Marriott International has filed a $2.6 million federal lawsuit against a Queens hotel for violating its franchise agreement and becoming a shelter for immigrants.
The hotel chain alleges that the owners of Jamaica’s Pride Hotel entered into a contract with Marriott in 2015 to operate an Aloft/Element dual-branded hotel at 149-03 Archer Avenue. Complaints The lawsuit was filed last week in the Southern District of New York.
Marriott argued that the hotel’s owner, Pride Hospitality Group, struck a “lucrative” contract with the city to house immigrants and asylum seekers “just months before” the hotel was scheduled to open on Nov. 1 after eight years of construction. In doing so, the company breached its contract and waived its right to use the Marriott brand.
Marriott has announced it plans to open the 18-story hotel by August 22, 2023. 283 units Residential areas near John F. Kennedy International Airport were used to house immigrants.
According to the lawsuit, Pride Hotels continued to use Marriott’s signs and trademarks despite this.
Pride Hotels sent Marriott a letter proposing a contract to use the hotel as housing for the migrants. Marriott provided a list of requirements to be met before it could be considered for a change of use, but did not respond for two months, according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the migrants continued to live in the hotel. Meanwhile, Pride Hotels never paid Marriott the fees required by the franchise agreement, the lawsuit alleges.
Marriott said it terminated the contract on March 18 after sending Pride a notice of default and giving the company opportunities to resolve the issues in November and December to no avail.
The lawsuit alleges that Marriott “has suffered and will continue to suffer substantial harm” from putting up Marriott signs at the immigrants’ hotels, and that Marriott will have difficulty re-entering the lucrative Jamaican market servicing JFK because it is “already saturated with existing hotels.”
Pride Hotels did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
