A couple that stayed at the Dan Hotel in Herzliya was able to bring about a change that could affect how thousands of tourists view Israeli diplomatic policy.
The story, as the couple reported to Arutz-7, was as follows:
"We were astonished to see that the prestigious Dan Hotel chain, which hosts thousands of foreign and local tourists in its hotels each week, has already 'given away' the Golan Heights and has even marked off future areas that they apparently feel are to be given away in the future.
"This past Shabbat, we stayed in one of the Dan hotels, and on Saturday night, when I was given the bill in a fancy hotel envelope, I saw a map of Israel imprinted on it.
"The map shows all the Dan hotels, and even the newest ones – but the borders of Israel look as if they are partially taken from 1948. Sinai is not on the map – but neither is the Golan. Similarly, both Gaza and Judea/Samaria are marked separately, as if to show that they are not like the rest of Israel. We believe that it is infuriating that an Israeli tourism chain would publicly express its inclination towards a particular political point of view – and this before tens of thousands of tourists. This should be widely publicized."
In response, the Dan chain issued the following explanation, most satisfactory from the standpoint of both the guests who complained and grassroots activists on other issues:
"In all Dan hotels, the guests receive their bills in blank envelopes, with no map. The Dan Accadia Hotel in Herzliya, however, printed, on its own initiative, envelopes with maps in order to show the locations of the other Dan hotels in Israel. This was a mistake, and there was no purposeful intention to transmit any ideological message. We are sorry for the unpleasantness, and thank you for bringing this to our attention. In light of your letter, we have issued a clear and immediate instruction to stop the local initiative and to follow the chain's guidelines."