Two British residents are vowing never to return to Niagara Falls after they say they were kicked out of their hotel for supporting Rainforest Café workers on the picket line Saturday.

Alan Tomlinson and his daughter Lauren were spending the week on holiday when they started chatting with the striking workers on Clifton Hill last week. On Saturday, they decided to give them some "moral support" by joining them on the picket line.

Their vacation was about to take a strange turn.

Alan says his daughter was "followed back" to their hotel by two security guards. The hotel they were staying at, the Crowne Plaza on Falls Avenue, is owned by the same company as the Rainforest Café's Niagara Falls location - Canadian Niagara Hotels.

When she was stopped in the hotel by security, Lauren said she was a guest and was going back to her room. Alan says the head of security then told her "she had to leave as it was a conflict of interest and he would call the police if she did not."

Alan arrived soon after and was told their car may also be towed.

"(Security) said you need to leave, this is private property, you are not welcome. I told him we would go, but I want a refund. The front desk refused a refund and said I needed to go through the booking agent.

"If this is the way they treat paying guests, goodness knows how they treat their staff."

About 95 servers, bussers and hostesses at Rainforest Café walked off the job last Monday after efforts for a first contract with Canadian Niagara Hotels broke down.

Represented by Workers United Local 2347, the employees voted 85 per cent to form a union last March and have been seeking a contract since. One of the key issues, says union rep Mike Ward, is management's policy of forcing servers to hand over 4.5 percent of their net sales per shift to management.

In a media statement released last week, Rainforest Café management says the money collected by servers is disbursed to their "equally hard-working colleagues" like kitchen staff, bussers, managers and supervisors.

After being forced to leave the Crowne Plaza, the Tomlinsons spent the last two nights of their holidays at the Courtyard Marriott. They returned home Monday. Alan says he felt "scared, threatened and intimidated" by the experience, and will "never come back" to Niagara Falls.

Ward feels Canadian Niagara Hotels "owes an apology" to them.

"We need to know if this is going to be a matter of policy going forward," he says. "Are union supporters welcome at their hotels?

"We've received overwhelming support from tourists and the people of Niagara. And it's only growing. It's time for the owners to do the right thing and bargain a fair contract now."

Union rep Richard Bensinger says the Tomlinsons were a "charming father and daughter" who took time out of their holidays to support workers rights in Canada. As a result, they were kicked out of their hotel for a "conflict of opinion."

"In my opinion … it's a conflict of values," he says. "Does the company think they're above bad PR? Do they not care what anyone thinks?"

When reached for comment Monday, Canadian Niagara Hotels spokeswoman Sarah Vazquez says all hotels are "occasionally required" to deal with guests they feel are interfering with other guests' enjoyment of their properties.

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"It is unfortunate that these guests participated in a private business affair between the union and the employer and interfered with other guests attempting to access the Rainforest and other nearby businesses."

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