No question that political temperatures in a variety of areas are up and many businesses all throughout the years have made statements or taken stands on certain of those issues. This instance features a franchise Hilton property and the US government and it didn’t end well for the hotel.
Hampton Inn Draws the Ire of the US Government and Hilton
The Hampton Inn Lakeville in Minnesota is an independently owned and operated property. It is managed by Everpeak Hospitality which operates a number of hotels. This whole incident started after the Department of Homeland Security and ICE shared e-mails online of the cancellations that were being made on reservations made by ICE agents in Minnesota. Here are those e-mails (from the ICE account on X):
This prompted a federal investigation as well as an investigation by Hilton themselves into this as they said that this behavior does not fit their practices and protocols for hotels, whether they are independent or not. Everpeak also said that this is not their policy as did the management at the hotel.
It would seem that it may have been a reservations manager or similar that decided that they were going to take this stand. Or, it could have been management but they are trying to downplay that so as not to have their hotel become a political battlefield. Either way, it created a firestorm and the hotel has backpedaled and reinstated those reservations.
But, in the end, the property did not stand by what management said, according to reports, and Hilton decided to terminate them from their system.
Everpeak’s statement was:
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.
Everpeak Hospitality
Apparently, @HiltonHotels is terminating the franchise effective immediately. Credit to @nicksortor for his investigative work. https://t.co/DHjh30Dh9p
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) January 6, 2026
And this statement is from Hilton directly after someone went and found that the hotel was not standing by their original statement on the matter.
