Hyatt is facing anger from both ends of the ideological spectrum after first defending its decision to host the conservative CPAC conference in Orlando over the weekend, then criticizing the organization for its use of a stage that resembled a Nazi symbol. Calls to boycott Hyatt are growing in volume and bipartisan in nature.
Hyatt Faces Fierce Criticism From Right + Left For Its CPAC Actions
In a nutshell, Hyatt managed to offend the left by hosting a conservative political conference then offend the right by criticizing the conservative organization.
Hyatt Defends Decision To Host CPAC In Orlando
Over the weekend, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) took place in Orlando, Florida at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. Speakers included many Republican favorites including former President Donald J. Trump.
Hyatt took a lot of heat for agreeing to the host the event, with many on social media urging Hyatt to reconsider and then to boycott Hyatt when it refused. Quite the contrary, Hyatt initially issued the following statement defending its decision to host the event:
“We take pride in operating a highly inclusive environment and we believe that the facilitation of gatherings is a central element of what we do as a hospitality company.
“We believe in the right of individuals and organizations to peacefully express their views, independent of the degree to which the perspectives of those hosting meetings and events at our hotels align with ours.
“Our own values support a culture that is characterized by empathy, respect and diversity of opinions and backgrounds, and we strive to bring this to light through what we do and how we engage with those in our care.”
Calls For Hyatt Boycott From Left Grow On Social Media
But tweets like this began to pour in:
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
Neo-Nazis have been using the Odal Rune sign in place of the swastika for several years.
CPAC’s stage is the same shape.
The pic on the left is from Charlotteville in 2017. pic.twitter.com/6Ylt2U4U3C
— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) February 27, 2021
@HyattOrlando this is what you are promoting by letting this conference happen in your hotel! #boycotthyatt
— Brokenroad (@Brokenroad7) February 22, 2021
And I can choose to #boycottHYATT because I DON’T support Nazi fascisms or insurrectionists. https://t.co/dJTsdcRh0o
— No Justice, No Peace! Healing Begins With Justice (@SmcSheila) February 26, 2021
Hyatt Attacks CPAC For Attendee Behavior And Stage Resembling Nazi SS Logo
Hyatt then issued a new statement on Sunday evening, attacking CPAC and its attendees. It noted that Hyatt staff enforced mask and social distancing protocol and this led to many nasty exchanges between attendees and staff:
[W]e 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.
It also condemned the stage design, arguing that it did not have enough time to take more corrective action:
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.
Had we initially recognized the potential connections to hate symbolism, we would have proactively addressed it prior to commencement of the event. Unfortunately, this became clear to us only after the event kicked off.
With CPAC’s denial of any intentional connection to hate symbols and our concerns over the safety of guests and colleagues in what could have been a disruptive situation, we allowed the event to continue. We understand and respect the opinions of those who might disagree with that decision.
Hyatt Further Distances Its Values From CPAC’s
Throughout the note, Hyatt implies that its values do not align with those of CPAC. For instance, Hyatt notes:
- We believe in the right of individuals and organizations to peacefully express their views, independent of the degree to which the perspectives of those hosting meetings and events at our hotels align with ours.
- We were optimistic that working with CPAC would reflect our vision of inclusivity…
- [W]e do not always agree with or share the same values as groups hosting meetings and events at our hotels…
Right Wing Social Media Users Urge Hyatt Boycott
While Hyatt’s statement did not satisfy those on the left, it certainly inflamed CPAC and those on the right. In fact, CPAC issued a scathing letter condemning Hyatt and defending itself:
This letter to Hyatt Hotels is our declaration that we will not let them cancel us with these lies. @Hyatt #AmericaUnCanceled #CPAC2021
Read our statement here: https://t.co/36tjIrUbEW pic.twitter.com/IcfKmFd8TU
— CPAC 2021 (@CPAC) March 1, 2021
It concluded:
The theme of COAC 2021 was “American UnCancelled.” It is tragic and reckless that Hyatt would choose to abandon its own mission statement of inclusivity and play into the hands of those who are attempting to silence legitimate political views.
Now some on the right are also calling for a boycott of Hyatt:
I like staying at Hyatt Hotels. But I will never stay at another Hyatt now. #boycottHYATT
— RN961 (@HedgesTena) February 27, 2021
Others want to boycott Hyatt because it enforced its mask policy:
Hyatt didn’t have to agree to host. #boycotthyatt.
— Ben Weiner (@bweiner59) February 26, 2021
CONCLUSION
Hyatt managed to succeed in offending both sides. Calls for boycott are growing louder and battle lines are hardening.
What do you think about Hyatt’s position concerning CPAC?
I think people will eventually forget this… especially by the end of this pandemic.
+1
Anyone still boycotting the Sultan of Brunei’s hotels?
Cancel culture run amok yet again. Companies should support freedom of assembly across the spectrum. Common sense.
The stage conspiracy theory goes beyond insanity. Instead of “taking it seriously,” it should’ve been laughed off like the nonsense it was.
At CPAC, the former President “cancelled” a LONG list of Republicans who disagreed with him, stating “Get rid of all of them.” He previously “cancelled” Firestone tires and the NFL. He constantly rails on the mainstream media as “the enemy of the people,” even though the free press is literally in the Constitution’s First Amendment.
Sorry, I have to laugh in the face of conservatives whining about cancel culture when they can’t even acknowledge this long history of hypocrisy. It’s almost as pathetic as conservatives continuing to support the guy who, in 4 years, lost the House, lost the Senate, and lost the popular vote TWICE.
I say we boycott “cancel culture”. People try so hard to be offended. It is getting so ridiculous – and exhausting!!
Republicans are quite the whiny little b***hes these days…sucks repeatedly getting your a$$ kicked
Watch out, Republicans, UA-TDS is a curb-stomping, box-jumping feminist!
(case in point here)
We have taken such a hard left turn lately my neck hurts.
What a bunch of snowflakes. Shut down the country since half doesn’t like the other half and vice versa so anything one side does will be criticized by the other. America is f…ing boring nowadays. They just canceled Dr. Seus. Washington and Lincoln are no longer good names for schools. Total BS.
Most in the party of the jackass could look up at the sky and find racist symbols in the clouds. I’m waiting for Democrats to start calling for a boycott of cloudy days.
Proud Boys, Three Percenters, and all the other tiki torch carrying racists just lovvvve your boy Trump. And only your side is actively trying to suppress the non-white vote these days.
I mean, clouds are white, therefore clouds are systematically and insitutionally racist.
Never seen a black cloud? Bad analogy.
1/2 the country agrees with one issue and the remaining 1/2 the country(more or less) disagrees with the same issue. Its just vice versa for most political issues. Those who want to boycott are free to boycott, Nobody literally nobody gives a damn
I love Hyatt, I typically vote Republican, I am not a Nazi. The people that get stirred up about these things need to calm down a bit. I have an Irish Celtic cross on my arm, its a beautiful tattoo. There are some racist groups that have used the same symbol over time, to represent their groups. Just because the symbol is used, does not mean I am in any way associated with that group.
I’m not boycotting Hyatt over hosting a Republican event; their right to make money and all. But I can say that I’m not staying at one any time soon because of their utter refusal to enforce their corporate policy of ‘all guests must wear masks in common areas’ policy and subsequent contribution to making the pandemic drag on longer and harder than it should.
Literally both sides engage in “cancel culture”, and conservatives have been doing so for quite a while. Where was the outrage during all the boycotts called for by conservative groups over companies portraying gays/trans folks in television/print adverts or for having inclusive company policies? Campbell’s Soup, P&G, Ritz Crackers come to mind. Sure, we didn’t have quite as catchy a name for it then, but the actions were the same? If it’s good for the goose, it’s good for the gander.
@Matthew: just curiosity but have you considered raising your kids in Germany? With the toxic culture that has taken over America and living in a place like LA where culture will be erased forever if I had kids at young age and the option to raise them in Germany I wouldn’t think twice. I am very concerned what te next generation of Americans will look like. From both sides.
Have a look at https://nazmiyalantiquerugs.com/area-rug-guide/motifs-symbols/swastika-symbol-design-history to discover that the Hopi, Christians, Maltese, Tibetans, Sri Lankans, Chinese, Japanese, Moslems, Laplanders, Hindus, Celts, Balinese, Aztecs, Jain, Greek, Jewish, Ukrainians, Scandinavians, and Navajo all used swastika forms. Even seen them many times on Romans and Trojan ruins and in Buddhist monuments . The party of the jackass has a lot of culture to cancel if they go looking for supposed “hate symbols.” Get to work jackasses – swastikas appear on everything from Paleolithic objects to early 20th century Coca Cola promotional objects.
How in the heck did CPAC get away with not hosting this at a Trump property? Would have been a good opportunity to continue bilking his fans. Surely Steve Bannon would not have let this opportunity pass by. There’s more boats to buy!
Might as well milk these sucker organizations as long as they are Trump branded…properties going to get sold off soon to pay that $400MM Deutsche Bank note coming due shortly
It’s merely the loudest voices on social media getting the most attention. Nobody is boycotting a damn thing. At least nobody of consequence. I recall conservatives were burning their Nikes over Kaepernick & liberals boycotting half the fortune 500 at some point or another. All still doing just fine.
Cancel culture ends when we stop giving it oxygen. Same with Trump by the way. He is a prefect example. The media created both Trump and cancel culture by allowing the loudest voices to have the most value. Imagine in 2015 if Trump didn’t get about $1B in free press from CNN & MSNBC? It’s symbiotic. Fox loves crazy liberals and CNN/MSNBC loves crazy conservatives. Ratings mean dollars & no crazy means no ratings. Zero moral or ethical standards in the newsroom anymore and I use that term (newsroom) in jest. It’s a marketing room built around tidbits of the news.
F them all. I’ll continue to buy products and services based on value propositions.
This is out of control. Screw these fascists for trying to force their ideology onto every corporation in America. And screw those who buckle under. Hyatt, on the other hand, is to be commended for sticking to it’s guns and telling the troublemakers to go pound sand.
The irony is that the Pritzker family owns a large stake in Hyatt and they’re anything but conservative. That said, the manner in which they handled this is to be commended. More corporations should react in the same way.
Best response now is for Hyatt to quietly back away from the entire thing and keep quiet. It will blow over and be forgotten. At this point it’s an untenable position they are in and anything more they say will just bring further attention to it. As my father used to say, who was quite rude in his business dealings at times, “If you have something they want, even if they don’t like you, they will still buy it.” Chic Fil A, Home Depot, so many other companies do just fine despite their politics. Although, I would’t want to be the My Pillow guy right now, lol. That’s where you cross the line.
I hope both sides plunge forward with their boycott. That should offset the influx of new Globalists, and keep my upgrade percentage at 100.
Also, I hereby boycott cloudy days.
In the 1950’s, airlines backed parties for gain in getting routes. Continental was Republican, American Airlines was Democratic.
Are we going back to the days of adding machines, mimeograph, and carbon paper?
Interesting. I used to be a Globalist with Hyatt until they supported BLM which I believe is a domestic terrorist organization. Loyalty is in the eye of the beholder.
You mean they supported an end to systemic racism? Not sure what companies are left that would not support that. Oh, maybe the My Pillow dude. You can buy his pillows and sleep in your car I guess.
Black Lives Matter is a racist Marxist organization and the common conception of system racism is a fallacy preying on white liberal guilt. Do you think the Bolsheviks tried to win people over by promising gulags and bread lines?
Guilt is something my mother gives me. A conscience is something I develop with maturity. See the difference? Or are you too busy waiting in one of the massive food lines that Trump handed to us with his inept mismanagement of a Covid response? You are so easy Cargocult. Please continue to make it fun for me.
It seems supporting Marxist neo-racists assuages your guilty conscience. You fail to address the facts. But what do Marxist neo-racists care about facts? Rationality is white supremacist, right?
https://www.newsweek.com/smithsonian-race-guidelines-rational-thinking-hard-work-are-white-values-1518333
https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1610610/smithsonian-aspects-white-culture.webp?w=790&f=ab12077631acab2dac02fd587b3f4f15
Oh yes. No systemic racism is why a black person can be shot for walking. Keep feuding yourself dear Trumpette
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-myth-of-systemic-police-racism-11591119883
‘The police fatally shot nine unarmed blacks and 19 unarmed whites in 2019, according to a Washington Post database, down from 38 and 32, respectively, in 2015. The Post defines “unarmed” broadly to include such cases as a suspect in Newark, N.J., who had a loaded handgun in his car during a police chase. In 2018 there were 7,407 black homicide victims. Assuming a comparable number of victims last year, those nine unarmed black victims of police shootings represent 0.1% of all African-Americans killed in 2019. By contrast, a police officer is 18½ times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a police officer.’
Even the Washington Post’s data do not support your claim. More unarmed whites were fatally shot than were blacks in 2019. Do you know the name of a single one?
The group breaking the laws on masks because it was personally inconvenient shows their true stance on Law and Order. The claim that using the nazi symbol was accidental was unacceptable. Interesting how many sympathizers and apologists have commented though, trying to ignore or deflect blame rather than actually addressing the problems.
the symbols do not match tho the leftos think so…crazy
Every time I see Dee’s comments I get the image of her as, “It’s Pat,” from Saturday Night Live.
Are you misgendering dee? That is literal violence! Down with transphobia!
Nope. I’m not assigning her any gender. See, that’s the secret of Pat. I will assign her to that of an idiot though.
You don’t even see that you are using a gendered pronoun. If dee were like Pat, dee’s gender would be indeterminate, would it not? As usual, zero insight.
It’s clear to see why you could never get OPM to pay for your claimed travel…can’t see a single legitimate company ever hiring you. “Big fascist tech companies bad…hate speech & violent actors, not so bad”. Keep it up.
I think the stage looks a lot like the Trix rabbit. I may boycott the cereal for being pro-Nazi.
Hyatt should never have accepted this hire to begin with. Would’ve saved them all this headache.
They take the right wing money and then virtue signal after the event they are against right wing money. A true win-win.
No matter my political leanings, if a Hyatt property provides the best value to me at an given point in time, I’m booking a room!
Fascinating… no one boycotted the Gaylord National Harbor in suburban DC when it hosted the event; but Trump was in office and the wingnuts were in control of government. It seems pretty simple at this point: Hyatt is a hospitality business, an industry devastated by the current pandemic; why wouldn’t the company agree to host a large, free-spending group, especially in these deeply challenging economic times? That said, two things jump out: (1) the hypocrisy of all involved in denouncing and counter-denouncing each other; just own your facts: Hyatt wanted the revenue and CPAC wanted a meeting place. And (2) the fact Hyatt seemed surprised by the cantankerous, disrespectful attitudes and actions of some of the CPAC’ers is disingenuous at best… these are the same people that stormed our Capitol tried to lynch our elected officials (egged on by other elected officials) and killed a law enforcement officers in cold blood with a fire extinguisher (think about that for a moment). No one should be surprised that in the US money salves conscience and crazy will always be crazy.
BDAGuy, you do know that policeman wasn’t killed with a fire extinguisher, right? He was quite healthy when he left the capitol that day. That was a fake news story that’s been debunked widely and repeatedly.