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Hilton drops Minnesota hotel that banned ICE agents from staying in its rooms
The Minnesota hotel that denied federal immigration agents rooms has been dropped by Hilton, the hotel chain wrote on social media.
The Hampton Inn Lakeville, which is owned by Hilton, made national headlines after denying Department of Homeland Security staff hotel rooms once their identities were revealed. While Hilton apologized, claiming the action went against their policies, a video reportedly taken on Tuesday showed the person behind the hotel’s check-in desk denying rooms for ICE agents.
“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this. 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 wrote in a statement on X.
“Hilton is — and has always been — a welcoming place for all,” Hilton added.
Meanwhile, Trump officials claimed Hilton had launched a “coordinated campaign” to refuse service to DHS employees.
“When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations,” DHS wrote on X. “This is UNACCEPTABLE.”
The agency then seemed to reference the Biblical story of Mary and Joseph being denied “room at the inn” ahead of the birth of Jesus and shared two screenshots about the alleged cancellations in Minnesota.
“After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected with your name and will be cancelling your upcoming reservation,” one of the screenshots, dated January 2, read.
“We are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property,” another message, purportedly from the leadership of the Hampton Inn Lakeville, reads.
Hilton issued an apology in response, telling The Independent in a statement that the hotel was independently owned and operated, and the actions did not reflect the company’s values.
“We have been in direct contact with the hotel, and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies. They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter and are contacting impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated,” Hilton said.
However, a video shared on X on Tuesday claims to show the front desk operator at the Hampton Inn Lakeville, about 20 miles south of Minneapolis, saying the policy forbidding DHS employees from booking rooms remained in effect.
Hilton noted in its statement Tuesday that the company was working with franchisees to “reinforce the standards we hold them to across our system to help ensure this does not happen again.”
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