Marriott sues franchisee for converting hotel into shelter for illegal aliens — lawsuit claims willful breach of contract



Marriott International Inc. filed a lawsuit against a franchisee hotel in New York City after it allegedly converted the property into a shelter for illegal aliens without the brand’s permission.

According to the complaint, Pride Hotel in Jamaica, New York, “willfully breached” the franchise agreement by entering into a contract with the city in 2023 to house illegal immigrants. The New York Times reported that more than one in five New York City hotels is being used to house illegal aliens.

'Even if it were possible, it would likely take many years.'

“Marriott and Pride Hotel entered into the Franchise Agreements such that Pride Hotel would operate a dual-branded Aloft and Element hotel property,” the lawsuit, filed Aug. 5, states. “But instead of fulfilling its obligations under the Franchise Agreements, Pride Hotel and the other defendants never opened the Hotels as Marriott properties and, instead, entered a lucrative agreement with the City of New York to use the Hotels to house migrants and asylum seekers without Marriott’s permission and in violation of the Franchise Agreements.”

Marriott also accused Pride Hotel of failing to remove the company’s trademarks and branding from its building before converting it into a shelter. The hotel brand claimed that “even if it were possible, it would likely take many years” for it to re-enter the market where Pride Hotel is located.

According to Marriott, it was not notified by Pride Hotel when the building’s construction was completed. However, a Marriott employee noticed that individuals “appeared to be moving into” the property in August 2023. Pride Hotel then sent a letter to Marriott requesting that they re-evaluate their existing agreement and instead partner with the city to provide housing to illegal immigrants, the lawsuit read.

Marriott stated that it confirmed that Pride Hotel had already started housing individuals on behalf of the city before it reached out to the company about modifying the agreement. Marriott provided Pride Hotel with a list of requirements to continue forward with housing illegal aliens, but the hotel “failed to respond for over two months,” the lawsuit said.

“During this two-month period, Marriott received photographs from its opening managers showing that people were still living in the Hotels in late October 2023. Though the Hotels were occupied, Pride Hotel did not remit any fees to Marriott as required by the Franchise Agreements,” the complaint stated.

Marriott terminated the franchise agreement in March and noted that Pride Hotel allegedly never paid any of its dues. It is seeking $2.6 million.

New York City signed a $980 million contract with a hotel trade group in 2022 to provide housing to illegal immigrants. The hotels that participate in the program are guaranteed between $139 and $185 per night, regardless of whether the rooms are fully occupied or not, according to a report from the Times.

The city's arrangement has significantly driven up hotel costs in the area. Converting the hotels back to traditional use would require significant and costly renovations that hotel brands may push for the city — taxpayers — to cover.

Additionally, a recent audit released by the New York City comptroller's office found that the city performed poor oversight of its $432 million contract with Rapid Reliable Testing NY LLC, also referred to as DocGo, Blaze News previously reported. In part, the company was tasked with finding shelter for illegal aliens. However, the audit revealed that over just the first two months of the contract, DocGo received $1.7 million in taxpayer funds for nearly 10,000 hotel rooms that sat vacant.

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Marriott hotel refused to host pro-Uyghur conference due to 'political neutrality.' Critics say company 'caved to Communist Chinese interests.'



A Marriott hotel in the Czech Republic declined to host a conference of activists fighting for the human rights of the Uyghur people, according to a new report. Many commentators have suggested that the company capitulated to the Communist China regime, but the hotel claims that it canceled the conference in an effort to maintain "political neutrality."

The World Uyghur Congress is an international organization based in Germany that "represents the collective interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turkistan and abroad." The group planned on holding a conference at a Marriott hotel in Prague. Approximately 200 delegates from 25 countries gathered in Prague for the meeting. However, hotel management reportedly denied the use of the facilities.

Axios obtained an email to the World Uyghur Congress from the events manager at the Marriott location in Prague.

"Thank you very much for your visit today. Unfortunately, I have to inform you that we are not able to offer the premises," the events manager wrote in an Oct. 1 email. "We consulted the whole matter with our corporate management. For reasons of political neutrality, we cannot offer events of this type with a political theme. Thank you once again for your time and understanding."

Axios noted that the Chinese government has condemned the World Uyghur Congress repeatedly – including classifying the group as a terrorist organization for allegedly inciting unrest in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government operates "re-education camps." However, the group is not on any international terrorist lists.

The World Uyghur Congress says its goal is to "promote democracy, human rights and freedom for the Uyghur people and use peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means to determine their political future."

The World Uyghur Congress has been extremely outspoken against the Chinese Communist Party for operating internment camps that have detained Uyghurs. The group has posted more than 35 articles bringing awareness to the Uyghur internment camps in China, as well as several videos.

In 2018, the United Nations said there are a million ethnic Uyghurs held in what resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy" in China.

Marriott's senior vice president for global communications — Melissa Froehlich Flood — said that the decision made by the hotel "was not consistent with our policies."

"Marriott International is committed to giving a warm welcome to all," Flood told The Hill. "We are in the hospitality business, welcoming people from all around the world and from all walks of life representing many beliefs."

"The management team at the hotel is contacting the group to apologize, as the hotel's response was not consistent with our policies," Flood added. "We are working with the hotel team to provide additional training and education on our longstanding practices of inclusion."

Zumretay Arkin, a program and advocacy manager for the World Uyghur Congress, told Axios, "We organize international events all the time and this is the first time we were given this excuse. It is chilling because of the broader concept of how China is really disrupting Western democracies."

Many reactions to the hotel denying the human rights group space to hold the conference asserted that the hotel was bending the knee to China.

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib said, "I hear that China is unhappy about this conference being held here in Prague. Well, I am unhappy there's a country in 2021 that has concentration camps."

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) reacted by saying, "Marriott refused to host a Uyghur conference. And tonight Senate democrats are suddenly objecting to my Uyghur forced labor prevention bill they all voted for just a few weeks ago. Sad to see American companies & leaders fighting for #China."

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote on Twitter, "Corporations that kowtow to Beijing Communists have no right to lecture American citizens about anything. The profiteers of slave labor and genocide have no moral standing."

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) exclaimed, "Marriott in Prague turned away a conference of political leaders from China's Uyghur diaspora this month, under the guise of 'political neutrality.' Shameful. In the face of genocide and human suffering, Marriott has caved to Communist Chinese interests."

Travel intelligence startup founder Rafat Ali said, "These decisions are a lot more decentralized than this story makes it out to be. That said, terrible that the hotel caved in to what likely was lobbying pressure from Chinese."

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) noted, "In 2018, @MarriottIntl apologized to China for listing Taiwan & Hong Kong as separate nations. Now they refuse to host a group China is committing genocide against for 'political neutrality.' This company has lost all credibility to talk about democracy & human rights. Shameful!"

In 2018, the Marriott International hotel chain had its website and booking applications shut down for a week by the Chinese government for suggesting in a customer survey that some regions in the country were separate nations – including Hong Kong, Tibet, and Taiwan.

Marriott quickly apologized for the error, "Marriott International respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We don't support separatist groups that subvert the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China," the company said in a statement. "We sincerely apologize for any actions that may have suggested otherwise."

In August, Marriott International announced its 100th hotel in China.

Multiple companies yank donations from Republicans who opposed Electoral College certification



At least three major corporations have announced they will stop giving to the political campaigns of Republican lawmakers who opposed the certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

The development comes as America attempts to reckon with the deadly riots on the U.S. Capitol last week, which happened as a joint-session of Congress was meeting to certify Biden's win. Those lawmakers who opposed the certification have been at least partially blamed for helping instigate the riots by sowing doubt into the legitimacy of Biden's victory.

Despite the violence, 147 Republican lawmakers — 139 representatives and eight senators — still voted against the certification of Electoral College results.

What's happening now?

Popular Information, a political newsletter operated by left-wing operative Judd Legum, contacted 144 corporations that financially supported the Republican lawmakers, specifically the eight senators, through their corporate PACs, asking if the companies would continue to support the lawmakers.

In response, three of the companies told Popular Information they would stop donating:

  • Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of America's largest health insurance providers
  • Commerce Bancshares

In a statement, a spokesperson for Marriott said, "We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election."

Meanwhile, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association president and CEO Kim Keck told Popular Information that it was suspending political donations to the 147 Republicans who voted against certification, calling their decision one that sought to "undermine our democracy."

At the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, we continuously evaluate our political contributions to ensure that those we support share our values and goals. In light of this week's violent, shocking assault on the United States Capitol, and the votes of some members of Congress to subvert the results of November's election by challenging Electoral College results, BCBSA will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy.

While a contrast of ideas, ideological differences and partisanship are all part of our politics, weakening our political system and eroding public confidence in it must never be. We will continue to support lawmakers and candidates in both political parties who will work with us to build a stronger, healthier nation.

Commerce Bancshares told Popular Information, "At this time, we have suspended all support for officials who have impeded the peaceful transfer of power. Commerce Bank condemns violence in any form and believes the actions witnessed this week are abhorrent, anti-democratic and entirely contrary to supporting goodwill for Americans and businesses."

Legum later said that Citibank also told him it would pull their donations, but in Legum's article, he said that Citibank was pausing all PAC donations, not just those for Republicans.

UPDATE: @Citibank says it will “not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law” and will “pause contribu… https://t.co/x3Yz4Hxk7f
— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum)1610307273.0

A few companies told Popular Information they would temporarily suspend all PAC donations without partisan particularity, while others told the newsletter they were reviewing their policies.