Turkish resorts ban male only bookings, say mixed parties better behaved

The resort town of Bodrum is a popular holiday destination located by the Aegean coast of Turkey. Photo / 123RF

A host of Turkish hotels have banned male travellers from checking in without female company, claiming that all-male parties are worse behaved.

Whether anti-gay or anti-party, the policy is certainly discriminatory, say confused travellers.

This odd detail in the terms of service caught the eye of a traveller trying to check in to the Lujo Hotel in Bodrum this summer. Reporting the incident to travel website One Mile at a Time, the male traveller said he was not allowed to book a room for himself and a male friend at the resort.

This uncomfortable situation led him to assume this was a hotel policy discriminating against homosexual travellers. However the receptionist informed them they would not be allowed to book separate rooms either, highlighting the policy detail it states:

"Reserving a room for an individual male guest is not possible. In case of reservation, the hotel reserves the right to cancel unconditionally."

This baffled them.

While some parts of Turkey are conservative leaning, it is considered far more open to gay travellers than neighbouring countries Syria. Bodrum in particular is known for its liberal values.

"Homosexuality is not a criminal offence in Turkey," advises the Lonely Planet, however "prejudice remains strong and there are sporadic reports of violence towards gay people – the message is discretion."

The hotel which confirmed the policy to One Mile at a Time, allegedly because parties of male tourists were most likely to cause problem.

"Unfortunately, we don't accept two men staying in the same room," they said.

This odd policy is apparently not an isolated incident.

A list of 168 hotels was compiled by Russian booking company Pegas Touristik, which will not allow solo or group bookings from male travellers.

Remarkably the list included two properties by international chain Double Tree by Hilton.
DoubleTree by Hilton Kemer and DoubleTree by Hilton Bodrum Işıl Club Resort confirmed they had similar group booking policies.

Hilton told the Herald this was not Hilton policy and would be looking into the circumstances for these two properties.

"Hilton offers accommodation for all, we do not discriminate against any individual or group. We are aware of some reports citing information from a third party Russian travel agent about two hotels in Turkey which do not accurately reflect the booking policies of either property."

So why is it that a Moscow based package tour company is advising its customers which hotels keep such specific booking policies?

While it may sound like a policy that prejudices against gay tourists, one woman who claimed to be familiar with Bodrum's hospitality industry said that it was an issue to curb the behaviour of problem tourists.

"It's a huge issue in Turkey unfortunately. And most of the luxury hotels in Turkey have similar policies."

The Sun reported that it was not uncommon for hotels or even some bars in Turkey to ban male customers unless they were in female company.

"They don't accept single men into the bars unless they're with a woman. This is simply to protect the other guests from the unsolicited harassment."