Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach has apologized to a Nigerian woman and her African American friend who claimed that they were racially profiled by staff at the hotel's bar earlier this month, according to XPRESS .
"“The incident occurred purely due to the misunderstanding of the employees and we would like to clarify that there is no such management policy existent in the hotel," the company said in an email to XPRESS. "Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach welcomes and respect each and every guest and this incident in no way reflects our true standards of service. An official apology letter from the hotel management and employees involved has also been sent to the guest.”
Hannah Fanni had said that when she and a friend visited the Movenpick's West Beach Bistro & Sports Lounge on July 8, the staff refused to served them and called security to escort them out.
“At one stage he was ready to engage with us physically which is classified as assault and sexual harassment in UAE. He kept telling us that the bar didn’t allow unaccompanied women. I found it strange because there were several tables occupied by women. When I pointed to them, he said he was merely following orders,” Fanni told XPRESS.
When the woman, who runs an event management company in Dubai, got the bar manager involved, it became clear why the two had been targeted.
“I showed him my business card. When he saw it, his face contorted in panic as it dawned on him that they had racially profiled the wrong people. But instead of making amends, he said the security guard had asked us to leave as some black women had come in earlier and solicited their guests," she said. “I was stunned. Just because some black women had approached their guests, the hotel assumed we were also prostitutes.”
While Fanni and her friend were eventually told they could stay, the pair said they felt too humiliated to continue their night out and left.