Discrimination against singletons

I recently tried to book a hotel room in Dorchester for a wedding reception I have been invited to. Little did I know the stress it would cause me. I was aware that it would be difficult to book for the August bank holiday weekend, with most hotels demanding a minimum two night stay instead of one. I took this on board and thought it was nice to stay in a nice country hotel and make the most of the weekend away. I decided to book a room at Yalbury Cottagee which clearly stated on it’s website that single person rate was £70/night (double room £56/person/night =£112 per room per night). When I phoned up and explained that I understood I needed to stay for two nights, and whether there was a room available for the two nights in question, I was told there was. At the point of saying I would like a room for one person, the issues arose. The man I spoke to said that he didn’t usually take singletons over bank holidays as it was likely he would be able to fill a room with two people and make more money. i explained that the website clearly stated there was a single person rate. He said that he would be able to give me a discount, but only to £100/night. I said this was only £12 off what two people were paying instead of £42 as advertised, and he said that was the best he could do. I decided at this point to say I needed to have a think about it, and ended the conversation.

I completely understand that it is inevitable that singletons will have to pay proportionately more for accommodation, but to actually tell me that a place will not usually take a single person because they can make more money, is surely on the border to being illegal!

If you are travelling as a singleton, I would seriously ask that you think about the attitudes of the staff at Yalbury Cottage, and whether you would want to stay in an establishment that will openly tell you they would prefer couple.