begun work to introduce strict safeguards and guarantee a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination.
“The wider holiday sector should ensure that their policies and procedures do not breach equality law. Our investigation report recommended removal of electoral roll terms and conditions across the sector,” she added.
As part of the ongoing action plan to root out discrimination at the company, the EHRC will work with Pontins to monitor its booking policies, introduce safeguards in systems and processes, establish a whistleblower action plan, and engage more closely with Traveller communities. Pontins said that it was “fully committed” to abiding by the action plan.
Since last December, Pontins, which is owned by Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd, has closed its UK sites in Southport, Camber Sands and Prestatyn with immediate effect, although limited information was given for the closures.
