United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
London hotel slammed for jesuischarlie hashtag
A trendy London hotel has apologised to visitors to its Facebook site who were offended by its ‘shameless’ use of #jesuischarlie to promote its new opening in Paris.
The Hoxton Hotel in east London used the hashtag when posting photos of its new Paris hotel on its Facebook site, but further outraged visitors by misspelling it.
The coment said: "Proud to be opening out second European hotel in Paris 2016. Very chic don’t you think?#jesuischarile
The hashtag jesuischarlie has been used on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to show global support for the 17 people who were gunned down last week during terrorist attacks at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and at a Paris supermarket.
In response to the Hoxton hotel posting, one user wrote: "Hey, nice work – using an act of terrorism and the loss of lives to promote your new hotel…and spelling the hashtag wrong".
Others said it was in poor taste, shameless and uncool. One wrote: "Awesome hotel, definitely going to be checking it out. But the hashtag…really? Come on guys, not cool."
The hotel has since removed the post and issued the following statement: "Earlier today a member of our team posted renderings of our upcoming hotel opening in Paris. At the end of the post Ի#jesuischarlie was used to show our solidarity with the victims of the attacks in Paris. In no way was it our intention to use these atrocities to promote our new hotel. This would not only be completely insensitive but unacceptable in our eyes.
"In hindsight, it was extremely poor judgement and clearly not intended to be perceived in the way it has. We have since removed the post on Facebook and we would like to sincerely apologise for any offence it may have caused."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence
Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy
Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Boy falls to death on cruise ship
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel