Movenpick JBR accused of racially profiling guest

A Dubai resident has accused the hotel of asking her to leave and refusing to serve her because of her skin colour, according to Gulf News XPRESS.

Nigerian national Hannah Fanni has told the paper that the incident, which took place last week, has left her upset and traumatised.

According to XPRESS, Fanni told them that she had visited Movenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach with a female friend - who is American and also black - to enjoy drinks, but were confronted by what Fanni calls a “management policy similar to that of 1930s America”.

“First the waitress refused to serve us and then a security guard ordered us to leave the hotel,” Fanni told XPRESS.

“At one stage he was ready to engage with us physically which is classified as assault and sexual harassment in UAE. He kept telling us that the bar didn’t allow unaccompanied women. I found it strange because there were several tables occupied by women. When I pointed to [the tables], he said he was merely following orders.

“They suspected us of being prostitutes and targeted us solely because of the colour of our skin. I have lived here for 10 years and have never been treated in such a disrespectful and despicable manner,”

Fanni, who heads up an events management company, said at that point, the bar manager intervened. She said that she showed him her business card and that the bar staff tried to make amends by offering them free drinks, but that she and her guest were so humiliated, they left immediately.

“I was stunned. Just because some black women had approached their guests, the hotel assumed we were also prostitutes.”

Fanni said that on her way out, she stopped at the front desked and asked to speak to the duty manager, who refused to meet her.

“Instead a female staff came out and tried to hush up the matter saying ‘Obama is the President of US’ as if that had anything to do with us”, said Fanni.

Fanni also says she has sent emails to the senior management of the hotel seeking an apology from the staff involved.

The marketing and communications manager at Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach told XPRESS in an email that the hotel has apologised to Hannah for the “unfortunate incident”.

“The incident occurred purely due to the misunderstanding of the employees and we would like to clarify that there is no such management policy existent in the hotel,” said the email.

“Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach welcomes and respect [sic] each and every guest and this incident in no way reflects our true standards of service. An official apology letter from the hotel management and employees involved has also been sent to the guest.”