Thursday 25 June 2026

Travelodge apologises after Jewish guest confronted with 'Free Palestine' greeting on hotel room TV

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GB NEWS

Susanna Siddell

By Susanna Siddell, 


Published: 16/06/2026

- 08:54

Updated: 16/06/2026

- 11:09

The 24-year-old tourist said it made him feel 'really uncomfortable' on his first visit to London

Travelodge has apologised and launched an investigation after a Jewish guest was confronted with a personalised "Free Palestine" greeting on their room's TV.

Shared on social media by Jewish charity Shomrim, footage shows a television being turned on to reveal the message on screen as an automatic pop-up.


The guest, who has been named as Sruly Fogel, has been described as "visibly Orthodox Jewish" and had been visiting from New York at the time of the incident.

London Manor House Travelodge branch subsequently reported the incident to police and, upon further digging, discovered it was only the Jewish tourist's room which was affected.

It is understood that hotel chiefs examined activity logs, room swipe data, CCTV and grilled staff members as well as the room's occupant as part of the probe.

While the hotel chain failed to find a culprit, the company has started to roll out antisemitism training following what the chain dubbed an "antisemitic message".

Mr Fogel told Jewish News that the incident made him feel "really uncomfortable" and that he did not feel safe.

He further claimed that a member of staff at the north London hotel appeared hostile towards him while he was checking in, according to the police report.

Travelodge Free Palestine

The 24-year-old tourist said it made him feel 'really uncomfortable'

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SHOMRIM

The tourist, who was visiting London for the first time, was travelling with four others across two rooms at the hotel. The "Free Palestine" message was left in both rooms, he said.

Asked whether this impacted his view of antisemitism in the UK, Mr Fogel added: "It seems really bad. I come from New York, and this sort of thing doesn’t usually happen."

New York City has a much larger Jewish population than Britain's capital.

While some 10 to 13 per cent of the Big Apple's population is Jewish, London's Jewish population sits at around 1.7 per cent.

London Manor House Travelodge

London Manor House Travelodge apologised to the guests

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GOOGLE

Mr Fogel said he was unable to complain at first as a manager could not be located after he checked in.

The next morning, a hotel manager apologised to the tourists.

Jo Boydell, the CEO of Travelodge, said: "We are taking the report of an antisemitic message that appeared on the TV screen in a room in one of our hotels yesterday afternoon with the utmost seriousness.

"We were made aware of this late yesterday and launched an immediate investigation to understand how something like this could have happened.

"We are urgently investigating to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible and have reported this matter to the police.

"There is no place in society for antisemitism, and we will not tolerate this in our hotels or in our wider business.

"In the meantime, we have now spoken with the customer in question and apologised unreservedly, and further apologise for any distress or concern caused to the wider Jewish community."

GB News has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.