An Israeli woman cancelled a planned stay at a hotel in Naples after receiving an automated confirmation email declaring the property’s support for an anti-Israel campaign associated with the BDS movement.
The woman, identified only as R, had booked a room at the Decumani Hotel De Charme ahead of a business trip to the southern Italian city with her husband, according to Channel 12.
After submitting her reservation through Booking.com, she received an automated message stating that the hotel supports the “No Room for Genocide” campaign.
The email said the hotel “supports the ‘No Room for Genocide’ campaign and respects the freedom and human rights of communities suffering racial, ethnic, social, and other forms of discrimination”.
"We warmly welcome Palestinians, refugees and all those who peacefully oppose oppression and struggle for their internationally recognised rights,” it went on.
Although the hotel did not refuse her reservation, R said the message left her feeling unwelcome and concerned for her safety.
“I wrote that I didn’t feel safe to go there,” she told Channel 12.
“It somewhat reduced my desire to travel, but you get over it. It’s still a very unpleasant feeling, and it ruins your mood even before the trip.”
The text was seemingly taken from a “No Room for Genocide” toolkit distributed by BDS Italy for participating hotels and tourism businesses.
The campaign encourages properties using Booking.com to include the message in reservation confirmations and says it is intended to discourage patronage by Israelis, whom it describes as suspected perpetrators of war crimes.
The campaign recommends that participating businesses seek “background clarification” from guests to determine whether they are citizens of a country accused of serious human rights violations or served in that country’s military during the relevant period, though the hotel in this case said it does not adhere to this and has no mechanism through which to do so.
A spokesperson for the hotel said: “The claim circulating online that our hotel refuses or discriminates against Israeli or Jewish guests is completely false. Israeli guests have always been welcome at Decumani Hotel de Charme.
"At no point have we ever refused an Israeli guest, cancelled a reservation because of nationality, or denied accommodation on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, or religion.
"The inquiries we have received over the past 48 hours appear to stem from misunderstandings and assumptions based on the wording of our pre-stay email. This is an automated message sent to every guest, regardless of nationality, together with practical information such as check-in procedures, reception hours, and parking instructions. The humanitarian statement included in that email simply reflects the values our hotel believes in.
“At the time this message is sent, we do not know the guest's nationality, as passport and nationality details are collected only upon physical arrival during the check-in process, in full compliance with Italian hospitality regulations. It is therefore impossible for that message to be used as a criterion for selecting or rejecting guests.
“Our support for the ‘No Room for Genocide’ campaign is a statement of our ethical and humanitarian principles, including peace, respect for human dignity, and international law. It is not, and has never been, a policy for admitting or excluding guests.
“We must also express our genuine surprise that a message centred on peace, human dignity, and respect for international law could be interpreted as a source of fear or insecurity for anyone. Such an interpretation is entirely contrary to the purpose and spirit of the statement, which reflects values that we believe should be universal.
"Every reservation is treated equally. As a matter of fact, we have hosted approximately one hundred Israeli guests over the past year alone, extending to them the same warm hospitality we offer every visitor. In more than twenty years of operation, we have never turned away a guest or asked anyone to seek accommodation elsewhere because of their identity.”
The JC has contacted Booking.com.
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