Hilton is removing its name from a Lakeville hotel after it found itself in hot water for refusing service.
Hilton will remove the Lakeville Hampton Inn from its systems for refusing to accommodate a man posing as an official from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The decision comes after the DHS posted screenshots Monday of a message sent Friday from a Hilton email address saying that immigration agents would not be allowed to stay at the Dakota County hotel, and that their reservation was canceled.
Hilton and local operators of the Hampton Inn Lakeville property released statements within hours apologizing and said the messages refusing to serve agents who were focused on immigration enforcement didn’t reflect their policies.
“Everpeak Hospitality has moved swiftly to address this matter as it was inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all,” the hotel operator said in a statement. “We are in touch with the impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated. We do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies and apologize to those impacted. We are committed to welcoming all guests and operating in accordance with brand standards, applicable laws, and our role as a professional hospitality provider.”
On Tuesday, however, Nick Sortor, a right-wing influencer and journalist, secretly recorded his unsuccessful attempt to book a reservation at the hotel while he was posing as a DHS official, prompting Hilton to take further action.
“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this,” Hilton said in a statement. “A recent video clearly raises concerns that they are not meeting our standards and values. As such, we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems. Hilton is — and has always been — a welcoming place for all. We are also engaging with all of our franchisees to reinforce the standards we hold them to across our system to help ensure this does not happen again.”
Reactions on social media were varied with some calling for the boycott of Hilton hotels and others calling for people to book “staycations” to support the Lakeville hotel.
This report contains information from The Associated Press.
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