The Sikh man was asked to leave the Royal English Hotel in suburban Brisbane on Sunday because his turban contravened its "no headwear" policy. Coles subsidiary Spirit Hotels, which owns the venue, apologised to the unnamed man on Monday.
"The general manager of the hotel contacted the man on Monday night and offered an apology on behalf of the hotel and of the broader Spirit Group," a Coles spokesman was quoted as saying by media reports.
"Our policy of no headwear is to be applied with sensitivity and due respect to religious and cultural beliefs. Our understanding is he has accepted that offer and will not be taking it any further," he said.
One of the staff members of the hotel had asked the man to remove his turban following which he left the place.
The Sikh man, who had only been in the hotel for a few minutes when he was asked to leave, confirmed he had been offered an apology and indicated he had no plans to take up the issue further. "The bartender came over to me and said 'we have a no hat policy' and asked me to leave," he told ABC Radio.
"I said 'it's not a hat, it's a turban' and she said 'it doesn't matter, you can't have anything on your head'. I said 'that's fine I'll go'," he said.
The man said he had lived in Queensland for more than 20 years, and had never before experienced any similar problem. "My sister called the hotel on Monday morning and she was able to get hold of the Spirit Group and he's offered an apology to me," he said. He said it was "pretty much the end of the matter" as far as he was concerned.
However, Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes said he may have grounds for a complaint of indirect discrimination because of the way the no headwear policy had been applied.
"I would have thought we would certainly look at a complaint from him if he lodged a complaint," he told the ABC.
