Hotel giant Marriott International has filed a lawsuit against one of its franchisees for agreeing to shelter migrants at a New York City hotel, The Western Journal reported.
The lawsuit, which seeks $2.6 million in damages, alleges that Pride Hotel in the city's Jamaica neighborhood abandoned and violated its contract after obtaining "a lucrative government contract" allowing the city to house migrants and asylum seekers in its facilities.
"After more than eight years of construction and development caused by numerous delays by Pride Hotel, and just months before its deadline to open the Hotels, Pride Hotel willfully breached the Franchise Agreements so it could instead pursue a lucrative government contract to provide shelter to migrants and asylum seekers," the suit reads.
"Thus, in addition to its actual damages (including lost fees for the balance of the contractual term), its right to liquidated damages, and damage to Marriott's goodwill and reputation, Marriott has suffered a significant loss of opportunity in a competitive and desirable market," it continues.
The Pride group bought the site where the 18-story hotel is located in 2015 for $5.3 million, and it was due to open under the Marriott brands Aloft and Element in November 2023. According to the suit, a few months before the deadline, a Pride Hotel attorney sent a letter to Marriott claiming that the opening date was not "economically feasible" and included a proposal to use the site as a migrant shelter.
Marriott contends that it offered a "compromise agreement" to Pride Hotel but did not receive a reply "despite Marriott's numerous attempts to engage with Pride Hotel."