A hotel in the southern German state of Bavaria has faced heavy criticism for refusing a reservation to an Israeli guest over a message that included a message reminiscent of the Nazi era.
The matter came to light when Israel’s Consul General in southern Germany, Talya Lador, posted a disapproval message on Instagram.
“Are we back to the 1930s?”. Ledor wrote in German.
A screenshot of his post shows an English-language message from the Hotel Zum Hirschen in Bavaria telling the recipient “No Jews are allowed in our hotel.”
The hotel’s junior director, Andreas Vogl, told the dpa news agency that the message did not reflect the establishment’s “world view” at all.
Hotel apologizes for ‘regrettable mistake’
The hotel, located in the Bavarian Forest near the Czech border, has since apologized to the guest and offered him and his family a week’s free stay “to get to know us personally, and to prove to you that we are not bad people who discriminate against others”.
“It was definitely wrong of us to respond in this manner in the chat,” the hotel wrote in an email. It was also sent to the office of the Bavarian head of state, DPA reported.
According to the email, the hotel has been battling fraudulent bookings and phishing attempts for some time, stating that customer data has been stolen.
The hotel said Israel’s request was also mistaken for a fraudulent booking.
“It is extremely important to us that you understand that this comment was not directed at people of the Jewish faith, but was made out of frustration with the many fraudulent bookings,” the apology letter said. “Nonetheless, this was unacceptable and should not happen in professional business.”
Call for anti-Semitism investigation
The Central Council of Jews in Germany has called for an investigation into the incident.
“Even though I have taken note of the apology for this unacceptable comment, it is shocking that someone would not only have such views but would even send them in writing,” council president Joseph Schuster told dpa.
The tourist also filed a complaint with the Bavarian Justice Ministry’s office to combat anti-Semitism, national broadsheet World Informed. According to media reports, a decision has not yet been taken on whether formal action will be taken on this message or not.
In a statement reported by WorldThe hotel owner described the response to the reservation as a “regrettable mistake” and attributed it to human error.
According to the Sproul-Vogel family, the hotel has been receiving threats and calls to murder them since the incident became public.
Booking.com has removed the hotel from the platform, Vogel said.
Edited by: Zack Crellin
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