HK restaurant apologises for denying entry to Paralympic gold medallist

Hong Kong restaurant Ayutthaya has apologised for not allowing Paralympic gold medallist Ho Yuen Kei (pictured left) to enter the venue in wheelchair.

According to its official statement, Ayutthaya said that it does not discriminate against wheelchair users and is committed to equal treatment. The management has apologised to Ho regarding the incident, offered an explanation, and she has accepted their apology and shown understanding.

“However, explanations and apologies are not enough. To prevent similar incidents in the future, taking action is essential. We will immediately address the needs of wheelchair users to provide more effective service to those involved. We want to honour Ho’s advocacy and hope that this incident will raise awareness among the industry regarding the needs of wheelchair users,” the statement reads. 

However, Ayutthaya’s apology has sparked mixed reactions among netizens. A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE on Instagram saw that while some users claimed to have blacklisted the restaurant, others questioned whether the employee involved should be held accountable for the incident.

Media intelligence firm CARMA observed over 1,000 mentions across various social platforms related to the incident. Among these, 52.9% carried a negative sentiment, while 14.3% were positive.

This incident sparked outrage online, with many netizens accusing the restaurant of discrimination against people with disabilities, said CARMA's HK GM Charles Cheung. "Numerous angry users flocked to the restaurant’s official Facebook and Instagram to express their dissatisfaction. Most believed the apology from the restaurant was unacceptable, as the official statement referred to the incident as a “misunderstanding,” which they disagreed with."

Meanwhile, an employee named Ng, who is in charge of the restaurant, admitted to Yahoo News that the staff's handling of the situation that day was inadequate.

He explained that the restaurant has accommodated wheelchair users in the past. For smaller wheelchairs, staff typically move a chair to create space at the table, while for larger ones, they ask accompanying guests to help the user sit on the sofa and staff assist by folding the wheelchair. 

Although the staff considered Ho's wheelchair to be too large to fold, Ng said they should have allowed her to try sitting at the table, acknowledging that their approach was inappropriate.

This follows Ho's post on Threads last Tuesday (5 November), where she said that a staff member at Ayutthaya denied her entry, claiming there was "no space for a wheelchair." Despite her explaining that her wheelchair was quite small, the employee replied, "The wheelchair will block everyone." Ho emphasised that there were still many empty tables in the restaurant at the time of the conversation.

“It's no wonder that fewer people are spending in Hong Kong; the service these days is just so poor,” the post reads.

In response to the restaurant's apology, Ho said in a post on Threads yesterday (7 November) that she never expected a dining experience to generate such a significant reaction and confirmed that she accepted the phone apology from the restaurant's management.

Meanwhile, Ho said that she hopes this unpleasant dining experience will raise awareness among various stakeholders about the importance of accessible facilities.

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