Booking a London Hotel as a Queer Couple: Rainbow Badges, Your Rights and Double Rooms

Why a staycation needs a little more checking

A night away in your own city is one of the easier ways to mark an anniversary, a birthday or the point where a relationship is going somewhere. For a queer couple, the extra question is whether the hotel will treat you as what you are: two people who have booked one room with one bed. Most London hotels will, and the law is clearly on your side. But a check-in desk is a public moment, and it is reasonable to want to know in advance that it will be uneventful.

This guide does not list "gay-friendly hotels". We looked for London hotels that make their own published, specific commitment to LGBTQ+ guests and could not confirm enough of them from official pages to build a fair list; booking-site labels and travel-blog roundups are not the same thing. Instead it explains what the badges on booking sites actually certify, what the Equality Act says about double rooms, and how to book so that the question never comes up.

What the Travel Proud badge means

Booking.com's Travel Proud programme is the most visible label you will meet. According to Booking.com's own page, properties take a free, 90-minute online inclusive hospitality course delivered with HospitableMe, available in 11 languages. Once a partner has completed the training and committed to share the Travel Proud Customer Toolkit with its guest-facing staff, the property shows a rainbow suitcase badge on its Booking.com page. Booking.com says the badge means at least one staff member has finished the course, and reports more than 150,000 Travel Proud properties in 163 countries and territories.

To use it, Booking.com says you can tick the "Travel Proud (LGBTQ+ friendly)" filter in the Travel Group section of a search, or type terms such as "Travel Proud" or "LGBT friendly" into its Smart Filters.

Read the badge for what it is. It tells you that someone at the property has taken a short course and that the business has opted into the programme. It does not tell you that every receptionist on a Saturday night has done the training, and it is not an inspection. It is a useful filter for narrowing a long list, especially for smaller hotels where one trained manager can set the tone, but it is not a guarantee.

IGLTA and other industry labels

IGLTA, the international LGBTQ+ travel trade association, runs its own programmes for member businesses. Its February 2023 announcement introduced IGLTA Accredited for hotels and accommodation, aimed at members that have completed an LGBTQ+ certification or training programme and believe they have aligned with inclusive practices. The announcement itself did not name any accredited properties, and it did not mention London.

In practice, these labels sit in the same category as Travel Proud: they show that a business has chosen to engage with LGBTQ+ guests and has done some training. That is worth something, particularly at a large chain hotel where staff turnover is high. If a hotel holds one, it will usually say so on its own site, and that is the version to trust over a third-party listing.

The other signal worth looking for is the hotel's own language. A hotel that writes plainly on its own website that same-sex couples and trans guests are welcome, or that publishes a non-discrimination policy for guests, has put its name to a specific promise. A hotel that appears on a booking site's "LGBTQ welcoming" list without saying anything itself has not.

Your rights at the front desk

Section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out what service providers, paid or not, must not do. They must not discriminate against someone who needs a service by refusing to provide it, and when they do provide it they must not discriminate in the terms they offer, by ending the service, or by subjecting the person to any other detriment. They must also not victimise someone for raising a complaint. A hotel letting rooms is a service provider in this sense.

Sexual orientation is a protected characteristic, and so is gender reassignment. Section 7 defines gender reassignment as applying to anyone proposing to undergo, undergoing or having undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.

Two details in the Act are worth knowing. Section 28 says Part 3, which covers services, does not apply to the protected characteristic of marriage and civil partnership. And section 29(8) says that, for the harassment provisions in subsections (3) and (6), neither religion or belief nor sexual orientation is a relevant protected characteristic. The discrimination and victimisation duties in subsections (1), (2), (4) and (5) are not limited in that way.

The double-room case: Bull v Hall

The leading case on hotel double rooms began with a phone call. According to the Supreme Court's judgment, Mr Preddy and Mr Hall, civil partners from Bristol, planned a short break in Cornwall, and on 4 September 2008 Mr Preddy made a telephone booking of a double bedroom at the Chymorvah Private Hotel in Marazion, owned by Mr and Mrs Bull. The Court of Appeal records that the hotel let double-bedded rooms only to married couples and said so on its website, that Mr Preddy had not seen the booking conditions, and that the couple were told of the policy on arrival on 5 September. The couple left, found somewhere else to stay, and had their £30 deposit returned.

The claim was brought under the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007. Judge Rutherford in Bristol County Court found direct discrimination and awarded each of them £1,800 for injury to feelings. The Court of Appeal dismissed the hotel's appeal on 10 February 2012. The Supreme Court heard the case on 9 and 10 October 2013 and gave judgment on 27 November 2013: Lady Hale recorded that dismissing the appeal was the unanimous decision of the Court, and that three of the five justices considered it direct discrimination.

The case concerned events in 2008 and was decided under the 2007 regulations; the services duty in force today is section 29 of the Equality Act 2010, which includes the duty not to discriminate as to the terms on which a service is provided.

If something goes wrong

Most problems can be dealt with on the spot by asking calmly for the room you booked and, if needed, for a duty manager. Keep the booking confirmation that shows the room type, and note the time and the names of the staff you dealt with. If you are refused, write down what was said as soon as you can.

The Equality Advisory Support Service runs a helpline on 0808 800 0082, open Monday to Friday 9am–7pm and Saturday 10am–2pm, for people in England, Scotland and Wales. It says it can help resolve problems informally as an alternative to going to court, sometimes by writing to the service provider for you, though it does not give legal advice.

If you want to go further, section 118 of the Equality Act says a county court claim must generally be brought within six months starting with the date of the act complained of, or such other period as the court thinks just and equitable.

Booking so the question never comes up

Book the room type you want in writing and make sure the confirmation says it: "double", "king" or "one bed" rather than a generic room category. If you book by phone, ask for an email confirmation. In Bull v Hall, the Court of Appeal noted that Mr Preddy booked by phone without seeing the hotel's booking conditions.

Put both names on the booking if the hotel allows it. It makes check-in quicker and means either of you can collect a key or deal with the desk. For trans guests, the name on the booking should match the payment card or ID you plan to show, which avoids an awkward conversation about documents.

If you want a weekend with more going on around it, Pride in London says on its homepage that it returns on 3 July 2027, and its grandstand page says the parade sets off from Hyde Park Corner at about midday. London hotels in the West End fill quickly that weekend, so book early if you want to stay near the route. Our guide to Pride month beyond the parade covers the rest of the season.

Before you go

• Check that your confirmation names the room type you booked, such as a double or king, and keep it on your phone.
• If a hotel shows a Travel Proud badge, remember it means at least one staff member has done a 90-minute course, not that every member of staff has.
• Look for the hotel's own published words about LGBTQ+ guests on its website rather than relying on a booking site's label.
• Save the Equality Advisory Support Service number, 0808 800 0082, in case you need advice; it is open weekdays 9am–7pm and Saturdays 10am–2pm.
• For Pride weekend, booked for 3 July 2027 according to Pride in London, reserve early and check cancellation terms.

Questions people ask

Can a London hotel refuse a same-sex couple a double room?

Section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 says a service provider must not discriminate by not providing a service, or as to the terms on which it provides it; sexual orientation is a protected characteristic. In Bull v Hall, decided under the 2007 regulations that preceded the Act, a hotel that refused a gay couple a booked double room lost its appeal at the Supreme Court on 27 November 2013.

What does Booking.com's Travel Proud badge mean?

Booking.com says the rainbow suitcase badge means at least one staff member has completed its free 90-minute inclusive hospitality course, delivered with HospitableMe, and that the property has committed to share a customer toolkit with guest-facing staff. You can filter for it under Travel Group in search results.

Are trans guests protected at hotels?

Yes. Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic under section 7 of the Equality Act 2010, covering a person proposing to undergo, undergoing or having undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex. Section 29 applies to service providers, which include hotels.

Who can help if a hotel discriminates against us?

The Equality Advisory Support Service helpline, 0808 800 0082, covers England, Scotland and Wales and says it supports people to resolve issues informally as an alternative to court. It does not provide legal advice. Section 118 sets a period of six months starting with the date of the act, or another period the court thinks just and equitable.