Iditarod Loses Support of Hotel that was Race Headquarters

The Lakefront Anchorage Hotel will still be race headquarters for this year's Iditarod race and then step away, hotel manager John Bruce and Iditarod Trail Committee Chief Operations Officer Chas St. George told the Anchorage Daily News, according to CBC Canada.

The hotel's owners, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, announced the change in a statement Wednesday, a day before the race's biggest critic, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), was expected to protest at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago to denounce the company's support of the Iditarod. 

PETA held a protest outside the Anchorage hotel last year.

Bruce said pressure from PETA was not part of the hotel's decision to end its association with the Iditarod. Instead, he said the pandemic has been costly to the business.