To want a female only dorm in a bunkhouse?

Do you genuinely not see why the owner disclosing the other occupant of a two bed bunkhouse's sex to any random person enquiring could be an issue?

This bunkhouse also has rooms of 4 or 6, presumably they’re just fully booked. The only option is not a mixed sex two bed bunk room, it’s just the only option left because the OP has obviously left sorting accommodation until quite last minute.

Id be seeking an alternative on price alone regardless of the gender issue. Even if it meant re routing my trip.

I'd expect a bit of Lorne sausage and haggis thrown in for that!

Never stayed in a bunkhouse or bothy with separate 'dorms'. It's just one (freezing) room with bunks.

No. Thats just bullshit. They probably don't want to lose the booking from the other person if OP makes a fuss.

I wouldn't want to sleep in the same room as a strange man either, but I recognise the world doesn't revolve around me and thd bunkhouse is free to run its business as it chooses and I'd seek an alternative.

It's a crazy policy. Expecting two strangers of the opposite sex to be happy to share a twin room? No. They should definitely be prepared to tell you the sex of the other person (based on their best guess from the booking).
I've stayed in plenty of mixed dorms but the smallest was about 8 people. Safety in numbers. This isn't reasonable or sensible. I would feel very uncomfortable.

I would see it as an issue if it was compulsory to stay there, so if it was a work trip or a mixed sex hospital ward/ prison etc. I don’t see it as an issue when staying in the accommodation is completely optional and when there are other options available locally. It’s unfortunate for the OP that the other local option suggest by many on here is fully booked and that she can’t afford the hotel but that is an issue with her pre-planning and budgeting for a £1k trip without considering the accommodation options. Personally I wouldn’t want to share a bunkhouse with a stranger of either sex and so this kind of accommodation would be restricting for me, I have autism and would hate to share with a stranger, but I wouldn’t expect the bunkhouse to offer single rooms and start a thread complaining there’s no option for a single room and that this is disability discrimination, I’d just accept it’s not suitable accommodation for me and go elsewhere.

So you’ve shared a double room with just one single bloke you don’t know, all on your own and nothing happened, so that will also be the case for all women who share rooms with men they don’t know, is that what you’re saying?

People seem to say ‘GDPR’ for all manner of things it doesn’t actually apply to.
They can have single sex rooms and they could ask on booking - same as many places ask for details when booking.
GDPR would prevent them telling you things like the persons name and address!

I've only ever stayed in hostels which are mixed sex? don't stay there if you don't like it. I can't see why it's a big deal. From a business perspective, having single sex rooms is stupid because they could be fully booked for one sex, but still have loads of beds available.

The problem is this stupid policy puts women at risk. Maybe that doesn’t even register with you as a problem, but for many women it is, and this sort of shit restricts our lives.

Thanks- seems I was wrong about the set up, I haven’t come across this type before. I can see why it feels odd to the op in this case- I guess they have you over a barrel annoyingly.

No- I thought the op was travelling alone and staying in a bunk house:

in my experience these are old stone sheds converted into a single room with bunk beds in (with a rudimentary bathroom and space for a camping style gas ring).

They are cheap and what’s available in the middle of nowhere on moor walking holidays.

Some are bigger than others and sleep more people, but the op has booked a particularly small one with only 2 beds.

have I got that wrong?

I don’t understand how this is a GDPR issue. GDPR protects personally identifying information- so something that can be linked back to the individual. If they say “it’s a woman” that can be linked back to 4 billion people- it is in no way identifying

This is sort of a hybrid between a bunkhouse and a YHA. Concrete floors (no frills at all!) and rooms of varied sizes with these chunky wooden bed pods in them. You can hire a whole room for your party (it's no kids, but couples for example could book a room with two beds) if available, or just buy a bed and get put into a room with others. Rooms vary in size / number of beds. The OP has had to share as this is in a place with few other local options and is very popular and there's no capacity for them to have a full room.

It feels bad, but from their Pov if they have just 2 beds, it's not like they can unbook the other person who booked before you.
Could you ask the venue to pass your details to the other person as it's be nice to introduce yourself beforehand? Then if they were nice they would probably reach out? But again it may not be clear what sex they are, unless you explicitly ask! If it's a deal breaker, don't book if it means you'll be stranded with nowhere to sleep if they turn out to be male.

It's in Scotland, you can wild camp anywhere. There's plenty of wild camping available just yards from the bunkhouse, and even a row of portaloos

I am confused. It doesn’t seem feasible that this is a trip with two people only and they have the only accommodation available. Is that what you are saying the trip is?

It' s not a bothy, it's a bunkhouse with rooms for 2, 4 and 6 people.

Not cheap, either - £44 per bunk without breakfast, £54 with, towels £2.50 each

But if it’s a bothy/bunkhouse with only one room and two beds in the building (which is what they are like in my experience- can’t see if op has confirmed it has multiple rooms)- then the whole thing would need to be made single sex.

So it’s as likely to be made male only as female only, and then op wouldn’t be able to stay at all?

Surely it makes more sense for it to be available for anyone who wants to use it and those that don’t feel comfortable choose somewhere else?

I thought the point of a bothy/bunk house was that it’s essentially a stone shed with bunk beds in- one room and everyone shares? So the whole thing would have to be single sex because there aren’t multiple rooms?

Or are there different types I haven’t encountered?

That’s great.

But I am sure you now realise that some female people will have trouble sharing a two bunk room with a male person. They may even not want to share with one that they know well.

No, it wouldn't.

I have stayed in lots of bothys, bunk houses predominantly with males

I have never experienced any issues

Most people will be sharing a common love of the out doors, nature, hiking, biking, climbing, photography, weather etc