A fitness business in Maastricht has recently terminated a customer’s membership due to complaints about his strong body odor. Customers had been bothered by the man’s sweat smell for a while, and the business had multiple conversations with him about it. However, despite the care and integrity with which the subject was approached, the man did not respond well to feedback and continued to ignore recommendations.
According to Dutch law, fitness businesses have the right to ban individuals who cause a disturbance based on their internal regulations. This includes situations where body odor is considered a nuisance. In fact, a judge ruled that unpleasant body odor can be grounds for taking measures such as banning someone from a public place in a case involving a library that wanted to exclude a man with stinky feet from entering.
Businesses must maintain a comfortable and pleasant environment for all customers, and addressing issues like body odor is part of upholding this standard. In this particular case, the fitness business felt that they had no choice but to terminate the man’s membership due to ongoing complaints from other customers and his lack of response to their suggestions.
