British hotel chain Travelodge apologized to a Jewish guest after a TV in his London hotel room displayed a pop-up reading, "Welcome Guest - Free Palestine." The incident happened at the London Manor House Travelodge in north London and sparked anger in the Jewish community, prompting both an internal company inquiry and a police investigation.
The guest, 24-year-old Orthodox Jew Seruli Fogel from New York, was in Britain for a wedding. He recorded the episode on video, which was later published by the Jewish security group Shomrim. In the footage, the television switches on and the message appears on the screen. Fogel said the experience made him feel deeply uncomfortable, and he also claimed that one of the hotel staff treated him with hostility at check-in. He said the fact that the message appeared in the room assigned to him, while he was visibly identified as an Orthodox Jew, intensified the offense.
Travelodge said it carried out a broad investigation, reviewing television system activity logs, magnetic card access records, security camera footage, and interviews with staff and guests. The company said it could not determine who entered the message or exactly when it was inserted. It also checked all rooms in the hotel and at other properties across the UK, and said the message appeared only in Fogel’s room. Travelodge said it found no evidence that any hotel employee was involved.
Travelodge chief executive Jo Boydell spoke with Fogel and apologized personally. The company said that under its zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination, including antisemitism, it is in contact with a leading Jewish organization to develop staff training on cultural sensitivity and combating antisemitism. London police also investigated, but closed the case after carrying out checks and said it could be reopened only if new information emerges. Campaign Against Antisemitism criticized the closure, saying it was hard to understand how the culprit could not be identified and that the Jewish community deserved clearer answers.
