Lodging firm Hilton (HLT) said on Tuesday that it will cut ties with a franchise hotel in the Minneapolis area after a new video showed a front desk clerk refusing to book rooms for someone claiming to be a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent. The move came one day after the hotel’s operator, Everpeak Hospitality, apologized for previously canceling reservations for actual DHS officers because of their immigration enforcement work. Hilton said that it had been assured the issue was resolved, but the new video showed otherwise.
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More specifically, the video, posted on X by independent journalist Nick Sortor, showed a clerk at the Hampton Inn Lakeview Minneapolis saying that the hotel was not allowing ICE, DHS, or immigration agents to stay at the property. The clerk described the rule as a policy set by management and ownership and said that he had not been told of any recent changes. After reviewing the footage, Hilton stated that the hotel’s actions did not reflect its values. As a result, Hilton is taking immediate steps to remove the property from its systems.
The controversy comes as Minneapolis faces increased attention from the Trump administration over immigration enforcement and large-scale fraud investigations in the state. The DHS had earlier accused the hotel of deliberately blocking officers and shared emails stating that immigration agents would not be allowed to stay there. Hilton initially responded by saying the hotel was independently owned and that the issue had been addressed. However, after the follow-up video surfaced, Hilton decided stronger action was needed.
Is HLT Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on HLT stock based on 11 Buys, seven Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average HLT price target of $292.37 per share implies that shares are trading near fair value.
