To expect MoH to refund hen accommodation after we were refused access?

[Hennightmare]

I attended a hen party at the weekend - Friday to Sunday, staying close to a seaside resort in a private accommodation. I paid my share in advance - nearly £300.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the owner who refused entry on the basis that hen parties (and same sex groups/stags) are not allowed and this is stated in the booking terms and conditions and elsewhere on the website. Despite reasoning, the owner was not backing down, and said there’d been an incident with a same sex group two weekends ago which required costly repairs.

MoH said she was aware of other hens who had stayed and this is how she found the place on instagram. She was told no refund would be given as there wouldn’t be time to let it again for the weekend.

We managed to find budget hotel rooms in the area but this scuppered the plans which were in place for the house - games etc.

I have looked myself and it is prominent on the website about the rules around hen parties etc. It is clear there has been inconsistent approaches in the past though.

Should the MoH cover us for her mistake? I am out of pocket after the hotel booking.

YABU - suck it up, it happened
YANBU - her mistake, she should offer to cover it

I actually think we are saying something quite similar here.

They budgeted £300, so are owed the difference between that and what they actually paid - so you are right: if that was more than 300, they are owed more.

But my understanding is the second accommodation (or over and above the original £300) was less.

How much was the accommodation ye paid for in the end?

How have you, and the other “brave” hens responded though?! I’d wager just with a weird emoji on the girls message. Where’s your backbone?? Call out this craziness.

Maid of honour, the one who booked the accommodation.

Oh it's late: I was vaguely thinking "Mother of Hen" 🐔 like mother of the bride!

They all paid £300 for the original accommodation. That didn’t happen because of MoH’s mishandling of the arrangements. It doesn’t matter what they paid for the second accommodation because it went ahead and they got what they paid for. So they are all owed £300 for the original accommodation for which they paid, and which was cancelled.

What kinds of hen party gets organised without the listing being shared? (A few other options being floated, half the group dropping out only to settle on the original accommodation.)

I think you are all at fault for not showing more interest/reading the listing, so I don’t think you should be refunded. Sucks though.

What is MOH?

If the booking was made months ago and the owner has only just changed to terms, it’s on the owner of the property, not the MOH. Sounds like the owner moved the goalposts.

Agree.
If you don't support her, you are sending a message that you are happy to let it go.

I hadn’t seen the update about the venue emailing the MoH. With that in mind, my view has changed and the venue are bit at fault here.

Why does Blackpool always get mentioned? Yes, there are hen parties and sometimes they are a bit rowdy, but often just having fun. Blackpool is a budget place to stay if you want to visit Lytham St Anne's or the Lakes and the Forest of Bowland. It also hosts ballet, opera, serious drama (the RSC come), musicals on their way to London, pigeon fanciers, international competitions for dance and fireworks, the punk convention (always good humoured), has a small but adventurous art gallery, wide beaches, a water park and a variety of restaurants and a free air show in May. You can be tacky or boutique, upmarket or down and the theatre tickets are a fraction of the cost of London theatres for the same shows.
As for your booking I think you should consult consumer protection. The owner was being unreasonable since the house was booked and he/she must have realised it was a group of women and should have refused the booking if it was not what they wanted - you should all get your money back.

So she was a chancer and thought it would be fine, and it was not. I can see why people are annoyed, however did none of you ( was it 10 of you) think to look at the accommodation properly before parting with your cash ?

It is not uncommon for properties to ban stag/hen groups and it is normally clearly stated , so how did you all miss this?

It's a standard condition and it always says this.
And when they take a booking it is for the accommodation and they don't ask you to specify all the guests. But the terms state no stage or hens of party bookings.
You tick the box to say you agree.
So ...

It's actually not standard to be accepted for a hen or stag group and you absolutely have to check they OK with it.

It appears not to have happened because the owner changed the rules but did not cancel the booking until the guests arrived. That is likely breach of contract and the money should be refunded. Tough about another booking should have cancelled and refunded.

Nope. Read the updates. It was made clear from the start that hens were only at the discretion of the owner and MoH didn’t disclose that it was a hen party.

After the incident involving damage done by a hen party two weeks previously the owner emailed MoH to say the T&Cs had changed and hens were no longer allowed, and a full refund was offered. MoH still didn’t disclose it was a hen because she thought it was keysafe entry to the venue. The owner greeted them on arrival, at which point it was clear it was a hen and the owner refused their stay. This is all on MoH.

£300 x 10

I completely agree about Blackpool. The winter gardens is a hidden gem of affordability and culture.
But the owner wouldn't have known it was 10 women. Most booking platforms, including Airbnb, don't ask you to specify all guests. Just a lead booker. You then tick agreed that it's not a stag or hen or party group.

Being sarcastic to a poster is doing you no favours. Diverting the point the poster is making just makes you look silly.

Have the balls to verbally back up the other hen, not just a wimpish "thumbs up" or a "heart"

Yes, I understand that at a basic mathematical level, and enforcing their strict "rights." But what I am saying is if they budgeted £300, a reasonable view might be to accept that was the cost of being part of the celebration and to ask only for compensation above what they had expected to pay anyway.

Yes, it might have been objectively "lesser", but to me that gets a bit dogmatic when the real point for spending the money was to celebrate with the bride.

The owner emailed MoH in advance outlining the change and offered a full refund if she wanted to cancel with seven days notice to allow for re-booking. MoH didn’t disclose at any point that it was a hen do despite being informed firstly that it was discretionary and then banned because of previous problems with a hen party. She either refused or ignored the opportunity for a refund - that’s on her, not the owner.

If a vegan orders a steak can they reasonably refuse to pay for it?

£300 x 8 I thought - not including the bride and MOH

Maid of honor.

This has been explained multiple times.