WILLIAMSTON, N.C. – A Hampton Inn employee has been fired after calling the police on a Black woman and her children Sunday for using the hotel’s pool in Williamston, North Carolina.
The incident was chronicled in part in a 10-minute Facebook video, during which Anita Williams-Wright claims the white female employee asked her to prove she was a hotel guest. According to Williams-Wright, the worker said she was asking for confirmation because “people like you use the pool unauthorized.”
The video continues as police arrive on the scene. Williams-Wright, in town on business, stands her ground, claiming she produced her room key, which was enough to verify she and her two children were authorized to swim.
“I have a room here,” Williams-Wright tells police in the clip.”This lady here is discriminating. I have a key to get in and I can show you that it works. I have a room here. I don’t have to give my name. I didn’t break the law.”
She continues, telling officers that as a paid hotel guest who committed no crime, she is not required to give her name. The clip ends with a visibly frustrated Williams-Wright getting on an elevator, refusing to continue the conversation with the masked employee.
Hilton, which owns the Hampton Inn brand, released a statement Monday, reiterating its stance on discrimination.
“Hampton by Hilton has zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind,” Shruti Gandhi Buckley, Global Head of Hampton by Hilton said in the release. “On Saturday, we were alerted to an online video of a guest incident at one of our franchise properties. The team member is no longer employed at the hotel.”
Williams-Wright also posted the video on Instagram.