A former 7 Gables Inn & Suites worker said the establishment should be avoided at all costs and took to social media to issue her PSA.
In a viral video that has racked up over 676,100 views and 89,000 likes, TikToker Vanessa Keating (@nomaddiaries) called out the establishment for its alleged racism and poor management.
“I have never left a job due to ethical reasons until last week,” she began in the clip.
She then dove right into her criticism.
“I worked at a place called 7 Gables Inn and Suites in Fairbanks, Alaska, and these people are so f*cking evil,” Keating said.
The text overlaid on the clip claimed that the establishment treats both “guests AND employees” terribly.
The woman then named the hotel owners and alleged they are “extremely racist against the Native Americans that live there” and “super prejudiced against anybody who’s ex-military.” She also claimed the pair are biased against people who receive public assistance.
“They openly mock those people in front of their employees,” she continued.
However, the worst of the allegations did not end there. Keating also claimed customers who are of these demographics get placed in the “worst” suites the hotel has.
She also produced videos to support her claim.
“These are the Gradel Suites,” she said. “The building is run down. They charge like $600 per week. They specifically use the worst sheets, towels, [and] kitchenware that they have.”
As the woman spoke, she showed viewers what appeared to be soiled towels, a stained mattress, and sheets with holes in them.
“The mattresses look like they found them on the side of dumpsters,” she continued.
Keating also said the owners charged workers for their stay on the property, which she took issue with.
“We had to convince our boss for an hour to only charge us $225 per month to live here,” she said. “Even though he said, when we got there, that rent would be free.”
The woman said she had her own mobile home, and the hotel’s owner charged his workers to park them. She also alleged he charged employees without their own homes $80 per day to live in a building that could not legally be occupied.
“This building is 100 percent not up to code,” she said while showing more videos of the accommodations. “It’s unusable space.”
The former employee blasted the hotel’s owner for supposedly overcharging employees, claiming other employers in the area only charge a maximum of $300 per month for “livable accommodations.”
“A cabin rental in Fairbanks is $500,” she continued.
Ultimately, the worker said these factors forced her to quit the job.
@nomaddiaries If you are going to go to Fairbanks Alaska to work or visit, steer clear of 7 Gables. @Theresa Burge @Goddess Aubrey #storytime #vanlife ♬ original sound – Vanessa Keating
In the comments section, many applauded the woman for calling out the business and supported her allegations.
“I used to live in Fairbanks and I have heard of these people through the rumor mill,” one viewer wrote. “Thank you for speaking up! They need to be held accountable.”
“When I lived in Fairbanks 15 years ago, the 7 gables was nasty and they were known as slum lords,” user Beautiful Beads360 commented. “So I can only imagine in the past 15 years. It’s gotten to be absolutely atrocious.”
“I live in Fairbanks and I’ve heard horror and haunted stories of 7 Gables,” user Nicole Ashley Wright said. “Also about the racism.”
Others urged the TikToker to escalate the matter and report the business.
“You should call the Fairbanks local new channel!” user SJ Powers suggested.
“File a complaint to the city and state,” another viewer added.
In several follow-up clips, Keating updated her viewers on the situation with the hotel. She claimed another employee was fired and said it was likely because of the “bad publicity” the hotel received due to the viral TikTok videos.
She also said she is doing well and has since gotten a new job that offers her more peace.
Workers often use TikTok to vent after being pushed to quit a job because of poor management or bad behavior. One woman went viral after she said a “toxic environment” forced her to walk out on her Walmart job without giving the customary two-week notice. Another worker quit after three days on a job and used the platform to document the whole ordeal.
The Daily Dot reached out to 7 Gables Inn & Suites via contact form and Vanessa Keating by Instagram direct message for more information.
Update 6:19am CT, May 9: In an email to the Daily Dot, Paul Welton and Leicha Welton, owners of 7 Gables Inn & Suites, denied Keating’s allegations.
“We have been in business for over 35 years, and have never encountered anyone as two faced as Vanessa,” they wrote. “She contacted us via a hiring website called ‘Coolworks’. She brought her sister, who also traveled in an RV to Alaska, as well as another friend, Aubrey, who had a self-contained minivan powered by solar.”
The couple said they did not charge Keating or her sister for rent. “They didn’t inform us of their need for an upgraded electrical plug in in order operate more than one item at a time in their RV’s until maybe two weeks into working,” they continued. “We immediately upgraded our 20 amp plug ins to 30 amps, with the electrical labor and parts coming to $400. We only charged them $7/day for the electric, a total of $50/week. Our research on local RV parks found $50/day as the lowest rate.”
The couple also denied Keating’s allegations of discrimination against certain groups.
“Any front desk agent can inform you of a hotel’s policy regarding guest check-in,” they wrote. “Many hotels tell their front desk agent to not rent to individuals who are drunk, or smell of weed, with the excuse of ‘we are full.’ I would venture to say this has saved management across the board quite a lot of money, time, and reputation. It is a necessary evil. What is unfortunate is that Vanessa recorded this as though we will not rent to specific people groups, which is definitely not the case.”
Regarding Keating’s claims that the rooms are of poor quality, the couple said Keating’s photos misrepresented reality.
“The pictures of a badly trashed room where a family of 6 stayed for six months is not a fair assessment of any of my rooms,” they wrote. “The fact that Vanessa and her sister started to clean this room then chose to take pictures are ‘normal’ is ludicrous.”
The couple also said they went out of their way to create “extra projects” for Keating and her associates “so they would have work to do during our slowest month of the year.”
“I feel I was entirely fair to her sister and extra friend who also came with them,” they wrote.
Finally, the couple said they did not want to fire Keating’s “homeless friend” because “she was a very dependable employee.” However, they said that “she was terminated due to a reduction in force, as she was the last one hired and the first one to be let go.”
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