Hilton Hotels announced early Tuesday that it will “remove” a Minnesota “franchise hotel from our system” after it was again caught denying rooms to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents investigating local fraud.
This is the result of an undercover video from citizen journalist Nick Sorter.
On Monday, DHS released a copy of an email from a Minneapolis Hampton Inn denying agents accommodations. “We have noticed an influx of GOV reservations,” the email said, “and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay on our property.”
After the story went viral, the Hilton Mothership released a statement stating that the Minneapolis Hampton Inn is “independently owned.”
Hilton hotels serve as welcoming places for all. This hotel is independently owned and operated, and the actions referenced are not reflective of Hilton values. We are investigating this matter with this individual hotel, and can confirm that Hilton works with governments, law enforcement, and community leaders around the world to ensure our properties are open and inviting to everyone.
After that, the independently owned hotel issued an apology and said it would reverse its policy:
Everpeak Hospitality has moved swiftly to address this matter as it was inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all. 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.
A few hours later, this happened:
The video makes clear that hotel has not reversed its policy, the hotel lied about reversing its policy. The Hilton Mothership reacted quickly and announced that “we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems.”
Call this The Bud Light Effect or The Charlie Kirk Effect or the Cracker Barrel Effect. The political right has had enough of this hate and prejudice, so our namby-pamby days of cowering behind the phony principles of “free enterprise” and “free speech” are over. And I know this because I was once one of those people.
The Hilton Mothership was savvy enough to understand how quickly this could devastate its brand, stock price, and overall business, so they quickly acted to do the right thing.
It’s a whole new world. The political right is radicalized and corporate America knows it.
I’m also certain Hilton did not want any heat from the Trump administration.
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