Trump hotel bans Forbes reporter for life

‘For nearly five years, I’ve been reporting on the hotel, largely using social media to do things like track who was hanging out in the lobby,” says Forbes magazine journalist

A Forbes reporter was banned from The Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

A Forbes reporter has claimed to have been banned from a hotel owned by former President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

Zach Everson, a journalist covering politics and money, wrote an article for the magazine entitled “Here’s Why Trump’s Hotel Just Banned Me for Life.”

Everson wrote that he was removed from the premises of the Trump International Hotel in DC for taking pictures and informed he was not permitted to return.

He added that he was escorted out by a security guard and told by Ernest Wojciech, the hotel’s director of security, he was not welcome anymore due to “taking photos without permission.”

This reason was not convincing to Everson, who attributes his alleged banishment from the hotel to the extensive reporting he has done while at and involving the hotel.

“The real reason they kicked me out probably wasn’t the photos though. For nearly five years, I’ve been reporting on the hotel, largely using social media to do things like track who was hanging out in the lobby (unsurprisingly, a lot of lobbyists) and who was using the hotel as an office (just Rudy Giuliani),” Everson wrote. “I even started a newsletter, named 1100 Pennsylvania after the hotel’s address, to document the goings-on inside the building.”

In the concluding paragraph, Everson said he believes his work might be “embarrassing” to the hotel, Donald Trump and his wider business dealings.

Everson noted that when he has had positive interaction from the hotel before, such as when he was assigned with a profile for Conde Nast Traveler, it began with champagne.

“That might explain why the hotel’s director of marketing was standing by as the security guard escorted me out the front door,” he remarked of his exit.

The Independent reached out to the hotel’s parent company The Trump Organization for comment on Everson’s allegations.