HBI Staff | Hyderabad 
Marriott International is suing one of its franchisees for breach of contract, claiming the defendants violated their agreement with the hotel chain by turning a New York City property into a shelter for migrants.
In a complaint filed in federal court last week, Marriott alleged Pride Hotel LLC, violated its franchisee agreement to run a property in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens as a dual-branded Aloft and Element hotel, when the operators instead entered into a “lucrative” contract with the City of New York to house migrants and asylum seekers.
The chain is suing one of its franchisees for using a Marriott-branded hotel as a migrant shelter in New York City. (Aloft and Element are two of Marriott’s more than 30 brands, and Marriott claims Pride Hotel not only failed to notify Marriott of its plans, but failed to remove Marriott’s trademarks and branding before opening up the hotel as a migrant shelter.
The complaint says Pride Hotel’s move caused “significant harm” to Marriott, which is suing the franchisee for more than $2.6 million.
New York City hotels housing migrants have brought in more than a billion dollars in taxpayer funds since converting their buildings into migrant shelters.
The city is spending an average of $156 per room per night on hotel rooms that house migrants, with some rooms costing the city over $300 per night, according to a report last month from the New York Post.
