Awful odour and other customers

[Frostyontheline]

My friend runs a small 8 bed bnb. She does it for company and just about breaks even, if lucky. The people that come and stay, return may times over (many have been returning years). It has more of a family feel. New guests have stayed and said it is like going home to mums or grandmas.
She has a returning guest, he has been staying for a week to ten days twice a year for the last four years. He personality is lovely, but unfortunately he has been experiencing failing health. This has resulted in a awful body odour. He smells very strongly or urine. You can smell it even after he has left the room ( for ages). The guests all eat together and the smell is awful ( i could not eat with them).
Last spring, he stayed. My friend gently spoke to him ( it was very bad and another guest had mentioned that they couldn't come back because if it) - she asked if he was managing ok, referred him to docs, brought him some pads, washed his clothes etc.
He has not improved. The last visit his odour was worse than ever. The room he slept in, could not be let for a week, as it needed to air. Another returning guest has just email and politely said that they can't stay if he is present.
Are there any suggestions?

When he tries to book tell him there is no availability.

Unfortunately, he has his regular dates, pencilled in.

Well she will just have to cancel his booking. What else can she do?

Its a difficult conversation but she'd could say there have been customer complaints and the room has been left in an unusable condition for other guests. Therefore, as per their policy, she has to cancel his further bookings.
At the end of the day she has a business to run. He can find another place to live in.

Cancel the bookings and say that she is altering her business model so is unable to offer bookings so far in advance at the moment.

I'm afraid it has now reached the stage where he simply cannot stay, which won't be an easy conversation to have, but is necessary.

Already other guests are complaining and saying they can't stay if he is there so this is already hurting her business. Also, it is going to cost her in other ways too. Already she can't let the room for a week after he has left and that must be a lot of money going down the pan.

She might also have to buy new mattresses regularly for that room because that will soon start to stink, and who would want to sleep on it after him? Not cheap.

She'll have to tell him that she can no longer accommodate him (needs the room for whatever reason). Not nice, but what alternative is there? She'll be able to get other clients instead.

I think keep it factual that, as he is unable to leave the room in a fit state for re-letting after he leaves, she will have to cancel his reservations to protect her business as she cannot afford the time or costs required after every stay to make the room habitable again.

It's complex, as incontinence is a disability. She can't legally just refuse him service on those grounds, that would be disability discrimination. However, she can investigate what adjustments might be necessary to facilitate his stay. Why does everything smell so bad? Is the incontinence completely unmanaged - i.e. he's just urinating with no containing device such as a pad or catheter/bag? Is he leaving fluids in addition to odour? Does he need additional facilities such as a commode or accessible bathroom? If she's not equipped to provide facilities which meet his continence needs, and it's not possible to reasonably provide them (for example, it wouldn't be reasonable to require a full wet room to be installed), then she can discuss whether she's able to fulfil his bookings safely. But she's on dangerous ground if she cancels his bookings just based on his odour upsetting other guests. She should seek legal advice from her trade body or insurer before taking any action that could be perceived as discrimination.

Very sad for the gentleman involved how awful to end up like that. Your friend @Frostyontheline has already been very kind to this man. However I agree with @Thanksforyourlackofthought suggestion. If I was your friend I wouldn’t get in to the why’s and wherefore’s. Just cancel his bookings and don’t let him rebook any more.

If the booking is cancelled because the room is being left in an unusable state, then denying him future bookings is not discriminatory. To refuse booking soley on the basis she knows he is incontinent would be.
Unfortunately, unmanaged incontinence even when its more of an ongoing ‘dribble’ , combined with underlying poor hygiene, and possibly poor sense of smell, is going to render a person very malodorous. It is sad, but not the responsibility of the B&B owner to sort out.

Then she cancels them all. She'll lose other customers otherwise.

She’s already been very kind and understanding but she’d be a fool to further risk her business. She needs to tell him she’s sorry but she can no longer honour his bookings. She doesn’t need to give a reason.

Yes i have been looking online about disability discrimination and it looks as though if she refuses the bookings on smell, that she is leaving herself very vulnerable to litigation.
In regards to some of the other questions it is difficult to answer really, as she wouldn't overstep in to his personal business and start asked him about his habits. After all he is a guest in a bnb. Could you imagine if someone did that to you? I would be really put out.
His room is an accessible wet room and he can move around ok.
I personally think he is sticking his head in the sand, not using /changing pads and not showering for sure. When does it cross the line though. His disability trumps other peoples comfort and enjoyment (actually it is his reluctance to use pads / shower, not his actual urinary problem)?

The only thing I can think of is to not accept any other bookings for when he is there and then not take any more booking from him.

Oh god could you imagine the cost of that though. It is a really rubish position. I wonder what other places do, either hotels or even restaurants come to that?

I would acknowledge he may be having difficulty with his personal hygiene and say the room has been unsuitable to use for sometime afterwards because of the odour and you have had many complaints from other guests and it is now affecting your business and you are concerned on a personal level that while making reasonable adjustments ,(accessible bathroom etc). You now feel you are unable to provide the level of service he requires

If he wishes to continue to visit he must make provision to bring a health care professional with him to ensure his needs are met as you are unable to adequately care for his needs.

If we cannot ensure your care needs are met we will need to cancel future bookings in order for you to find somewhere more suitable

If the room is unusable for a week, then I think the person has to be declined future bookings.

I doubt anyone in his situation after all the efforts that have been made would even consider suing.

So cancel and refund. Not hard to figure that out, is it? She is a business owner and she needs to make a business decision here.

You don’t say anything about it, you just cancel his booking without giving him a reason. He is not a ‘friend’, this is a business. And you’re allowed to refuse people to book. It’s trickier to get someone to LEAVE but you’re allowed to refuse someone to book and you don’t need to give a reason.

Just so sorry and you can’t accommodate him staying this time, and repeat every time he asks.

The room would not be let to a non disabled guest who left it in a state that it cannot be used - so not directly discrimination.

Indirect discrimination- does the policy disadvantage the disabled person even though they have been treated in the same way as a non disabled person. Is there an objective justification? The policy about how rooms are left may impact this disabled person more if smell due to disability. However objectively your friend is running a business and it reasonable to have all rooms useable even if it means some guests cannot due to disability.

Reasonable adjustments- the owner only has to make “reasonable” adjustments. What adjustment could be made? It is arguably not for a B&B to provide hygiene facilities beyond accessible accommodation, whereas an education establishment such as a nursery or school may be expected to. There is a video on the ECHR website
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/your-rights-under-equality-act-2010/disability-discrimination