The Montage Laguna Beach Hotel apologized to a Black family after a viral video showed a white employee having a dispute with family members as they tried to dine at the hotel.
According to Patch, the family says the employee’s actions mirrored racial discrimination.
The video posted to Facebook by the family shows the employee– later identified as “Timothy”–asking the family to sit outside while other guests—apparently white—sat inside the lobby.
“[It] was clear cut discrimination,” the family said. “Our whole group was African American to be very clear,” the family said, adding that it intended to file a formal complaint with managers.
The hotel posted their apology to their Instagram account on Friday.
“The family’s experience does not reflect the conduct or high standards we expect of our employees, and we extend our heartfelt apologies to them,” the post said. “We are committed to learning from this experience and doing better.”
Adding that they plan to take immediate corrective actions, which will include enhanced training “to ensure staff always delivers highly personalized service according to our values of respect, humility, and grace.”
It’s unclear what happened to the employee involved in the incident.
