June 21, 2022, 10:02 PM
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The Parkroyal Collection Pickering hotel has issued an apology for rejecting a same-sex couple's booking to use the hotel as a venue for their wedding.
"We are an inclusive hotel, and we are truly sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience this may have caused," the hotel wrote in a post on Instagram on Jun. 21.
"Particularly disappointing"
The hotel's refusal to host the ceremony was brought to light by Prout, a platform that facilitates meet-ups and distributes resources for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In a Jun. 20 Instagram post, Prout shared a screenshot of an email from an unnamed "five star hotel that neighbours Hong Lim Park".
Writing in response to a lesbian couple, a representative from the hotel said:
"I am sorry to inform you that the hotel does not allow same-sex couples to have wedding ceremony and celebration due to the regulation."
Prout described the incident as "particularly disappointing" as members of the LGBTQ+ community often frequented the hotel.
"The hotel clearly has no issue capitalising on the annual pride event held at Hong Lim Park," wrote the platform.
"This serves as a painful reminder that there are many businesses that may claim to be inclusive to the LGBTQ+ community but may not actually do so in their everyday practice."
The platform noted that while same-sex marriage was not recognised in Singapore, it was not illegal to hold a same-sex wedding ceremony in the country.
Parkroyal Collection Pickering has previously been a sponsor of Pink Dot, though they were not a sponsor at the event's latest edition.
Couple accepts the hotel's apology
In a statement provided to Mothership, the hotel's general manager, Phil Smith, said that the incident had been the result of "a truly regrettable mistake" by an associate who'd made a wrongful assumption of the law.
The email from the associate had been sent without the associate checking with a department leader; Smith said the hotel had since spoken with the associate about the error.
"When we were informed by our teams of this email, we immediately investigated the matter as it was not in keeping with the hotel’s position, which has been open to hosting all events from the LGBTQ+ community."
"Though we have always been diligent in this matter, we could have done better to ensure our team’s understanding of the regulations and our ongoing commitment to inclusivity," wrote Smith.
Through Prout, the lesbian couple said that they'd accepted the apology and appreciated the hotel's move to allow such ceremonies in the future.
However, the couple shared that they no longer wished to hold their wedding at the hotel.
"We hope that other hotels will be inspired by the Parkroyal Pickering and reconsider their own policies and communications towards allowing same-sex couples to hold their celebrations there," they wrote.
Top image from Google Maps and Prout's Instagram account
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