Important Lessons Can Be Learned From the Hotelier’s Fast But Flawed Crisis Response
1/7/26 – – Just a week into the new year, we’ve been reminded of the pitfalls of politics, courtesy of Lakeville, Minnesota’s Hampton Inn. News broke on Monday of the hotel’s refusal to honor reservations for ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers traveling to the Minneapolis area.
Guests using government email addresses received this unwelcoming message from the hotel:
“We have noticed an influx of GOV reservations made today that have been for DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property . . . If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation.”
Rewards and Risks of Franchise Business Model
Hampton Inn is one of Hilton’s brands, which in addition to such fancy digs as the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Hotels & Resorts include popular family-friendly “flags” (that’s what they’re called in the hospitality industry) like DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, and Hampton Inn.
The Lakeville Hampton Inn is independently owned and operated by Everpeak Hospitality. Like all Hilton brand franchisees, Everpeak must abide by Hilton’s corporate standards and policies, which go well beyond the thickness of bath towels, to keep its flag flying.
Unfortunately, the actions of a single rogue franchisee can damage the reputation of the parent company. As you would expect, news media headlines focused on Hilton:
CNBC: “DHS blasts Hilton Hotels over canceled hotel reservation.”
Axios: “Hilton hit by franchise fallout after DHS booking cancellations.”
Crisis Response Gets Off to a Good Start
Everpeak responded quickly to extinguish the firestorm of outrage and praise that erupted online, calling the hotel’s actions “inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all.” They assured the public that, “We are in touch with the impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated.”
A spokesperson for Hilton was also fast to denounce the Lakeville property’s unauthorized inhospitality, explaining:
“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’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”
It appeared to be textbook crisis response: Within hours Hilton had deescalated the event, apologizing and reaffirming its purpose without falling into the trap of taking a stand or even mentioning the obvious political motivation for the cancelled reservations.
Case closed?
Not so fast.
Front Desk Doesn’t Get the Message
On Monday evening, just hours after the Everpeak and Hilton statements were posted on X, a conservative online influencer posing as a federal official was denied a room at the hotel by a front desk agent who on video insisted that the “no room at the inn for DHS personnel” policy was still in force.
The video reignited the online firestorm and calls for a nationwide boycott of all Hilton properties. It also prompted Hilton to update its statement on X, announcing its decision to “remove this hotel from our systems.” (The Lakeville property is no longer listed among the Minneapolis-area Hampton Inns on the Hilton website.) Concerned that this politically driven reputational conflagration might spread, Hilton added:
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Hilton franchisees received a reminder of their responsibility to follow headquarters’ policies and brand standards, and this warning: “Any actions to the contrary will result in decisive action by Hilton.”
Mixed Marks for Hilton’s Crisis Response
Hilton gets an A+ for sticking to business, steering clear of politics and responding unequivocally with speed, clarity and commitment to established corporate policies.
It’s likely that at least a few Hilton senior executives are not crazy about immigration enforcement policies across the nation, which are impacting the entire hospitality industry. Most managements, boards and employees hold a range of views on social and political issues. Hilton’s leaders deserve credit for being able to set personal political views aside for the sake of their business and brands.
Where Hilton fell short was in not doing everything necessary to make sure Everpeak and the Lakeville property’s staff (especially the visitor-facing front desk people) followed through on their rejection of the rogue policy and promises of reform.
The Importance of Human Follow-Through in Crisis Response
If Hilton didn’t place a regional manager onsite within hours of the crisis breaking online, that was an unforgivable mistake. If they did, the assigned Hilton representative failed to fulfill his or her duties to protect the company and Hampton Inn flag.
The first corporate crisis of 2026 underscores the importance of human follow-through in crisis response. Good decisions, speed and effective messaging may fail if people at every level of an organization under fire, including employees, partners and franchisees, do not embrace or are not aware of the response strategy.
Boots on the ground at the scene of the crisis are still essential, whether it’s a plant fire or single franchisee going off the rails. You can’t fully extinguish a reputational crisis from in front of a keyboard and screen.
In addition to staying out of politics, make a New Year’s resolution to build internal communication, cascading management briefings and onsite supervision into your tabletop crisis-response exercises. The flag you save may be your own.
Crisis Quotient Blog 