If you write something that’s intended to be read by the masses, it’s important to get your facts straight. Imagine the shock of reading some of these headlines over the past few days (boldface is mine):
- Terrorist attack on Hyatt Hotel in Somalia bomb blast and gunfire in hotel this terrorist organization took responsibility
- Somalia terror attack: Terrorist attack on Hyatt Hotel in Mogadishu kills 12, Al-Shabaab claims responsibility
- Somalia Hyatt Hotel: The orgy of terrorists lasted for 14 hours in Somalia’s hotel, 15 people died
Somalia (officially the Federal Republic of Somalia) is a country in the Horn of Africa. It’s bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa’s mainland. It’s also a Third World that’s had on-again off-again problems with periods of military rule, civil war and/or Islamic insurgents for years.
Anyway, officials say that at least 20 people were killed after unidentified gunmen stormed an upscale hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Friday evening. This followed gunfire and large explosions in the area.
As per Reuters, the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Jihadist group statements.
According to the reports above, the hotel was a Hyatt property. There’s one problem – there ARE no Hyatt hotels in Somalia. The only Hyatts on the African continent are in:
-
Algeria
Hyatt Regency Algiers Airport -
Egypt
Hyatt Regency Cairo West -
Ethiopia
Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa -
Kenya
Diamonds Dream of Africa (Coming Soon)
Hemingways Nairobi -
Morocco
Hotel Sahrai
Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay
Hyatt Regency Casablanca
Hyatt Regency Taghazout
Ksar Char-Bagh
Park Hyatt Marrakech (Coming Soon) -
Mozambique
Diamonds Mequfi Beach Resort -
Seychelles
L’Escale Resort Marina & Spa -
South Africa
Hyatt House Johannesburg Rosebank
Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton
Hyatt Regency Cape Town
Hyatt Regency Johannesburg (Coming Soon)
The Cellars-Hohenort
The Marine
The Plettenberg
The Winston Hotel -
Tanzania
Amani Boutique Hotel Zanzibar
Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro
Park Hyatt Zanzibar -
Tunisia
Maison Dedine
So what happened? Well, if you check more well-known websites, such as Reuters, Sky News, NPR, Al Jazeera, The BBC, etc., you’d know that the Somalian hotel in question, located in the country’s capital of Mogadishu, was the Hayat Hotel. Not the Hyatt Hotel.
The Hayat Hotel has been a popular venue with lawmakers and other government officials. It advertises (well, advertised. Past tense. 🙁 ) itself on Facebook as a luxury hotel with a “good, relaxing atmosphere.” Its photos on TripAdvisor suggest it had clean, comfortable rooms and even a large space for meetings, etc.
Their website mentions a lounge and restaurant with all-day dining, business services, complimentary breakfast, 42″ flat screen Smart HD TVs with free Wi-Fi and Netflix.
They even have a TikTok video:
@hayathotelhargeisa
But the place is definitely NOT a Hyatt Hotel. Double-checking of spelling, like punctuation, matters.
Regardless, the events of Friday evening are a tragedy. Our hearts go out to all those involved in the rampage against the Hayat Hotel.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
4 comments
Don’t you think your headline should say “Hayat”? Some people will read only the headline.
If the world should have learned anything by this point, it’s that they shouldn’t just read the headlines. But for those who insist, we do have the “(a.k.a. Spelling Is Important”)” to suggest the article goes beyond just the headline.
I love your blog, writing style and sense of humor, but think the headline is wrong here. I understand the point of the article, but it’s not the right way to do this.
Noted. Thanks for your input.