A luxury Dublin hotel that stirred some controversy earlier this month has now responded to the backlash by banning all social media influencers from their premises. The issue began when blogger Elle Darby sent an email to The White Moose Cafe asking if they were interested in a “possible collaboration.”
In the email, Darby listed her accolades and social media reach which includes 87,000 YouTube subscribers and 76,000 Instagram followers. Darby wrote, “I work as a social media influencer, mainly lifestyle, beauty & travel based. My partner and I are planning to come to Dublin for an early Valentine’s Day weekend from Feb 8th to 12th to explore the area.”
She adds, “As I was searching for places to stay, I came across your stunning hotel and would love to feature you in my YouTube videos/dedicated Instagram stories/posts to bring traffic to your hotel and recommend others to book up in return for free accommodation.”
She ended her email by mentioning her past collaboration with Universal Orlando in Florida last year and adding that the result of the partnership was “amazing for them!” The response from the hotel owner, Paul Stenson, was heated, to say the least. Not only that, but instead of sending his reply directly to her, he posted it to the hotel’s Facebook page.
After the citizens of the internet did some investigative work and found out that the influencer that Stenson was referring to in his Facebook post was Darby, she made a Youtube video to explain what happened. Gaynor Reid, vice president communications for Asia Pacific, AccorHotels commented on the drama. Stenson has been known to instigate controversy before.
Reid states, “I am sure he [Stenson] was aware of what he was doing when he posted his response and knew it would bring global attention to his hotel, although I am not sure it’s in the most positive light.”
Since then, the hotel has been the recipient of a barrage of criticism over the nature of their response, which was thought to be “unprofessional” and “childish”. In response to the backlash and the video that Darby posted, the hotel posted a new message on their Facebook page.
This response, however, is dedicated to all bloggers, not just Darby. The message reads, “**ALL BLOGGERS BANNED FROM OUR BUSINESS**
“Following the backlash received after asking an unidentified blogger to pay for a hotel room, I have taken the decision to ban all bloggers from our hotel and cafe.”
See the full message below.
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