A Bangkok monk accused a Chiang Mai hotel of religious discrimination after staff allegedly cancelled his booking and refused to accommodate him, citing the owner’s religious beliefs.
Phra Maha Naphan shared his account on Facebook on Saturday, September 26, saying a receptionist told him: “Monks are not allowed to stay because the owner is a Muslim, who is religious”.
The monk explained that his flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, originally scheduled for 10.55am on Saturday, was delayed due to heavy thunderstorms in Bangkok. He said he needed to find a nearby hotel because he could not reach a temple to stay overnight.
He booked a room through Booking.com and initially checked into the accommodation as usual before staff allegedly refused to let him stay.
According to the monk, he explained his flight situation to the hotel manager and asked for assistance. However, the hotel insisted on cancelling his booking.
The monk said the manager later told him that the owner was not Muslim but Sikh and was religious.
He added that the alleged restriction was not mentioned on the booking platform or in any hotel documents. The monk said he challenged the manager and staff over the decision and warned that he would report the incident to the Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand. However, he claimed the hotel continued to refuse him accommodation.
The monk eventually found another hotel at around 2am and managed to catch his flight to Bangkok the following morning.
In his post, Phra Maha Naphan urged followers and other social media users not to turn the incident into a dispute between religions. He argued that the issue concerned a business operator’s alleged discriminatory policy rather than any particular faith.
He described the refusal as a violation of human rights and the Thai Constitution.
The monk named the hotel branch in his post. However, no response from the hotel staff or owner was included in the report.
It also remains unclear whether the monk formally filed a complaint with the Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand or any other relevant agency.
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