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- A Forbes reporter has been being permanently banned from the Trump International Hotel in DC.
- The hotel said Zach Everson was removed for taking photos without permission.
- Writing in Forbes, Everson said he believed the real reason he was banned was because of his reporting.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A reporter from Forbes has been permanently banned from the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC.
In an article for Forbes, Zach Everson detailed how he had been kicked out of the hotel last week for "taking photos without permission" in the lobby.
Everson had gone to the hotel on August 26 to investigate why room rates for the night started at $2,400, well above the usual $400 to $700.
A corporate event for Arrow Exterminators, a pest control company, was taking place.
-Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) August 27, 2021
Everson said he headed to the bar and took some photos of the scene before going to use the restroom.
After emerging from the restroom, Everson said he was approached by the hotel's director of security, Ernest Wojciech, who told Everson to leave.
Once outside, Everson said he was informed that the ban was permanent.
Everson said that he believes the real reason he was banned was not for taking photos, but because of his reporting about the goings-on inside the hotel.
"The real reason they kicked me out probably wasn't the photos though," Everson wrote in Forbes.
"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)," he said.
Everson also ran a newsletter about activities in the hotel, called 1100 Pennsylvania after the hotel's address, before taking a staff writer role at Forbes this year.
The journalist added that some of his reporting might have been embarrassing to former President Donald Trump and the hotel.
One story by Everson revealed that the DC Trump Hotel had doubled its rates around the date that many followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe Trump would regain the presidency.
Another suggested that the hotel might have inadvertently conceded defeat on Trump's behalf after the 2020 presidential election.
Everson said that his treatment contrasted with his previous interactions with the Trump Organization, who once offered him a complimentary glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne while he was reporting on the hotel for Condé Nast Traveler.
The Trump Organization did not respond to a request from Forbes to explain why one of their reporters had been banned for life.
Insider reached out to the Trump Organization but did not get a response.