A man with cerebral palsy said he was left feeling "anxious and scared" after his experience at a Liverpool hotel.
Historian and academic Dr Michael Riordan had come to Liverpool at the weekend from his home in Edinburgh to visit family and have some meetings. He booked a two night stay at The Printworks Hotel in Renshaw Street.
Dr Riordan said he arrived at the hotel late on Friday night and tried to check in. He was told he needed identification to do this, which he didn't have and was unaware was needed and he questioned why this was required.
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The 36-year-old claims that a male staff member behind the hotel counter then went on a "big rant" about the hotel's rules, before shouting for him to get out of the hotel. He claims the confrontation with the staff member continued as he was outside the hotel some minutes later, leaving him feeling "anxious, scared and vulnerable."
The Printworks has challenged Dr Riordan's version of events and claimed he was being verbally abusive to the staff member. The hotel pointed out that its rules clearly state that identification must be provided and said guests will be refused entry without it.
Dr Riordan then claimed that as he was waiting outside the hotel, speaking to family members on the phone about where he could now stay, the same staff member came out and there were further crossed words. The hotel insists the staff member was not following him out and had just stepped outside as part of his work, unaware that Dr Riordan was still in the vicinity.
Dr Riordan said: "It was bizarre, I was anxious and quite scared. I have got a disability and feel a bit more vulnerable and he was being very aggressive towards me.
"Looking back there is almost a comic element to it all but at the time I did feel anxious and quite confused. I didn't raise my voice at all, I didn't shout, I challenged it and then he started shouting. It was beyond a rant."
Dr Riordan said he has asked for a refund from both the hotel and through Booking.com who he made the booking with but has not received anything.
He added: "I didn't see the policy at the time and have never been asked for ID at a hotel before so I challenged this. That is when the guy started shouting aggressively and told me he'd terminated the contract and to leave."
A spokesperson for The Printworks Hotel said: "Once Mr Riordan arrived at the hotel, he was asked to provide ID. Providing ID upon arrival is common practice with every hotel and is done for security purposes.
"This policy is clearly stated on Booking.com listed under 'house rules' and the 'fine print' section. Michael refused to give any form of ID and argued the reasons for which he had to provide it. If you cannot provide ID upon arrival you will be refused entry.
"After speaking to the member of staff involved, Michael was very irate along with having a bad attitude toward him. The member of staff states that Michael was asked to leave, which lead to verbal abuse towards our member of staff. Any such verbal abuse is not tolerated under any circumstance and anyone will be asked to leave if said abuse happens.
"The guest did eventually leave. Roughly six minutes later our member of staff stepped outside to do building checks as is his nightly task to do frequently during the night and unknown to him, Michael was stood outside the next door premises.
The statement added: "Words were exchanged between both Michael and our member of staff who has stated that Michael did continue with the verbal abuse. Our member of staff within a couple of second of seeing Michael outside immediately retreated back into the hotel quickly followed by Michael who raced in to shout more absurdities at himself. This resulted in our member of staff calmly walking back behind reception and locking the front door to the Hotel."
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