Lime Drops Trump Hotels - Corporate Travel Update
Lime has updated its company travel guidelines to guarantee that no funds from the company are directed to hotels or other businesses owned by the Trump Organization, as a direct response to the events of January 6th at the U.S. Capitol, which unfortunately resulted in multiple fatalities.
The scooter-based transportation company intends to expand upon this initiative and has requested that TripActions, its utilized corporate travel booking platform located in Palo Alto, urge its other clients to adopt similar practices. TripActions has not yet responded to inquiries for a statement.
Lime communicated to TripActions earlier today a request to prevent Trump Organization properties from appearing in travel searches made by its personnel during corporate travel arrangements, as detailed in an internal communication from Lime CEO Wayne Ting to all employees.
“Although some companies maintain that businesses should remain apolitical, we have consistently recognized that our work at Lime inherently involves political considerations,” Ting stated. “We are voicing our concerns and advocating for what we consider to be morally correct, as it is the appropriate course of action. We are also actively seeking methods to ensure our activities—and financial resources—do not provide support to those involved in the assault on our democratic processes.”
According to the communication, Lime has not previously made any political donations. (TechCrunch has verified with Lime that no federal political contributions have been made.) Ting affirmed that the company will not provide support to any elected representative who cast a vote to dispute the validation of the Electoral College outcome. He further broadened this stance to encompass the Trump Organization, a diverse collection of real estate assets including hotels, golf courses, resorts, and residential properties such as Trump Tower.
“Furthermore, we are pledging to refrain from supporting or spending money at any commercial enterprises and related entities associated with the Trump and Kushner families,” Ting wrote. “Specifically, we asked TripActions earlier today to exclude all Trump properties from Lime’s search results and encouraged them to implement this policy across their entire customer base.”