The Doubletree Hotel Tarrytown became the subject of controversy after we reported last week that Richard Friedman, the hotel’s general manager, covered up a Christmas tree in the lobby at the request of some Jewish guests. (Read that story here.)
The hotel has since apologized for the incident. Here’s a copy of a letter Kevin Johnson, the hotel’s assistant manager, sent to Jerry Gregory of Irvington, who first complained about the tree covering.
“We are extremely embarrassed by our actions this weekend and truly regret that anyone was offended. We were acting at the request of a guest who had essentially rented almost our entire facility for a weekend event. In granting this request based on a religious observance, we should have recognized the impact of our actions on other faiths. We are very sorry to have needlessly disrupted the holiday observance of so many. In the future, should we be faced with similar circumstances, we will consult with others knowledgeable in these holiday customs before we would take any action”
If you were offended by the incident, or don’t think it should have become such a volatile issue, share your thoughts in the comments.
10 Comments
Anti Christian bigotry is rampant in this country and especially in Westchester. The Doubletree and the creep who requested the tree be covered up should be ashamed.
It amazes me how the Doubletree got away with this. If a Christian family rented “almost the entire” space for a weekend, and asked that a Menorah be removed or covered up, there would be warfare. This needs to be national news.
We have become a society where some people want to be tolerated and accepted, while they are unwilling to tolerate or accept others. Hypocrisy is rampant.
i will never do business with them again. There is simply no excuse for such actions.
This is so typical that those people who represent 2% of the American population push their weight around. And they wonder why they’re hated everywhere they go.
It seems as if the mighty Benjamins are the bottom line here….once again we see that the almighty dollar takes the place of common sense…..did the manager think that all 150 people that booked rooms would leave if he didnt cover the tree? If so, he has a brain the size of a dime….. the people that pushed their weight around citing the fact that they have reserved more than half the rooms, etc., do not deserve any consideration…. the mere fact that they are many in numbers has nothing to do with the task that they asked the manager to perform by covering the tree…..a christmas tree is not religious and as such should not even have been brought into question…...get a life, people, pick your battles ….im sure there are many more causes out there that would benefit from your ire…..put it to good use and save a life, an animal, an orphan, a hurricane victim, a tree, or, in this case, a christmas tree – and leave the world a better place
@jim tagley “those people”???? I’m one of “those people” and what was asked of the Double tree was out of line. They were wrong to ask, and the Doubletree was wrong to cover up the tree. But it is your remarks that spread the hate. not the actions of one. There are bad apples in all groups. Dont condemn the whole for a few. Just like I wont condemn your kind, for the actions of you!
Per John Conklin’s of Yorktown Heights, NY comment in the earlier article (see link above and his post December 28, 2011 at 7:42pm) regarding a protest, I have now heard from several people that there is a definite interest, given the hotel’s continued lack of interest in doing the right thing in the community—again, John has a very good suggestion in that regard. (a contribution to Catholic Charities or similar),
Post back if you have any interest. The next real opportunity where there will be an overlap of religious holidays, with a significant amount of business at the hotel, would be Good Friday, April 6, 2012—which also happens to be the start of Passover that evening. Easter is of course April 8th this year.
Thanks.
Doubletree’s apology is as hollow as the request to cover the tree.—TAT the Roswell Apostate
Just saw this as we are trying to make reservations for dec 24 , 2012…we stayed here last year 2011 and were very disappointed that tree was covered up…we would not stay there again