Their stay in the capital would have started in the worst possible way. A family of Israeli Arabs was refused access to the Novotel at Porte de Versailles this Wednesday, June 19, by one of its employees, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. The father filed a complaint this Friday and an internal investigation was opened by the Accor group, Le Parisien learned from reliable sources.
The events allegedly took place during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. Coming to Paris for a few days of vacation, an Israeli couple and their 3-year-old child go to the Novotel. A woman would have first told him a price of 935 euros for three nights and would have taken the reservation from the family assisted by a colleague, without difficulty. Then, at the end of the shift, the two employees were relieved by a man.
“He completely changed his face”
According to Mahmud, it was with him that the exchange became tense. The price of the room would have increased accordingly: “When he saw that I had an Israeli passport, he told me that the room was going to cost 1,219 euros in the end, he increased the price voluntarily,” says -he in his complaint, which Le Parisien was able to consult.
“He completely changed his face when he saw our passports,” the tourist told us. Faced with the price increase, Mahmud then decides to book a room directly from his phone, via the Booking site. The price was indeed 935 euros and he confirmed the reservation. Meanwhile, the night porter took care of other customers. “The man in front of me told me that my reservation was not confirmed, despite the fact that I showed him that on the site it was,” explains Mahmud.
According to the tourist, several customers filed past the counter and got a room for the night while he waited, while the man kept telling him that there were no more rooms available, despite the reservation he had made. had just performed. Mahmud contacted the police who asked to speak to the night watchman, who refused.
“You think you are the kings of the world”
“He treated us with contempt and racism. He told us : Israel, you think you are the kings of the world, you will not have a room in this hotel », Mahmud told us. A sentence that he also reported to the police in his complaint. He then asked the man his first name, the man refused to answer, shouting “Israel!” Israel! »
“I asked the security guard for help but he was on the side of the person at the reception. At 1:30 a.m., they kicked us out with our suitcases and our three-year-old child,” he continues. Without a roof over their heads for the night, the family headed to an Ibis hotel near Roissy airport, where they had already stayed during a previous stay.
According to our information, an internal investigation has been launched by the Accor group, owner of Novotel, to shed light on the facts. The man who was in charge of welcoming customers that night was summoned by his management to provide his version of the facts, Le Parisien learned. Compensation was offered to the family in compensation.
The owner of the Porte de Versailles establishment told France 2 that there were no more rooms available, and that the customer had requested a suite at the price of a classic room. The tone would then have increased with the Novotel employee and the hotel would have called the police. A version which diverges from that given by Mahmud Omari.
