Hilton has removed an independently owned franchise hotel in Minnesota from its system after the property allegedly refused to accommodate Department of Homeland Security law enforcement.
On Monday, in a post on social media platform X, Hilton was accused by DHS of “launching a coordinated campaign” to refuse service to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who had attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates at The Hampton Inn in Lakeville. The hotel is operated by management company Everpeak Hospitality.
In the X post, DHS also claimed that Hilton Hotels was attempting to “deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement.”
Following the assertion, operator Everpeak Hospitality released a statement saying it had “moved swiftly” to address the matter, which the company said was “inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all.” Everpeak added that it had been in touch with the impacted officers.
“We do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies and apologize to those impacted,” read the statement, posted to the management firm’s website. “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, conservative influencer and independent journalist Nick Sortor posted a video on X of himself attempting to reserve 10 rooms at the Hampton Inn using a DHS discounted rate. The video, which he said was taken Monday night, shows Sortor confronting the hotel's front desk clerk, who tells Sortor the hotel was not accepting DHS personnel on the property, citing a management policy. By press time, the video had amassed roughly 4.7 million views.
Following the video’s release, a Hilton spokesperson confirmed to Hotel Dive that the company had terminated its franchise agreement with The Hampton Inn in Lakeville, citing Sortor’s video.
“A recent video clearly raises concerns that [the independent hotel owner was] not meeting our standards and values,” the spokesperson said. “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.”
The spokesperson added that the independent hotel owner “had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this.”
The spokesperson also said Hilton was “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.”
Everpeak Hospitality could not be reached for further comment.
