Holiday Inn Clerk Abandons Desk, Returns Furious, Tells Hawaiian Couple “Go Back to Mexico” — Then Ends Their Prepaid Stay

A front desk agent at a Holiday Inn could have done their job, checking in a guest, but decided instead to disappear for a bit, come back angry, then refuse to serve guests who’d been waiting – telling them they should just “go back to Mexico.” When they’re Hawaiian.

Guests say they arrived to find others already waiting in the lobby with no one at the front desk and no employee anywhere. After “some time” with no agent in sight, the front desk clerk finally reappeared.

Video picks up mid-argument. The front desk agent is already yelling when the clip starts:

“9 o’clock and I was here. Stupid.”
“F- you. You stupid.”
I’m not checking you or nothing. Check in somewhere else. Bye.”
“Go back to Mexico.”

The guests fire back that they’re Hawaiian, several times. Her answer: “Go back to Hawaii then.” She also calls them “Mexican, bitch” and “fat bitch,” repeats that she’s not checking them in, and tells them to go somewhere else because “you’ll get your money back.”

The couple says the stay was prepaid and they just wanted their room. Instead they get “I’m not doing nothing, bitch… I’m not talking to you in any way,” and refusing to touch their reservation at all. They were “evicted just 10 minutes later” once they challenged the agent and hit record, they were out of the hotel and on their own for a room somewhere else.

This isn’t the only Holiday Inn racism clip this month. In Corpus Christi, Texas, Mexican comedian Liliana “La Chupitos” Arriaga posted video of staff at a Holiday Inn Express threatening to call ICE on her family and saying “I’m not illegal like you.”

The story reminds me of two American Asian men denied check-in to an Indiana hotel in February 2020 because the clerk thought they might be Chinese (they were Hmong) and therefore could have the new coronavirus. This was before a U.S. Covid death had been known to have occurred.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. So,….if they were really Mexican it would have been alright?
    Rude behavior is inexcusable…no matter who is the recipient. Sounds like the front desk clerk should find another line of work. One where they don’t come into contact with people.

  2. Obviously, the front desk clerk’s behavior is completely unacceptable, but unless she’s a complete nut-case (and therefore unlikely to be employed) there is more to the story than what appears on that video. There almost always is. Never jump to conclusions, even if it’s good for clicks.

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