Hilton Hotels removing Minneapolis franchise location after it again denied DHS booking

Hilton Hotels said Tuesday that it will sever ties with a franchise hotel in the Minneapolis area after a new video showed a desk clerk there refusing to book rooms for a person claiming to be a Department of Homeland Security agent.

Hilton’s statement came a day after the company that owns the location, Everpeak Hospitality, apologized for canceling a prior reservation for real DHS agents because of their work on immigration enforcement, and said that such a ban was not consistent with its policy of “being a welcoming place for all.”

“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this,” Hilton said in a statement Tuesday on the social media site X, which was also sent by a spokesperson to CNBC.

“A recent video clearly raises concerns that they are not meeting our standards and values,” Hilton 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 statement said. “We are also engaging with our all of our franchisees to reinforce the standards we hold them to across our system to help ensure this does not happen again.”

The statement was posted hours after a tweet by the conservative independent journalist Nick Sortor, which contained a video of him visiting the Hampton Inn by Hilton Lakeview Minneapolis on Monday night — hours after Everpeak issued its apology — and trying to book 10 rooms for what Sortor said were DHS employees.

“So, we’re not accepting people from Immigration, ICE agents, DHS into our property,” the clerk said. “That’s just our management, ownership.”

When Sortor said he thought the policy had changed “today” — Monday — the clerk replied, “I just talked to the owner of the building, and he didn’t say there had been any changes.”

“Yeah, it’s just policy,” the clerk said.

The clerk, who also said “I’m new here,” then repeated that he had not been informed of any policy changes, and he offered to speak to the owner.

When the clerk returned, he said he had been unable to reach anyone in authority because of the late hour.

Sortor posted his video on X on Tuesday morning.

“BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: I went into the Minnesota Hilton who ‘apologized’ for banning DHS agents, and EXPOSED them for CONTINUING to ban DHS agents,” Sortor wrote.

“REVOKE THEIR LICENSE, HILTON, OR IT’S GOING TO COST YOU DEARLY. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. This is an INCREDIBLY dumb battle to choose!” Sortor wrote.

CNBC attempted to reach someone at the Hampton Inn Lakeview Minneapolis on Tuesday morning, but no one answered calls there.

Most of the more than 9,000 properties affiliated with Hilton and its brands are operated by franchisees.

Minneapolis has become a target for criticism by the Trump administration, which has blamed the Somali community there for a series of frauds against federal programs.

Minnesota is “a hellhole right now. The Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain,” President Donald Trump said in early December.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, in a tweet on Dec. 29, said, “Homeland Security Investigations @ICEGov are on the ground in Minneapolis right now conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud. More coming.”

On Monday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dropped his plan to seek election to a third term, citing the fraud probes and the Trump administration’s focus on immigrants in the state.

“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” said Walz, who was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024.

DHS, in a statement on its official government X account on Monday, had blasted Hilton over the first instance of an Everpeak property blocking immigration enforcement agents from staying at the location.

“NO ROOM AT THE INN!” DHS said at that time. “HiltonHotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement.”

“When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations,” DHS said. “This is UNACCEPTABLE. Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?”

DHS’s tweet included screengrabs of emails 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,” the message said. “If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation.”

Hilton Hotels, in its response on Monday to DHS’s tweet, had said, “This hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton 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’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination,” the statement read.

Everpeak Hospitality, the company that operates the Hampton Inn Lakeview Minneapolis, in its statement on Monday, had said, “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,” Everpeak said. “We are committed to welcoming all guests and operating in accordance with brand standards, applicable laws, and our role as a professional hospitality provider.”