ICE, Riots & Reservations: How Civil Unrest Is Redefining Hospitality

Let’s start with something real.

This industry is tired. You’ve survived a pandemic, staff shortages, political whiplash, wildfires, hurricanes, and now… this. No one expects tourism leaders to solve every social crisis. You weren’t built to carry it all.

But hospitality has always been about care. And when care is missing, when your own people are detained, when your guests feel unsafe, and when your brand gets dragged into headlines, silence doesn’t protect you. It just disconnects you.

ICE raids are happening in major cities across the U.S., and while the politics rage on, the fallout is landing directly on hospitality’s doorstep.

And right now, no one is feeling that weight more than Los Angeles, where hospitality workers, business owners, and entire neighborhoods are navigating fear, disruption, and deep uncertainty with impossible grace.

This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a people issue. A workforce issue. A brand issue. Here’s what’s happening—and what we can do.

1. Workforce

Hospitality runs on immigrant labor.

In Los Angeles, 44 people were detained during workplace raids in recent days, many while doing their jobs in restaurants, warehouses, or as day laborers.

In Omaha, a restaurant worker was dragged away mid-shift. Others are disappearing from kitchens, hotel teams, and STR clean-up crews, not because they’re unreliable, but because they’re afraid.

When your workforce is afraid to show up, there is no hospitality.

2. Compliance Chaos

Hotels, STR hosts, and local restaurants are now being pulled into legal gray zones:

• Surprise I-9 audits

• Warrantless visits from federal agents

• Unclear guidance on how to respond

Some hotels are housing ICE agents without telling staff or guests. Others are scrambling to define their policies after being caught in viral protest videos. What’s your frontline supposed to do when an agent asks for access, or when a coworker disappears mid-shift?

There is no playbook for this. But there should be.

3. Ethics and Brand Risk

Los Angeles brands itself as inclusive. A city of belonging. A sanctuary.

But this week, the headlines say otherwise:

• Tear gas downtown

• Union leaders arrested

• Tourists avoiding protests

• Hotel workers speaking out

• Occupancy sliding downward

You can’t promise inclusion while housing exclusion. You can’t market warmth while offering cold silence. Travelers notice. Staff notice. Your community notices.

A Note to DMOs

We know. This might not feel like your fight. You’re stretched thin, under political pressure, and expected to stay "neutral" while everything around you keeps shifting.

So if you need to sit this one out publicly, we get it.

But here's what you can do, quietly and with integrity:

• Check in on your frontline partners. Ask how they’re really doing.

• Make space for staff to process, grieve, or even step back.

• Revisit your messaging. Does “welcoming” still mean what you think it does?

• Offer resources behind the scenes, even if you can’t post them online.

You don’t have to take the mic to take a stand. Sometimes the most powerful moves happen offstage.

And when the dust settles, your community will remember who showed up—even in whispers.

What You Can Do (Even If You’re Not the Boss)

We’re not asking destinations to solve the immigration system. We’re asking you to remember what hospitality means when it matters most.

Here are five actions anyone in the industry can take:

Acknowledge What’s Happening

You don’t have to choose a side. But pretending this doesn’t affect your guests or staff is a betrayal of your brand promise.

Share One Resource

Help your team know their rights or find support. Start here:

• ACLU: aclu.org/know-your-rights

• RAICES: raicestexas.org

• UNITE HERE: unitehere.org

Print it for your breakroom. Share it on your Slack. Quiet help is still help.

Create a Safe Space

You don’t need a corporate policy to treat people with dignity. If someone is scared, give them a moment. Close a door. Offer a seat. Protect each other in the small ways that still matter.

Ask the Hard Questions

What is your brand’s stance? Do you house ICE? Is there training if federal agents show up? If your company has no answer, ask again.

Lead With Compassion

You work in an industry built on welcome. So welcome the exhausted. Welcome the worried. Welcome the ones who need it most.

Final Words

No, you can’t fix it all. But you can’t ignore it, either.

Hospitality has always been political, whether it meant refusing service, offering sanctuary, or deciding who deserves rest.

So ask yourself:

Are we still a welcoming place—or just a silent one?

Because when the world gets loud, the quiet brands get forgotten. And the ones who stand for something? They’re the ones people remember.