travelerjim
June 28th, 2007, 10:20
Gays take on Novotel in club row...
From The Nation newspaper...June 28, 2007:
Global campaign planned as hotel is accused of barring transvestites
Gay-rights advocates plan to launch a global boycott against a high-end Bangkok hotel after it barred a transvestite from its nightclub.
Nikorn Arthit, president of Bangkok Rainbow Organi-sation, said yesterday that a campaign called "Novotel - No Homosexual" would soon be started through an online network of "third gender" groups.
The campaign is to fight back against the Novotel Siam Square after it banned a transvestite from entering its Concept CM2 Club.
"It is fine if you ban gays and transvestites, but you have to pay the price," Nikorn said.
The controversy sprang
to media attention when Sutthirat Simsiriwong, a transvestite who is a local brand manager for a French cosmetics firm, was told he could not enter the club last Friday.
A cross-dressing Sutthirat said his ID card was checked by club staff. Once the staff found that the card identified him as "Mr", he was not allowed entry, even though he went there with a VIP guest of the club.
"The staff said it is hotel policy to not allow katoey to enter," he claimed.
The word "katoey" is loosely used in Thailand to describe cross-dressers and transgender people.
The hotel, part of the Accor Group, yesterday issued a press statement signed by its executive general Michael Thomas denying the accusation.
Though admitting that Sutthirat was barred from entry, Thomas said the refusal was not part of the club's entry policy and was not supported by its management. He said the club regularly supported the gay community by hosting Mardi Gras, gay beauty pageants and singing contests.
"The unfortunate incident was an isolated instance of
an error in judgement aris-ing from non-conformity of the official ID on the part of the door staff involved in
the altercation with Mr Sutthirat," Thomas said.
for more see:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06 ... 037988.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/28/headlines/headlines_30037988.php) .
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Looks to me that Novotel Hotels have an "unwritten" anti-gay stance...
so I for one will not stay at any Novotel - or any Accor Group Hotels!
Here is Accor Hotels worldwide website:
http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/index.html .
SOFITEL...NOVOTEL...MERCURE...SUITE HOTEL...IBIS...ALL SEASONS...
ETAP...FORMULE 1...RED ROOF INNS...MOTEL 6 ...ACCOR THALASSA
"The hotel, part of the Accor Group, yesterday issued a press statement signed
by its executive general Michael Thomas denying the accusation"
Yeah...sure!
TravelerJim
From The Nation newspaper...June 28, 2007:
Global campaign planned as hotel is accused of barring transvestites
Gay-rights advocates plan to launch a global boycott against a high-end Bangkok hotel after it barred a transvestite from its nightclub.
Nikorn Arthit, president of Bangkok Rainbow Organi-sation, said yesterday that a campaign called "Novotel - No Homosexual" would soon be started through an online network of "third gender" groups.
The campaign is to fight back against the Novotel Siam Square after it banned a transvestite from entering its Concept CM2 Club.
"It is fine if you ban gays and transvestites, but you have to pay the price," Nikorn said.
The controversy sprang
to media attention when Sutthirat Simsiriwong, a transvestite who is a local brand manager for a French cosmetics firm, was told he could not enter the club last Friday.
A cross-dressing Sutthirat said his ID card was checked by club staff. Once the staff found that the card identified him as "Mr", he was not allowed entry, even though he went there with a VIP guest of the club.
"The staff said it is hotel policy to not allow katoey to enter," he claimed.
The word "katoey" is loosely used in Thailand to describe cross-dressers and transgender people.
The hotel, part of the Accor Group, yesterday issued a press statement signed by its executive general Michael Thomas denying the accusation.
Though admitting that Sutthirat was barred from entry, Thomas said the refusal was not part of the club's entry policy and was not supported by its management. He said the club regularly supported the gay community by hosting Mardi Gras, gay beauty pageants and singing contests.
"The unfortunate incident was an isolated instance of
an error in judgement aris-ing from non-conformity of the official ID on the part of the door staff involved in
the altercation with Mr Sutthirat," Thomas said.
for more see:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06 ... 037988.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/28/headlines/headlines_30037988.php) .
-----------------------
Looks to me that Novotel Hotels have an "unwritten" anti-gay stance...
so I for one will not stay at any Novotel - or any Accor Group Hotels!
Here is Accor Hotels worldwide website:
http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/index.html .
SOFITEL...NOVOTEL...MERCURE...SUITE HOTEL...IBIS...ALL SEASONS...
ETAP...FORMULE 1...RED ROOF INNS...MOTEL 6 ...ACCOR THALASSA
"The hotel, part of the Accor Group, yesterday issued a press statement signed
by its executive general Michael Thomas denying the accusation"
Yeah...sure!
TravelerJim