Boston hotel kicked woman out of women’s bathroom, guest says

Local News

The Liberty Hotel said the couple was actually removed because one of the women “put their hands on our security team.”

A Boston hotel is receiving an influx of negative online reviews after a woman said her girlfriend was removed from the woman’s bathroom “despite both of (them) repeatedly stating that she is a woman.”

Elizabeth Victor wrote in an online review that her girlfriend was confronted while she was still in a bathroom stall Saturday during an event at the Liberty Hotel on Charles Street. The couple was then “ejected from the event.” 

“She was humiliated and physically confronted while still inside the stall, pulling up her pants, and forced to show ID to ‘prove’ her sex,” Victor wrote in an online Google review. “Even after verifying she is a woman, we were both ejected from the event entirely, while shaken, crying, and publicly shamed.”

A spokesperson for the Liberty Hotel said the couple was actually confronted because they were sharing a stall and were ultimately removed because one of the women “put their hands on our security team.”

Victor published the review Monday after attending a Kentucky Derby party Saturday with her girlfriend, who she described in the review as 6 feet tall with short hair. Victor alleged that her girlfriend was “forcibly removed from the women’s restroom by a staff member.”

Since Victor posted her review, Liberty Hotel has received dozens of one-star reviews on Google, some from close friends of the couple.

Victor shared the Google review on Instagram, noting that it was a personal story and asking followers to post negative reviews, boycott the hotel, and reach out to the mayor. Victor asked Liberty Hotel for a personal and public apology, a full refund from the event, and “a commitment to policy change and staff training.”

“No guests stepped in. No staff de-escalated the situation. No compassion was shown,” Victor wrote. “This was not just unprofessional — it was traumatizing, discriminatory, and dehumanizing. My partner and I are devastated.”

A spokesperson for the hotel said that two adults sharing a stall in the bathroom on May 3 were confronted in the bathroom. Multiple women had alerted security about the two individuals sharing a stall, the hotel said.

“The bathroom was cleared out as two adults in one stall are not permitted,” the spokesperson said. “After leaving the bathroom, a member of the couple from the stall put their hands on our security team and it was then that they were removed from the premises. The Liberty Hotel has a zero-tolerance policy for any physical altercations on our property.”

The spokesperson went on to say the investigation is still ongoing, and “the Liberty Hotel is and always will be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and a place where everyone is welcome and celebrated.”

Victor said on Instagram that she and her partner were not sharing a stall.

When reached for comment by Boston.com, Victor confirmed that she posted the review on behalf of herself and her partner, but declined to comment further.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.