Travelodge apologizes to Jewish guest, unable to determine origin of 'free Palestine' TV message

By MATHILDA HELLER JUNE 18, 2026 15:57 Updated: JUNE 18, 2026 16:05 Travelodge has not been able to determine how a "free Palestine" message appeared on the room TV screen of a Jewish guest, the hotel chain told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

During the first week of June, a visibly Jewish man found “Free Palestine” on the TV in his Travelodge room in London Manor House, in London.

A video he took of the TV soon went viral on social media, especially after he reported being met with hostility by a staff member at the front desk, who refused to look at him or properly serve him.

Travelodge close to concluding 'robust internal investigation'

Travelodge told the Post on Thursday that it is very close to concluding a "robust internal investigation" into the incident, but has not been able to determine how or when the message was put on the TV.

It confirmed that the CEO has spoken with the guest to express apologies for the experience.

"We have also been engaging closely with leaders and groups within the Jewish community to reiterate our absolute zero-tolerance stance on antisemitism and any form of discrimination and our commitment to ensuring that the Jewish community feels safe and welcome at all of our hotels," the hotel added.

"We have treated this incident very seriously from the outset as there is no place for antisemitism in this country and we took action immediately to address this."

A source told the Post that the hotel reached out to Antisemitism Policy Trust shortly after the incident and is in discussions with them about training on antisemitism in the business.

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