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A woman raped and robbed at gunpoint in a paid parking garage at the Stamford, CT Marriott Hotel & Spa filed an anonymous lawsuit against the hotel, alleging negligence. The hotel's response:
1. Alleges that the woman herself was responsible. Evidently, the paid parking garage of a Marriott hotel is the sort of place where one should be taking exceptional measures to ensure one's safety, and walking from your car to the hotel with your children is something you just shouldn't do.
2. Violates the woman's privacy by subpoenaing acquaintances unrelated to the incident (presumably as "character witnesses", (hopefully) unwilling accessories to the victim-blaming highlighted in point 1).
In light of the above, it would be a good idea to avoid Marriott and affiliated hotels* until they realize that they should spend some reasonable amount of effort on keeping hotel grounds safe and that being misogynistic jerks, even in the course of a legal defense, is unacceptable. If you do decide to change your hotel-related decisions based on this story, it might be a good idea to tell Marriott, too.
(Story via here and here.)
* That includes the ones with Marriott in the name, but also Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites.
ETA: ( Marriott's Response )
1. Alleges that the woman herself was responsible. Evidently, the paid parking garage of a Marriott hotel is the sort of place where one should be taking exceptional measures to ensure one's safety, and walking from your car to the hotel with your children is something you just shouldn't do.
2. Violates the woman's privacy by subpoenaing acquaintances unrelated to the incident (presumably as "character witnesses", (hopefully) unwilling accessories to the victim-blaming highlighted in point 1).
In light of the above, it would be a good idea to avoid Marriott and affiliated hotels* until they realize that they should spend some reasonable amount of effort on keeping hotel grounds safe and that being misogynistic jerks, even in the course of a legal defense, is unacceptable. If you do decide to change your hotel-related decisions based on this story, it might be a good idea to tell Marriott, too.
(Story via here and here.)
* That includes the ones with Marriott in the name, but also Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites.
ETA: ( Marriott's Response )
