Marriott Hotels now Scream with Ukraine saying Dasvidaniya to Russia

Marriott expands portfolio in key leisure destinations
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Marriott Hotels and Resorts is following other US and European-based hospitality companies and stopped its hotel operations in the Russian Federation.

World Tourism Network applauds the world’s biggest hotel operator to cement this global trend.

The World Tourism Network and its Scream for Ukraine campaigns had pushed Marriott to stop doing business in Russia. In March SCREAM in addition to other organizations reached out directly to the chairman’s office at Marriott Hotels Headquarters in Washington DC. eTurboNews reported about this on March 23 in an article “From Rusia with Love“.

Both Mariana Oleskiv, director of the State Agency for Tourism Development Ukraine, and Ivan Liptuga, co-founder of the Scream for Ukraine campaign, and head of the National Tourism Organization of Ukraine worked hard on convincing travel and tourism-related companies to pull out of Russia.

When asked by eTurboNews Ivan referred to another Ivan. The other Ivan is Ivan Loun from the Ukrainian Hotel & Resort Association (UHRA) who was also instrumental in this move.

Scream asked in March: “At what point do Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Radisson, Wyndham, and the other international hotel operators stop giving western credence to Putin? For what reason do they continue to advance Russia’s economy and create tax revenues for his regime?”

Today Marriott issued this statement ending operations in Russia:

The conflict in Ukraine, now stretching into the fourth month of fighting and displacement, has had grave humanitarian, socioeconomic and global impacts. Throughout this challenging period, Marriott has kept the safety and well-being of our associates and guests top of mind.

Since the start of the war, we have remained in regular contact with our teams on the ground as we continued to evaluate our ability to operate in this changing legal and geopolitical landscape. On March 10, we shared our decision to close our corporate office in Moscow and pause the opening of upcoming hotels and all future hotel development and investment in Russia.

We have come to the view that newly announced US, UK and EU restrictions will make it impossible for Marriott to continue to operate or franchise hotels in the Russian market. We have therefore made the decision to suspend all Marriott International operations in Russia. The process to suspend operations in a market where Marriott has operated for 25 years is complex.

As we take steps to suspend hotel operations in Russia, we remain focused on taking care of our Russia-based associates. Since the war began, we have supported associates in Ukraine, Russia, and across the region, including securing employment with Marriott outside of countries directly affected by the conflict. We have deployed $1 million in internal disaster relief funds for associates and their families to assist with resettlement aid, including food vouchers, transportation assistance, medical, and legal support.

In addition, over 85 of our hotels are now providing lodging to refugees from Ukraine in neighboring countries. We have provided over $2.7 million in hotel-level financial, fundraising, and in-kind support, including food and supply donations, to relief organizations operating on the ground. Marriott is focused on hiring refugees, with more than 250 already hired across more than 40 hotels in 15 European countries, with plans to continue. We will also match Marriott Bonvoy’s points donations to World Central Kitchen and UNICEF, up to 100 million points this year, with over 50 million points donated to date.

We continue to join our associates and millions of people around the world in wishing for an end to the current violence and the start of a path towards peace.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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