I am renting a room in a large, shared house with people from all ages, ethnic backgrounds, and nationalities.
I was informed by the housing manager that there had been a complaint against me by a fellow female tenant (I suspect Alice (although the Manager never mentioned any names)) for discussing maid cafes and suggesting she wear a maid outfit. (I did talk with a couple female tenants (Alice and Jane) on different occasions about my plans for the weekend when asked and mentioned I would be going with some friends to a maid cafe and may have jokingly suggested they come along as a maid or something similar.)
The housing manager then went on to say that there had actually been a number of complains by other female tenants who overheard me discuss maid cafes, making them feel uncomfortable, although he never mentioned what exactly was said that made them feel that way. I don't believe ever having said anything inappropriate or even discussing it around other people so I have a feeling the complainant may have gotten some of her friends to complain as well.
The manager then wrapped-up the discussion and suggested I be careful about what I say to people and advised I not try to find the person who complained for fear additional tension or awkwardness be created between us.
I am not very upset about them complaining against and am not a spiteful person but would like the complainant I am sorry that something I said made them feel uncomfortable so we can hopefully be on friendly terms (I'm not really concerned about being friends with this person or people but I would like us to be on friendly terms since we see each other almost every day in the common areas).
The problem is that I'm not 100% sure who complained. There were two women I talked to about the maid cafe and unsure who it could have been, although I have my suspicions since one of them always smiles and greets me, and the other no longer does (although as the manager said, there were multiple complaints and it could have been both of them, since they are also friends).
How can I let the complainant know I am sorry what I said upset them and meant no ill intentions?
(My idea was to apologize to each of them, something along the lines of, "hey the manager told me my comment about maid cafes made someone upset so I'm not sure if it's you but if it is, sorry." but of course, slightly better formulated.)
Note: all names used are placeholders and may not the names of the actual people involved.