An Australian hotel has been assigning Aboriginal visitors to unkempt rooms, and charging them the same as everyone else, it's been claimed.
A staff member from Ibis Styles Alice Springs told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) the practice was commonplace at the hotel.
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Management instructed staff to racially profile visitors in an email sent in June 2018.
"We are now only putting hospital linen into rooms 85 to 90," the email, provided to the ABC said.
"These rooms are to be referred to as community rooms and we will try to limit them to just that, those coming from the communities.
"Reception ladies, please use a touch of initiative and allocate accordingly on arrival."
"Communities" refers to a local expression describing Aboriginal people from out of town, although the staff member said other Aboriginal guests from outside the communities were affected.
The ABC sent Aboriginal people to the hotel undercover. They were assigned to room 86, where they found stained sheets, chicken bones on the floor and clothing left behind from other guests.
Another non-Aboriginal group the ABC sent to the hotel was assigned to a different room, outside of the six "community rooms", and had none of the same problems.
A spokesperson for the hotel's owner, Accor Group, told the ABC it is unaware of complaints from guests or staffs of that nature.
"The hotel welcomes and embraces guests from all backgrounds and cultures that reflects their diverse workforce, which includes 31 percent Indigenous employees."
The hotel's manager denied aboriginal people were allocated to specific rooms.
"We have two room types - being standard rooms and superior rooms - and we allocate on how people book."
Newshub.
