Single-sex surcharges

Yahoo Answers had an interesting question recently, in their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered forum:

Same sex couples charged a security bond when hiring a narrow boat?

I have been looking for a holiday on a narrow boat but was put off because I am going with a friend of the same sex and because we are the same sex we would have to pay £200 security bond. That applies if hiring a boat on the Caledonian canal too.

Two men would also have to pay the bond, but if it were a man and a woman going they would not have to pay the bond. Is this blatant discrimination, or are same sex pairs more likely to damage a boat?  Check on the net - it's all there - look for holidays on the canals and narrow boats.

I've heard of single-sex surcharges.  For example, CanalHolidays.com says:

Many firms do not allow under-25 or all-male or all-female groups on some or all of their boats. Those that do may often require an individual Security Deposit refundable on satisfactory return of the boat.

And Canal Junction says, more bluntly:

Q: Can we have a stag-do or hen night on a canal boat?

It depends what kind of party you want! I f the focus is on spending time with friends, then it’s ideal, but if you’re more inclined to the traditional clubbing approach, then perhaps not.  Some hire companies have a no-hen/stag policy or don’t allow single sex groups to hire, others specialise in it, so make sure you check first and go with a stag/hen friendly company.

Neither website actually says which hire boat companies might be unfriendly to single-sex groups. 

But pardon my innocence,  it never occurred to me that there might be 'gay' ramifications.  I've just been browsing assorted canal hireboat websites, and asking around, and for specific companies (as opposed to general websites like Canal Junction) I've not been able to find a single example of refusal to rent to single-sex groups or surcharges.  Can anyone quote chapter and verse?  

(Local link:  Classic Narrowboats at Mercia Marina says nope, no restriction on single-sex hire.)

Of course, let's be honest, this isn't about single-sex groups.  It's about testosterone-charged heterosexual riots.  Maybe they should introduce a ban on silly hats instead.

(The last sentence, above, was supposed to be alongside a photo I took a while back of four guys having a great time on the back of a narrowboat near Braunston, every one of them wearing a silly hat.  But I've lost the picture, sorry! 

Instead, here's a photo of two guys having a great time at Stafford last year.   (The original picture also included two girls on the boat's roof, looking particularly embarrassed, but if I included the girls here it would spoil the relevance).

Comments

[Andrew]

My partner and I are a gay couple and are aware that it is common to charge a deposit for same gender rental parties. We own a share in our own boat now but never had any problems when we rented with Anglo-Welsh, Clifton Cruisers or Black Prince (which cannot be said for some hotels and B&B's). To be honest, the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations now make it illegal to discriminate against gay people in connection with provision of services so any deposit levied on a gay couple or all gay group would probably be unlawful.

[Anj]

me and my missus have been on 5 hols with 3 different companies and have never had a problem with having to pay surcharges for being a same sex couple, and i wouldn't do either! Anj :)

[Carol Ives]

I have never been charged an extra security deposit when going on a boating holiday (I always go with female friends). I have recently booked a canal boat holiday for March 2010 to celebrate my 50th birthday and actually asked if it would be ok as we were all female and the hire company although said they didn't hire to single sex groups, didn't have a problem with it and didn't charge me extra. So ring an ask first is my advice

[Zan]

When I worked for a hire boat company in the Bath area, there was a larger deposit for these cases, but the assumption was always that single-sex groups would be some sort of party. I used to clean and maintain the boats, and after parties (particularly stag or hen parties) the amount of cleaning required was unbelievable. You couldn't enter the bathroom without gagging!

There was never a homophobic bias there, and I seem to recall that they did only have a larger deposit for groups larger than 3.

[Dan]

and bumming.....

errr...I'll get my coat......

[Sarah]

I'd have thought that there was a far bigger difference between a group and a couple than between a same- or mixed-sex version of either.

But then I suppose if I was a hire firm, how would I know that that nice gay couple looking for a quiet romantic week's gentle scenic boating weren't actually a cunningly disguised pair of lager louts all set to pick up six mates round the corner for a week of drunken mayhem and violence...