Lesbian Couple Say They Were Kicked Out of Hotel for Kissing

Two women are claiming discrimination after they were repeatedly asked to leave the rooftop pool at the St. Louis Four Seasons — even though it appears that they were allowed to remain at the site until closing time.

According to local News Channel 5, Teresa Folds and her girlfriend, Juleigh Snell, say they were harassed by hotel staff after kissing in the Jacuzzi.

Folds says she and Snell were approached by a hotel security officer and told they were not allowed to kiss on the property. When they asked to speak to a manager, they were told that even heterosexual couples were not allowed to kiss on the property.

“When we were explaining how gay people have rights, he basically insinuated that we were not a normal couple and should not be kissing,” says Snell.

The couple says the manager told them their inappropriate behavior had resulted in complaints, but that they were not given specifics on what behavior had been deemed inappropriate.

Left alone, the couple continued to kiss and were again approached by hotel personnel and asked to leave.

“[They] told us that they wanted us to leave, and I mentioned that the pool didn’t close until 8 o’clock,” Folds says.

At 8 o’clock, the women say. they were again approached, and this time they were shown the door. And even though it was closing time, “it was very much understood that they were kicking us out,” according to Folds.

Whether other guests were “kicked out” in a similar fashion at closing time is not known.

The hotel’s general manager responded to the incident, saying “Four Seasons respects the behaviors of our guests, except where doing so may be a breach of law or create tensions among people. This was the case on the night in question, as our staff received several complaints about the guest’s behavior. I can assure you that the gender of the couple was never at issue.”

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