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Rabat – Following major social media backlash, Marrakech Hotel Domaine Abiad issued an apology for their sexist and discriminatory policy, denying access to “unaccompanied” single Moroccan women.
The hotel apologized for their “grave mistake,” saying ”the sentence written by our communication director is utterly absurd.”
Domaine Abiad included in their statement the measures they are planning to take to rectify their error. The management said that they will suspend their Director of Communication until further notice, effective immediately.
The apology also mentioned that the hotel “will offer a free night’s stay for any booked weekend to all women who felt offended,” and wrote a negative review on Google.
The facility assured that “stricter measures will be implemented this month to stop all forms of discrimination against women.”
In addition to the written apology, Domaine Abiad published a video featuring a female manager, Nezha, apologizing on behalf of the management team.
Once again, she says this was nothing but “an instance of miscommunication,” and that the person responsible was suspended.
Despite the swift response from the establishment, social media users have remained unwavered on their position.
A coalition of Instagram pages focusing on fighting sexism and gender discrimination in Morocco, published a joint statement on the social media platform after the apology was sent.
They stated that “this hotel, and many more, grants itself the right to discriminate against Moroccan single women, on the basis of practices entrenched in sexist ideas and misogynistic stereotypes. ”
Some netizens noted that the hotel management exempts itself from responsibility and instead “blames everything on their communications director.”
This critique is even more legitimate when we consider that the people behind the original post contacted the villa’s management team on more than one occasion, to confirm their sexist ban. They did so by phone, as well as by email.
Other comments also met the apologies with skepticism, pointing at the “improbable ignorance of the management of what the published ‘rules and guidelines’ booklet featured.”
The idea that Domaine Abiad is not an exception within the Moroccan hospitality sector, was widely echoed in the comment sections of the shared posts.
Many Moroccan women shared their respective experiences with hotels in Morocco, a user even claimed that “if you are a Moroccan single woman with a Marrakech address on your ID, you are systematically denied at most hotels in the city.”
The general sentiment among netizens and social media users regarding the hotel, is still overwhelmingly negative. The majority of comments are calling for a general boycott of the facility, and male users have also been vocal about their outrage.
Women across the country are all too familiar with the scrutiny associated with the hospitality industry in Morocco, and despite their apology, Domaine Abiad has yet to regain the public’s trust.
