Travelodge sorry for 'Free Palestine' greeting on room TV

Travelodge has apologised to a Jewish guest after a "Free Palestine" welcome greeting was displayed on his hotel room TV.

The guest took a video, shared online by Jewish safety charity Shomrim, showing the message pop up when the TV was turned on at London Manor House Travelodge in north London earlier this month.

The hotel chain launched an investigation which has been unable to find anyone responsible for inputting the message, but is now planning to roll out antisemitism training for staff in response.

Travelodge told the BBC its chief executive Jo Boydell "has spoken with the guest to express our apologies for their experience".

The guest, reported by Jewish News to be "visibly Orthodox Jewish" 24-year-old Sruly Fogel from New York, said he had been visiting the UK for a wedding and the incident left him "really uncomfortable".

Fogel said the message appeared when turning on the TV, and alleged that a member of staff appeared hostile towards him on check-in.

London Manor House Travelodge is situated in Finsbury Park, a mile away from Stamford Hill, the largest strictly Orthodox Jewish community in Europe.

Travelodge reported the incident to the police and checked all rooms in the Manor House hotel and other hotels across the country, finding the "Free Palestine" message only appeared in the Jewish guest's room.

The BBC understands Travelodge's investigation analysed activity logs for the TV, room swipe data, CCTV and interviewed staff members as well as the occupant of the room.

It has not been established whether the greeting had been installed for previous occupants of the room too, but Travelodge initially described it as an "antisemitic message".

The chain told the BBC: "We are now very close to concluding a robust internal investigation, but unfortunately it has not been possible to determine exactly how or when the message was put on this individual TV.

"However, our internal focus on our policy of zero tolerance to discrimination including antisemitism will continue and we are currently in discussions with a leading organisation in the Jewish community to facilitate an appropriate training programme on cultural sensitivity and antisemitism."

The chain would not confirm whether the new antisemitism training would be rolled out for all staff across all its hotels, and if it would be mandatory.

The Met Police said its officers carried out "a number of inquiries" including attending the hotel and speaking with the guest, but its investigation was now closed subject to any further information coming to light.

Commenting on the outcome, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: "It's astonishing if both the police and Travelodge investigations have been closed.

"There are only so many people with access to this equipment and there is likely to be CCTV. It really can't be that complicated."

The charity said "the Jewish community deserves reassurance" that the investigations are still open.

The incident comes after Travelodge was embroiled in a separate controversy over the security of its hotel rooms.

The BBC revealed earlier this year how a woman woke up to a man sexually assaulting her in her bed at the chain's Maidenhead branch in 2022 after staff gave him a key card and her room number.

It prompted an independent review by a barrister, which is ongoing, into Travelodge's room access policies.

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