After denying entry, Mumbai hotel refunds unmarried couple

Mumbai: A budget hotel in Mumbai, which denied admission to a couple after the staff found out that the two were not married, has now refunded the payment they had made.

Last week, the Indian woman and her South American boyfriend were in the city on holiday.

According to a report in The Times of India, they had booked a room at Fab Hotel Panchvati Residency in Andheri and made a payment online. However, when they tried to check in on May 26, the staff denied them admission citing hotel’s ‘no-couples policy’. After the woman and her boyfriend told them that they were not aware of such a condition, they were given a customer care number.

"My boyfriend and I took turns to speak to the customer care executive for nearly 45 to 50 minutes. The executive said she would look for a room for us in another hotel from the same chain. We were okay with it. But after keeping me on hold for some time, she said she had found a stipulation on the Fab Hotel Panchvati Residency's webpage about not granting entry to couples," the woman said..

The hotel staff also refused to refund the payment saying that the booking was treated as cancelled.

 "We told them to refund our money so we could head to another hotel. But the staff said the booking was being treated as a cancellation," the woman added.

After the incident was reported, the hotel initiated a refund on May 27, the TOI report further said.

"...We have initiated a refund...," the hotel said in a statement.