We owe these more than to stand by and allow them to be effectively evicted because of Hilton Hotels may have been advised by their insurance company that Hilton may be discontinued or that their insurance rates would increase if they continued to serve disabled vets in wheelchairs and on crutches as part of a regular function on their property. Hilton always had the option to change their stupid insurance company. Instead, and if true, it appears that instead of going to that trouble of changing insurance company’s, they chose to evict the disabled vets from their property by closing Fran O’Brians. One writer who is friends with owners owners, Hal Koster and Marty O’Brien goes further and writes:

?

We owe these more than to stand by and allow them to be effectively evicted because of Hilton Hotels may have been advised by their insurance company that Hilton may be discontinued or that their insurance rates would increase if they continued to serve disabled vets in wheelchairs and on crutches as part of a regular function on their property. Hilton always had the option to change their stupid insurance company. Instead, and if true, it appears that instead of going to that trouble of changing insurance company’s, they chose to evict the disabled vets from their property by closing Fran O’Brians. One writer who is friends with owners owners, Hal Koster and Marty O’Brien goes further and writes:

“Many, however, believe that the Hilton just doesn’t want a lot of limbless, severely injured veterans being seen in their lobby, especially since their attire is frequently casual and many of the guys don’t look like the stylishly groomed corporate types who usually frequent big city Hiltons.”

Hilton admits that they have no future plans for the space currently occupied by Fran O’Brians, so it is clear to this disabled vet that Hilton is hedging their bets by evicting Fran O’Brians and thereby evicting the disabled vets. They kill two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, as someone else mentioned, Paris is probably the keenest member of the Hilton family and she has no college behind her. The Hilton’s MBA’s seem to have made them stupid and heartless, though they were probably that already. The Hiltons still appear to have no idea what they have done and are doing. We vets have long memories and so do patriotic Americans when we are insulted through our country’s warriors, who are nothing less than extensions of ourselves.

You know, I remember during the Reagan Administration when the French refused us flyover rights when we attacked Libya, resulting in the loss of one of our pilots probably to fatigue because of the flight around Spain and down through the Mediterranean. I still hate the French basta*ds for that and I will always remember what they did then. I will always hate the Hiltons in the very same way. Many Americans feel the same way. The Hiltons are digging their own grave. They should stop listening to their accountants and listen to their PR people, or hire PR people with the wherewithal to tell them the truth or maybe they should just listen to their conscience if they have one. Maybe the Hiltons should all move to France. They may be more at home there, as they act more like the French and less like Americans.

Basta*ds! Perish Hilton! Zeig Hilton! Heil Hilton!

Please be advised that I, no one in my family, none of my friends, and none of my co-workers will spend one single night in a Hilton hotel nor any of the Hilton “family of hotels” until we are assured that the recent actions by Hilton against Fran O’Brien’s is resolved satisfactorily. This does NOT include sending me a bulk E-mail with the phrase “For strictly business reasons related solely to the inability to reach a new lease agreement, the Capital Hilton has elected to terminate the lease with the operator of Fran O’Brien’s restaurant at the hotel…blah blah blah. We are waiting patiently for Hilton to make things right, and until then we will enjoy staying elsewhere. Best wishes, and good luck extricating yourselves out of this situation.

Fran O’Brien’s not only served customers in their restaurant, but they also served hotels guests via room service. The Hilton once paid Fran O’Brien’s on a monthly basis for those room charges until sometime in 2005. The room service payment to Fran O’Brien’s was halted and when Hal questioned why he was told there were new accounting rules and the payments would now be every 120 days. Accepting but not liking the answer, Hal said okay. 120 days came and went, Hal questioned again when his room service payment could be expected, he was told that it was not 120 days, in reality it was 180 days. 180 days came and went as well and Hal once again questioned where his money was. The Hilton told Hal to be patient he would get it (you should begin to see the theme here). At that point the Hilton owed Hal more than he owed them in rent, so Hal asked to apply the room service charges to the rent in which the Hilton came back with a firm “NO”. So Hal stopped paying rent and told the Hilton to use what they owe him. I would have done the same and I know most of you would too. Bottom line figures are: The rent monthly for the Fran O’Brien’s location was $12,500, and $2415 for utilities totaling $14,915. Hilton owes Fran O’Brien’s $68,061.73 in room charges. Fran O’Brien’s owes the Hilton $59,660 in rent and utilities including April Rent and utilities (Jan – Apr). In actuality the Hilton owes Fran O’Brien’s $8401.73, in the end the Hilton makes out in the deal by evicting Fran’s, I’m sure they will not be paying the $8401.73 they owe Hal.

To top it off, since no resolution was made on a new lease before the old one expired, Fran’s is going month to month and is considered in “holdover” status. Therefore the Hilton can charge Fran’s what ever they want in rent, so they did; they raised the rent to $25,000 per month, a 100% increase. Another good business decision by Mr Kelleher and the Hilton Corp!

Bottom line here the Hilton, for whatever reason has been strategically using tactics to force Fran O’Brien’s out of the Capital Hilton hotel, we don’t know the real reason why for sure only speculation. We do however know that the Hilton did studies and committed to putting an elevator in near the Fran O’Brien’s main office. Just before construction was to begin, the surveyors found the location they were going to use had structural support beams in the way and to put an elevator where they originally wanted was going to be too expensive, thus the project was scrapped.

Because the old Fran O’Brien’s lease was in place for years the fact of not being ADA compliant was grandfathered in and Fran’s did not have to have been in compliant. Since the lease is now a total renewal and not an extension, the Fran O’Brien’s facility would have to be ADA compliant. Which leads many (myself included) to believe that this is something the Hilton is not willing to pay for, thus termination of the lease.

On the surface this all appears to be a business (albeit a poor one) decision made by the Hilton Corp. People are focusing in on it being about the wounded service members and their families. Although it is not the root of the cause for the Hilton to act the way they are, but it does play a small role in it. The use of the restaurant by disabled people military or not is the root cause, it has however gained national attention only because the wounded and family are going to be missing out on an important part of their recovery, solely because no one in the Hilton corporation feels it is cost effective to spend the money on an elevator. I find it hard to believe that a company such as Hilton would see it that way, especially since they having been recording record profits the past few years, but they do, and the only way we as American’s can do anything about it is to hit them where it hurts and that is to not give them any business.

One more note and I’ll quit rambling. If there is anyone in the world who should be given special consideration for acts of kindness and good it is Hal and Marty. The Hilton should be bending over backward to do whatever they can in helping Fran O’Brien’s remain open to include adding an elevator. Instead of pushing this aside and getting all the bad publicity, they should be embracing the idea. They are beginning to see the effects of negative publicity among veterans groups; they should be tapping into this as a positive. Veterans groups are extremely loyal customers and often will pay more for goods and services to those companies who are loyal to them. Hal and Marty deserve and need special recognition for the sacrifices they have made for our wounded. If the Hilton won’t do it, I would hope someone out there reading this has some connections that can help offer a good solution. As always, thanks again for any support you can give us in telling the Hilton Corp just how you feel. I suggest staying away from making your comments to Mr. Kelleher, he is deaf to all of you, make your thoughts be known to his bosses at Hilton Corporation. Thanks again.

Andrew

Contact:

Thomas Keltner,
Executive Vice President,
Hilton Hotel Corporation,
9336 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, California 90210

FAX: 310-205-4599

My original note below for those of you who missed it.

I’ve sat back long enough biting my tongue and listening to the rhetoric coming from the Hilton Corp concerning the closure of Fran O’Brien’s and I have finally had enough. I keep hearing that the closure of Fran O’Brien’s was a business decision, what does that really mean? I can give you some insight on how the how and what the Hilton Corp considers a “business decision”. Having been a volunteer in helping Hal and Marty for over two years, I have watched this unfold and it is very upsetting to see any company, not to mention one as large as the Hilton behave in such a manner. Here is the history:

Hal and Marty contacted the Hilton Corp last year, one year in advance of their lease expiring to get things going for a new lease. In their original proposal Hal asked for some items that any normal human being would consider a landlord’s responsibility. They asked for new carpet, some bathroom and other area upgrades, and the big kicker…an elevator or some other means to get patrons (not just military members) down to the restaurant without having to go through the crowded storage bowels of the basement where the current service elevators are. Hilton’s response to Hal and Marty was that we are going to renew your lease, but the elevator is off the table and once YOU have made the area improvements that are being requested, we will sign a new lease. Let me make that clear, the Hilton wanted the new carpet, bathroom and other area improvements done by Hal and Marty BEFORE they would consider giving Hal a new lease. That’s good business, right? Hal being the smart business man that he is, stated “let’s sign the lease first then I’ll make the upgrades”, to which the Hilton said “let’s talk about it” and stood behind their statement that they ARE going to renew the lease once it all gets worked out. Hal took them at their word, but was very smart not to make any upgrades until a lease was signed. Months go by and Hilton’s position was, “we still want you there, but upgrade yourself before we sign a new lease for you.”

In the meantime, the Hilton stopped paying Fran O’Brien’s for the room service they provided to guests that were billed their hotel room. The Hilton continued to give different accounting excuses on why it could not be paid until more than 6 months had gone by and the amount owed exceeded the amount in one month’s rent. Hal, being the smart business man that he is told the Hilton to use the money owed toward that month’s rent. The Hilton came back saying no way and took it as a non-compliance of rent payment.

At about that time, the Hilton stopped all voice and email response to Hal’s constant contact. The Fran O’Brien’s lease was up at the beginning of 2006 and Hal repeated contacted the Hilton, but was never given the courtesy of a response either way. Because the lease expired and Fran O’Brien’s was going month to month because no one told them otherwise, the Hilton Corp decided it was within their right to increase the rent 100%. That’s right folks the Hilton Corp doubled the rent in an effort to force Fran O’Brien’s out of business. When the Hilton finally saw that Hal and Marty were not folding, they sent them an eviction notice to be off the property within less than 30 days. That folks is Hilton’s way of doing business.

Having said all that, business decisions have to be made, and sometimes they are not always what we want. But how you act and the integrity behind how you conduct that business is what really should be examined here, and the Hilton should suffer monetarily by losing business from angry people worldwide. They did not and continue not to have any form of integrity what so ever.

The Hilton continues to do damage control by making statements like they support the troops by moving the dinner to another restaurant and they have been there supporting the dinners all along. That people, really pisses me off. With the exception of this past Friday the Hilton has never helped out or been involved in any Friday Soldier dinner for the past 2 ½ years we have been doing this. It was comical this past week, they saved a parking spot for our bus, escorted us down to an elevator through a neatly cleaned coat closet and hallway where in the past we could barely get by because of all the mattresses and other hotel storage supplies in the way. The manger was even there holding an umbrella as wounded and family got off the bus. It was absolutely disgusting as I watched him look to see where the CBS and CNN cameras were pointing and run to get in the background to help like it was something he routinely did. Statements coming from the Hilton today hint to the event of Fran O’Brien’s not paying their rent, well Hilton how about paying your own bills?

The Hilton before this past Friday night had never, and I repeat never had anything to do with the dinners, with the exception of one thing: The bell staff, who were always very polite and respectful for the injured troops would unlock the doors to the luggage/coat closet enabling us to get the wheelchair patients to the service elevators. That is the extent of it, and for them to say anything different is a flat out lie, but seeing how they conduct themselves, it is evident they are okay with lying to everyone in the name of damage control. And since the dinners have been put on by Fran O’Brien’s and facilitated by numerous volunteers, the Hilton’s offer to move it to the Twigs restaurant upstairs will never happen. If they don’t fold and let Fran O’Brien’s stay, we will never go back to that or any other Hilton. Note: In the 2 ½ years I have been helping to Fran O’Brien’s, I have never seen more than 4 people in Twigs at a time. I always thought that it was closed. It’s obvious what eatery in the hotel was of choice, since Fran’s was always packed. Maybe the Hilton wanted Fran’s out because they could gain back market share for their own restaurant, just something to think about.

Bottom line here is the Hilton did not want to pay for an elevator, which would be a very expensive proposition. And in the long scheme of things that might have been a sound business decision for the Hilton, they may never have been able to recoup that cost. But the fact of the matter is that the Hilton Corp handed themselves very poorly with relation to communication and simple good business practices. For Fran O’Brien’s and the 35 people who will soon be out of work, the Hilton’s behavior and business practices is/are just wrong. They are an American corporation who should have high morale and civic values. They deserve all the bad publicity and loss of business they get. I for one will be turning my Hilton rewards card and taking the 20+ weekly room reservations my unit uses elsewhere, I will be passionately encouraging all my co-workers to do the same.