I’m fuming after being chucked out of Premier Inn restaurant for being ‘barefoot’ – I just wanted breakfast
A MAN has been left fuming after he was chucked out of a Premier Inn restaurant for being “barefoot”.
Blake Kerr, 31, claims he was just trying to get some breakfast when he walked into the hotel chain‘s dining area in Manchester and decided to free his size 10 feet.
The content creator, who said he finds shoes extremely uncomfortable, alleges he was abruptly stopped at the buffet.
An employee approached the guest while on a trip away with pals and told him he couldn’t get his first meal of the day until he put footwear on.
Questioning if it was a requirement, Blake was told it was a “health and safety policy” – forcing him to go back to his room and put trainers on.
Blake was even more baffled when the menu read: “We don’t believe in rules… anything goes. Relax and make yourself at home.”
Blake, from Irvine, North Ayrshire, said: “The way my foot is shaped my two pinky toes rub the side of the shoe and I usually get blisters.
“I normally don’t wear shoes, for me it’s a comfort thing and I’ve never had any issues [at Premier Inn before].
“When I’m barefoot sometimes I get looks from the cleaning staff.
“The staff sometimes make comments [saying] ‘just be careful’ but for the most part they don’t really care.
“A lot of companies do harp on about health and safety but in actual fact in the UK there is no health and safety law that prevents someone from going barefoot.”
He said the first staff member that seated him didn’t have an issue and that it was only until he went to grab some food he was stopped.
He added: “I got up and as I went to get myself an orange juice, that’s when a second member of staff saw I was barefoot and said ‘you need to put some footwear on’.
“I thought it was unnecessary to have to explain it. To me it’s not inappropriate so I’m not really sure what his issues were.
“I’m just a little bit annoyed about it.
“[I’d tell Premier Inn to] allow people to go barefoot to breakfast if they want to, it’s not doing any harm.
“There’s a whole barefoot society for health reasons and lifestyle choice, it’s not too different from a diet lifestyle.”
Blake branded it the “worst Premier Inn in the UK” – with the hotel giant forced to defend themselves.
A Premier Inn spokesman said: “The health, safety and comfort of all our guests must always come first.
“Any actions taken are always with our guest’s best interests at heart, recognising that restaurants are busy areas which may risk sharp objects or hot items falling to the floor. “