Hilton Drops Minneapolis Hotel Over ICE Ban
Hilton Drops Minneapolis Hotel Over ICE Ban
The News
Global hospitality company Hilton will remove a Minnesota hotel from its network, after a video surfaced indicating it still refused to house agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) despite the hotel saying it had addressed the problem.
Employees at the Hampton Inn in Lakeville, Minnesota, had canceled reservations for the federal agents this past week, saying in an email that they were “not allowing any [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] or immigration agents to stay on their property.”
But on Jan. 6, Hilton said it would sever ties with the hotel, as concerns about the issue remained.
The company was referencing a video in which influencer Nick Sotor posed as a government official trying to book 10 rooms for DHS agents, but was refused by a front desk employee.
Timeline
DHS posted about the situation on social media on Jan. 5, alleging “a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement.”
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The hotel’s management company, Everpeak Hospitality, issued an apology after the incident came to light, saying it “moved swiftly to address this matter as it was inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all.” Everpeak’s statement also said “it was in touch with the impacted guests” to make sure they were accommodated.
“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this,” Hilton said in a statement posted to X.
“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.”
“Even the FRONT DESK manager said he had spoken with the owner shortly before I walked in around 10:50 pm, and confirmed the ANTI-DHS POLICY REMAINED IN EFFECT,” Sotor wrote in an X post accompanying the video.
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The company added that it was engaging with its franchisees to prevent the situation from happening.
Sotor informed the employee of Hilton’s statement, but was still unable to book the room after the hotel’s owners did not answer a phone call for clarification.
Sotor ended the video by saying that Hilton would get “Bud Lighted,” i.e., boycotted.
The contact page on Everpeak Hospitality’s website was nonfunctional at press time.
The hotel’s refusal comes after the Trump administration deployed hundreds of immigration agents to the area. According to Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, agents had surged to the area following recent reports of immigration and welfare fraud.
As of Dec. 30, the operation had resulted in more than 500 immigration-related arrests and over 1,000 fraud investigations, McLaughlin said in an interview on Fox News.
Amid blowback from the fraud revelations, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced on Jan. 5 that he would not seek reelection.
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