Holiday hell for Vancouver family after daughter's hair chopped off by hotel staff
A Mexico vacation for a Vancouver family has left them battling with a Hilton hotel after claims that staff cut their child’s hair against their consent.
Natalie Stenz and her family spent their sunny holiday at the Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resort last fall.
Near the end of their two-week stay, Natalie went to pick up her daughter, Emiliana Stenz, from the onsite childcare and noticed her child’s hair “was literally chopped off.”
Natalie said her daughter was in tears and “extremely upset” and estimated about 16 inches was cut.
Photo comparison of Emiliana Stenz’s hair length before her family’s Mexico vacation (L) and after (R). (Submitted by Natalie Stenz)
According to Natalie, her eight-year-old son witnessed three staff members at the kids club braiding Emiliana’s hair and then cutting it despite the two of them saying, “No.”
“Nobody even asked me. They had my number. They had everything. No one really cared to get consent,” the local mother said.
“Probably for some people, it’s not a big deal. But for me, it’s like half of her hair and in my culture, it’s just a very bad thing. I was very distraught, upset.”
“This is a very, very, very serious situation in my culture”
Apart from being a shocking incident, Natalie said cutting her seven-year-old daughter’s hair without consent was culturally insensitive.
She explained that as an Orthodox Ukrainian, in her family, “We don’t cut girls’ hair until a certain age.”
“This is a very, very, very serious situation in my culture,” Natalie said. “In my family, it is a tradition we don’t touch girls’ hair until she fully turns eight.”
Emiliana also has experience modelling, but her mother claims the work she would be offered was limited because her hair was cut.
“She’s modelling along with me. Her hair length is very important.”
Year-long battle
After reporting the incident to the hotel, Natalie said she was treated poorly, adding, “they kind of brushed it off and sent us over to the lawyers.”
In an email statement to Daily Hive, a Hilton Hotels spokesperson said, “At Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya, All-Inclusive Resort the comfort and wellbeing of our guests is our top priority. While we always strive to ensure our guests enjoy the most exceptional stay, we were disheartened to hear of the guest experience and immediately took the necessary steps to address those concerns directly with our guest.”
However, due to “privacy obligations,” it said it could not provide additional comments to Daily Hive regarding Natalie’s claims.
Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resort. (hilton.com)
Over the past year, she’s attempted to find lawful solutions to seek compensation and accountability but said she found it difficult to since the case involved a hotel in another country.
After months of searching for answers and negotiations, Natalie said she was offered US$1,500.
According to an email RTS International Loss Adjusters sent Natalie, the money offered was given due to “unprecedented circumstances.”
Adding, “The amount was offered to amicably resolve this claim.”
The Stentz family has not accepted the offer because they did not trust the insurance company with private information.
“Also, because it’s just a joke of an amount compared to all the documents they demanded from us for the money,” Natalie said.
She claims RTS acknowledged this case was considered “child abuse” and “assault.” Daily Hive reached out to RTS for comment regarding these allegations but it did not respond by deadline.
Natalie said she’s spent months fighting to be compensated for lost points from a loyalty program, but was denied.
The Vancouver mother added hotel staff were reprimanded but did not intend for them to be impacted. She is instead critical of the human resources department and suggests they did not provide enough training for them – calling it “a very grave mismanagement from the HR department of this hotel.”
“I just want to make people aware that there are different cultures and different countries,” she said.