Blind woman with service dog files human rights complaint after Vancouver hotel made her change rooms

Cyndi Fosco has filed a complaint with B.C.'s Human Rights Tribunal after being forced to change hotel rooms because she had a service dog.

Cyndi Fosco was born with severe myopia. When her vision deteriorated to only 5 per cent, she knew she needed help navigating. So three years ago, she was matched with her service dog Aaliyah.

“And she has really opened up my world,“ said Fosco, adding that having Aaliyah has allowed her and her husband Cory to continue travelling.

In September, the couple from Chicago booked a stay at the Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown Vancouver. But when they attempted to check in, Cory said, they were told they would have to change rooms.

“She's got a dog, you guys can't go in this room. You have to go on to the fourth floor, because that's our pet floor,” said Cory, recounting what the front desk clerk told him.

Cyndi tried to explain that Aaliyah is a guide dog.

“She’s a service animal. She is not a pet. It's completely different than having a pet. And the employee was just not willing to budge. So they said it was their policy to put us on the pet floor,” Cyndi said, adding they were told the policy was in place to protect guests with allergies.

The couple said they felt they had no choice but to accept the room change, so they could start their vacation. Stephanie Pilon with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind says the hotel was in the wrong.

“Guide dogs are not pets. They've been through intensive training, and they should should be treated as a working dog,” Pilon said. “The person has the right to access services under B.C. law, and they also have the right to the same level of service as other individuals who are not using a guide dog. So, the fact that they booked a specific room, that person should have been allowed in the room with their guide dog.”

CTV News left a voicemail with the manager of the hotel and a publicist at Marriott, but has not heard back. This story will be updated if a response is received.

The Foscos said they enjoyed their time in Vancouver, and tried to speak about the room change with hotel management when they were checking out.

“They then offered to give us one free night's credit, but they weren't willing to say, 'You know, this needs to change. We can't do this to other people,'” said Cory.

So Cyndi decided to file a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

“There are laws in place that already say that you are allowed to come in with your service dog and be treated like a regular person. And then someone is, you know, not wanting to treat you that way. It hurts,” she said.

“I just don't understand why they aren't willing to be educated and say, well, let's take a step back and let's make sure we're doing the right thing for our customers who have disabilities, who have service animals," added Cory.

The Foscos travel regularly and said they had never been forced to change rooms because of Aaliyah before the Vancouver incident. They hope by filing a complaint and going public, they can prevent it from happening to anyone with a guide dog again.