The Hyatt Hotel hosted the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend, where many notable crazies from the GOP delivered unhinged pieces, including former President Donald Trump. But now it seems that the hotel isn’t itching to do it again.
One of the first things noticed by social media users amid the CPAC event was the similarity between the shape of the CPAC stage and a Nordic othala rune, which the Nazis appropriated to “reconstruct a mythic ‘Aryan’ past.”
Twitter users unsurprisingly hammered the hotel’s official Twitter page with criticism over the design, calling on the Hyatt to address the issue immediately:
This is the CPAC stage design below. It is a rune which was used by the SS.
This is the stage from which @tedcruz screeched “freedom.”
(Image via @dailybeanspod) pic.twitter.com/OgpOuCYdV5
— Ben Jackson (@BJacksonWrites) February 27, 2021
The #CPAC stage is designed to be a rune used by the Nazis. Curious if @Hyatt is okay with Nazi symbols being used on their properties like this? pic.twitter.com/D0332vKKoN
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) February 27, 2021
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The chair of the American Conservative Union, Matt Schlapp, attacked the accusations, calling them “outrageous and slanderous.”
Stage design conspiracies are outrageous and slanderous. We have a long standing commitment to the Jewish community. Cancel culture extremists must address antisemitism within their own ranks. CPAC proudly stands with our Jewish allies, including those speaking from this stage.
— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) February 27, 2021
But nevertheless, the Hyatt Hotel is now speaking out against the design as well as attendees of the CPAC who disrespected hotel employees for trying to enforce the social distancing and mask guidelines implemented by the hotel amid the pandemic — however, they did defend their decision to hold the CPAC event at their hotel.
In a statement released by the Hyatt Hotel company on Sunday night, Hyatt Hotels Corporation said, “We do not always agree with or share the same values as groups hosting meetings and events at our hotels,” before going on to explain the company’s values and culture as respectful of diverse opinions and backgrounds.
“When we learned that CPAC 2021 stage design had been compared to a symbol of hate, we promptly raised this concern with meeting organizers who strongly denied any connection to such symbols,” the statement went on. “Had we initially recognized the potential connections to hate symbolism, we would have proactively addressed it prior to commencement of the event.”
The statement claimed that the controversial stage design was left as is because the event was already underway and the hotel was allegedly concerned about the safety of employees and guests in “what could have been a disruptive situation.”
But, at the end of the day, their excuses weren’t satisfactory for many potential customers, who have now threatened to boycott the hotel chain.
Hey Hyatt hotels. Highly inclusive ,does not mean hosting people who are NOT highly inclusive ,hosting a fascist Nazi convention is the antithesis of inclusiveness .you have made a grave error in judgement .the imminent Boycotts you are going to feel for years to come.
— ✌🏼rosanna arquette (@RoArquette) February 28, 2021
This Jew will boycott @Hyatt hotels. Cancel culture should be called accountability instead. https://t.co/9yLfbnFbnl
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) February 28, 2021
In an additional statement to Reuters, the hotel chain said that “all such symbols are abhorrent and unequivocally counter to our values as a company.”
The statement also goes on to note the mistreatment their employees were subjected to at the hands of CPAC attendees who were not happy about the pandemic guidelines implemented by the hotel.
“Colleagues occasionally faced hostility from attendees who did not support our policies,” the statement reads.
“We were extremely disappointed by the disrespect many individuals involved in the event showed to our colleagues, as it is reflective neither of our own commitment to care for members of the Hyatt family nor of how we wish to conduct business. We are tremendously grateful to our colleagues for their resilience and the care they demonstrated keeping people safe in circumstances that became increasingly difficult as the event evolved.”
You can read the full report here.
Featured image via screen capture
