No Muslims allowed - hotel owner denies refusing guest

A Malacca budget hotel owner accused of religious discrimination today denied that the hotel rejected a potential guest because he is Muslim.

This comes after a man from Brunei complained on bed and breakfast booking website Airbnb that Raymond’s Boutique Travellers Home told him that Muslims are not allowed.

Aghast, hotel owner Raymond Bala believes his Airbnb account is compromised.

“I did not write that. There are no restrictions at my hotel. Everybody is most welcomed.

“Some people just call me to ask if there are rooms available, and only after we have confirmed will I ask them for their names. I am not racist.

“No business owner will do this nonsense. I would be happy if someone books a room with me,” he told Malaysiakini.

He added that the hotel had two tudung-clad guests a few days ago, and many Muslim guests have posted positive reviews about the hotel in booking websites Tripadvisor and Agoda.

Dinie Hamizan in his complaint on Airbnb’s Facebook page, said the hotel owner said no Muslims are allowed in his guest house.

He also appended a screenshot of Raymond’s Boutique Travellers Home’s reply to him when he enquired via the Airbnb website.

“If you know how to respect, I, too, know how to respect you. Sorry, nowadays, Muslims only know their homes (sic).

“So find a Muslim home, don’t disturb our home. People are afraid of you,” the reply reads.

This prompted an apology from Airbnb, which promised to take action.

No longer listed

Raymond said he received an email from Airbnb that his hotel will no longer be listed on booking website, but there was no explanation why.

“I don’t know the head or tail of this,” he said, asking Malaysiakini to read out the reply which Dinie Hamizan said he received from the hotel.

He added that he has operated the budget hotel alone since 2013 with the help of some part-time staff, and is constantly logged into accounts for booking websites, so he does not miss queries from potential guests.

The complaint led Airbnb to cancel all bookings to the hotel via its website, resulting in losses of about RM500, he said.

“I am an MCE-leaver, and that time we never learned about computers. I’m only learning how to do all this in the last few years,” he said, exasperated.

“It takes years to build a reputation, but only a single negative review to ruin it.”

The hotel has is rated 4/5 on Tripadvisor, with most reviews saying it is either “very good” or “excellent”. -Mkini