Married At First Sight UK expert Charlene Douglas has accused staff and a guest at a Holiday Inn hotel in Portsmouth of racism, branding the incident "racism at its core" and suggesting that guest relations were "not taking it seriously at all".
The dating expert, 43, had been staying at the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth with her family. Taking to Instagram, she wrote: "Cannot believe the racism my family and I have just received from staff and a guest at Holiday Inn Gunnwharf Quays (Portsmouth). Think 1950s Alabama - the words 'from your people' still resounding in my head!" She added that it was an "awful, humiliating experience".
Family weekend break turns sour
Charlene, her sister Deborah, their mum and her niece had decided to go for a weekend break as her mum had been struggling with her health. They booked a Holiday Inn in Portsmouth, but noticed when they got there it felt "a bit not great".
"There were a group of older white people, men and women, sat just staring at us at everything we were doing like it was as if we were the entertainment," she said. "It felt really uncomfortable and it felt very different from my usual experience."
She explained that people know her from TV and might look at her or say hi, but this felt different. "It kept happening throughout the hotel, we were just stared at."
Incident with staff and a guest
Charlene described a particular staff member as "sarcastic and rude". Earlier in the day she had asked him a question about the menu and he kept frowning "as if I wasn't speaking English".
The situation escalated when her sister wanted to change rooms to be closer to Charlene and their mum. After the hotel agreed, Deborah went to the front desk and was met by the same staff member. When she returned to her original room to collect her belongings, her key had been deactivated. Charlene said her sister was met with "Well, what do you expect me to do? Am I supposed to know everything?" rather than an apology.
Charlene said the staff member accused her sister of shouting and being aggressive, which she denied. A female guest then approached, saying "This is what they do" and "I know what you people are like. I remember working years ago and you people accused me of racism." When Charlene asked what she meant by "you people", the guest said "Your type of people."
Hotel response and reaction
Charlene said her body was shaking from anxiety. She has requested CCTV from the hotel. Her sister attempted to report what happened to guest relations, but Charlene recalled: "They were like, 'We'll go back in and see if we'll let you in', as if we're dogs." She claimed guest relations did nothing and that emails to the CEO and head of HR also went unanswered. "No one's taking it seriously," she said.
Following her post, Charlene received a phone call from one of the directors, but only because her previous post went viral. A spokesperson for Holiday Inn Express Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays told the Mirror: "We are very sorry to hear about the experience reported by these guests. Discrimination has no place in our hotel and we take these concerns seriously. We are urgently looking into what happened, how the situation was handled, and are in contact with those involved. We are committed to ensuring everyone who stays with us is treated with dignity and respect."
Among those to comment on her post was Strictly winner Ore Oduba, who wrote: "Blood raised to boiling as I was listening to this, Charlene I’m so sorry you and your family experienced this atrocity. Calling out the worst of people, this is our power. Thank you for your light darling x." MAFS star Luke Worley commented: "Hope you’re all okay! I had an incident similar from the same company a couple of years ago at their Greenwich hotel. They literally didn’t care at all." IHG also commented: "@charlenedouglasofficial We're sorry to hear about this as it’s certainly not the experience we want for any of our guests. Could you please DM us with your stay details so we can learn more and investigate this?"
Charlene was a dating expert on Married At First Sight alongside Paul C Brunson and Mel Schilling before Channel 4 announced it had axed the show. An external review was prompted by a BBC Panorama investigation, which included allegations of rape on the programme. Channel 4 confirmed in a press release that "the right course was to bring MAFS UK on Channel 4 to an end", with Chief Executive Priya Dogra confirming that the programme "has now run its course".
