Shakopee votes to revoke hotel's license after wild parties, deadly overdoses

Would you stay at a hotel with deadly drug overdoses and pool parties with strippers? After seeing a social media post advertising a 24-hour "lock-in" party at a hotel in Shakopee, Minnesota, the mayor decided to shut it down.

The Shakopee City Council voted 4-1 to revoke the Baymont Hotel's license, citing a pattern of public safety incidents and management failures that outweighed the hotel's efforts to remain in compliance. 

City officials argued the case was not based on a single incident, rather what they described as a continuing pattern of problems that place pressure on police and firefighter resources. 

According to the city, Baymont Hotel generated 84 police incidents during 2025 and 2026, including disturbances, assaults, welfare checks, criminal sexual misconduct and repeated fire alarms.

Two events became essential to the city's case.

"They had a sell out of the hotel to a party that ran an adult event. After the event police were notified for missing persons," said Micahel Kerski, Planning and Development Director of Shakopee.

On New Years Day 2025, officers conducted a welfare check and discovered two people dead inside a hotel room following a private event. Suspected illegal narcotics were found in the room, with substances testing positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine. 

The incident raised concerns about oversight of large events, guest monitoring and security procedures. Which leads to the second event, held between March 28 to March 29.

A 24-hour lock-in was created by a private group that rented out the entire hotel. Police were alerted to a possible gang-related threat targeting the gathering. 

During the event, police responded to 16 calls for service involving assaults, disturbances and other incidents. The Shakopee fire department also responded to multiple fire alarms that officials say were triggered by marijuana smoke. 

"The event had an unlicensed security company there," said Kerski. "Security had long guns, it wasn't a pretty site."

The organizer of the event provided approximately 80 armed security guards.

 "It's unacceptable, the property owner and the hotel management understands it's unacceptable," said Megan Rogers, an attorney representing the hotel.

Hotel representatives urged the council to not revoke their license, arguing they would take corrective action.

"The structural change that we have made within the hotel, we can stop this from happening again and it will not be an ongoing problem for the city," said Rogers.

The council decided revocation was necessary in this case. The vote means the Baymont can no longer operate a city-issued hotel license, though the hotel and their representatives can pursue legal action to challenge the council's decision.