❓WHAT HAPPENED: Hilton Hotels & Resorts, the U.S. subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide, has severed ties with a Minnesota hotel accused of canceling Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents’ reservations.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Everpeak Hospitality, Hampton Inn Lakeville Minneapolis, and DHS agents.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Minneapolis, Minnesota; with DHS revealing the reservation cancellation on Monday, January 5, 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “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 Hotels & Resorts
🎯IMPACT: Hilton terminated the hotel’s franchise after public backlash and video evidence indicating the hotel was continuing to bar DHS agents contrary to its public statements claiming otherwise.
Hotel giant Hilton has officially ended its relationship with a Minnesota hotel property accused of canceling reservations made by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents. The controversy began late Monday when DHS officials alleged the Hampton Inn Lakeville Minneapolis refused to honor room reservations made by federal agents, citing emails from hotel representatives explicitly stating, “We are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), DHS accused Hilton—which has a franchise relationship with Everpeak Hospitality, the owner and operator of the Hampton Inn Lakeville Minneapolis—of engaging in a “coordinated campaign” to block DHS employees from booking rooms. “When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations,” the department said, adding: “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?”
Hilton Hotels & Resorts—the U.S. subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide—quickly tried to distance itself from the property, responding late Monday that the “hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton values.” By Tuesday, Hilton announced it was severing ties with the franchise, stating, “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.”
While Everpeak Hospitality initially said the hotel’s decision to bar federal agents from its premises was “inconsistent” with company policies, and pledged to reach out to those impacted by the issue to reach a resolution, a video posted on Tuesday to social media by independent journalist Nick Sortor appeared to show hotel employees still enforcing the ban on DHS agents as of 10:50 PM on Monday.
“Hilton’s operator, Everpeak, STRAIGHT UP LIED in their statement yesterday which said they were ‘in touch’ with DHS to accommodate impacted agents, and ‘do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies,'” Sortor wrote, adding: “NONE of that was true. Even the FRONT DESK manager said he had spoken with the owner shortly before I walked in around 10:50 PM, and confirmed the ANTI-DHS POLICY REMAINED IN EFFECT.”
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