Hyatt removes in-room TV message asking guests for donations

Saturday, 10 Aug, 2020 0

Hyatt has removed a message from the in-room TV of one of its hotels asking for cash donations.

A Hyatt spokesperson said it the message was not in line with its policies, and seems to have been a unilateral initiative by the Seattle Motif hotel.

It came to light when guest Alex Kremer, of Boulder, Colorado snapped the message and posted it on social media.

"As we all navigate these uncertain times together, please consider giving a one-time gift of $25 to this hotel. This hotel will receive 100% of this contribution," the message read.

Hyatt said it was an ‘isolated incident.’

"As soon as we were made aware of the situation, we immediately investigated with the hotel and its IT provider, and the message was removed from guest room TVs immediately," said Mark Pardue, Hyatt’s SVP of Operations.

"It is not Hyatt’s practice to encourage contributions from guests to support hotel properties in this manner."

The message was produced by Sonifi, a hotel technology provider, and seems to have been broadcast at many hotels, although it is unclear if any more of them were Hyatt-branded properties.

"Some of our hoteliers viewed this as helpful while others found it not to be in alignment with their positioning," Ahmad Ouri, CEO of Sonifi, told USA TODAY.

By Ray Montgomery, US editor

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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