Marriott International has filed a $2.6 million federal lawsuit against a Queens hotel for becoming a shelter for migrants in violation of its franchise agreement.
The hotel chain claims the owners of the Pride Hotel in Jamaica entered into an agreement in 2015 with Marriott to operate a dual-branded Aloft and Element hotel at 149-03 Archer Avenue, according to the complaint filed last week in the Southern District of New York.
Marriott said the hotel’s owner, Pride Hospitality Group, entered into a “lucrative” deal with the city to house migrants and asylum seekers “just months before” its scheduled opening on November 1, after eight years of construction. In doing so, it breached the agreement and gave up the right to use the Marriott brand.
On August 22, 2023, Marriott said it had confirmed that the property – an 18-story hotel with 283 units near John F. Kennedy International Airport – was being used for migrant housing.
The Pride Hotel nevertheless continued to use Marriott’s signage and trademarks, the suit claims.
The Pride Hotel sent Marriott a letter proposing an agreement to use the hotels as housing for the migrants. Marriott provided a list of requirements that had to be met in order to consider the change of use, but did not hear back for two months — while the migrants continued to live there, according to the complaint. In the meantime, the Pride Hotel did not send Marriott any of the fees required by the franchise agreement, the complaint maintains.
Marriott says it sent Pride notices of default and provided opportunities to resolve the issue in November and December, without success, before terminating the agreement on March 18.
The presence of Marriott signage on a migrant hotel has “caused and will continue to cause substantial harm to Marriott,” the complaint alleges. In addition, Marriott claims it would be difficult for it to re-enter the lucrative Jamaican market serving JFK because it is “already saturated with existing hotels.”
The Pride Hotel could not immediately be reached for comment.
