US-owned Oslo hotel boycotts Cubans…YG’s Thoughts
Happy Friday….
When I read this piece, I was very dismayed. Many of you know that I work for the Hilton Corporation and these developments are not actions that I’m proud of as an employee.I find it interesting that politics has taken precedent over business, but maybe I was naive to think that certain things can be separated for the sake of the greater good.
Funny enough I was chatting with friends from Bolivia (home of the Coca Leaf) the other day about discrimination they had experienced, due to the fact that most people assume they are participants in the drug trade because of their Bolivian roots. As an African-American male, I always find it interesting to hear about the other side of discrimination. Whether its Swiss vs Slovaks, Indigenous Mexicans vs “European” Mexicans, or Rich vs Poor… discrimination is a global issue. Most of it is perpetuated by politics, religion, skin color or cultural differences….but rest assured it is not just an American thing.
My travels and discussions with friends have made me highly cognisant of the global nature of discrimination, but in my heart I still treat people as people. Many of my frieds look at me weird when I say color is a non-issue when first I meet a person, but the fact of the matter is we all have the same needs, fears, and desires. The only thing I see is a person’s humanity.
I guess this is another side of the Hospitality Industry that I need to explore. It does make me wonder if 50-60 years ago the Hilton banned people of color from their hotels because segregation was in vogue? It might be time to air out some of my hotel’s dirty
laundry?……LOL! We shall see…
~YG
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PS….. U MUST see “Children of Men”!!!!
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An Oslo hotel belonging to the Nordic chain Scandic has refused to admit a delegation of Cubans because it has been bought by the US hotel group Hilton. 
“We belong to the Hilton group in the United States and we are applying their decision,” Geir Lundkvist, the administrative director of Norway’s Hilton-Scandic hotels, told Agence France Presse.Hilton bought Scandic, the leading hotel chain in Scandinavia, in March last year, and the US economic boycott of Cuba now applies to Hilton’s hotels in Norway.The Cuban delegation, consisting of more than a dozen representatives of the tourism sector according to the Norwegian media, is scheduled to take part in a tourism trade fair in Lillestroem, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Oslo, from January 11 to 14.
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