Travelodge rejects suggestion ‘Free Palestine’ message appeared on all hotel TVs
Hotel chain says investigation remains ongoing, nearly a week after antisemitism complaint
Travelodge has rejected claims that a “Free Palestine” message reported by Orthodox Jewish guests appeared more widely across one of its London hotels.
The hotel chain said checks carried out at Travelodge Manor House in Finsbury Park found the message had appeared only on a single television.
The clarification comes nearly a week after Travelodge launched an investigation into an incident reported by Jewish guests staying at the hotel.
A spokesperson told Jewish News: “We have checked every TV in every room in the Manor House hotel and can confirm that this message was displayed on only one TV, in this specific guest’s room. Any suggestion to the contrary is factually incorrect.”
Travelodge said its investigation remains ongoing and that it has no further update beyond previous statements.
The company has not disclosed how the message appeared on the television screen and has not announced any findings from its almost week-long inquiry.
Last week, chief executive Jo Boydell said Travelodge had launched an immediate investigation after becoming aware of the incident and had reported the matter to the police.
She said: “There is no place in society for antisemitism and we will not tolerate this in our hotels or in our wider business.”
The company also said it had apologised to the guest involved and to the wider Jewish community.
The original complaint was made by New York tourist Sruly Fogel, 24, who told Jewish News he discovered a message reading “Hi, welcome, Free Palestine” on a television screen while staying at the hotel during a visit to London for a friend’s wedding.
Shomrim later reported the incident to police, describing it as bearing “all the hallmarks of antisemitism”.
The Metropolitan Police has not yet provided an update on the status of its enquiries.
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