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NAACP Report Gives Hotel Industry a Grade
of B-minus for Diversity
By Lori Rodriguez, Houston Chronicle
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 

Jul. 10--The nation's major hotel chains have made scant improvement in hiring or doing business with black Americans, according to the fifth annual report card released in Houston Tuesday by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 

Overall, the industry received a B-minus for its diversity efforts over the past year, the same grade it got in the previous report. Marriott topped the list with a B, edging past the Cendant chain, which fell from first to second place. 

"We're asking people of all races who believe in fairness in this country and go to hotels to use this report card as a guide," said NAACP president Kweisi Mfume. 

"It's as a measuring tool that consumers can use to make informed choices about where to spend their dollars and, quite frankly, where to withhold their dollars." 

African-Americans spend $35 billion annually on travel and tourism, he said. 

The report is widely disseminated through the NAACP's 1,700 chapters across the country and 50 other co-sponsoring groups. 

It does not attempt to grade hotels on the more subjective area of customer relations, but on measurable items such as diversity in hiring, contracting with black vendors and charitable giving, said Mfume. 

"What is undisputable is that huge revenues are being generated in this very lucrative industry and are disturbingly being enjoyed by only a few," said Mfume. 

Marriott launched its diversity program more than 15 years ago, said David M. Sampson, senior vice-president for corporate communications, but the NAACP has helped the company "focus." 

"We think it's a very positive thing," said Sampson, pointing to the growing African-American, Latino and Asian-American populations. "Those are our customers and a tremendous new reservoir for us in terms of attracting new customers. We really view our diversity initiative as not so much altruism but just good business." 

The industry overall has increased its minority managers and supervisors, according the report card, but there's still a dearth of minorities in the executive ranks and boards of directors; only six of the 11 boards had a black member. 

"That's important because if you're not part of the decision-making process at the levels that really matter, then you can only be affected by the decision-making process in ways you can never change," said Mfume. 

Hilton, which increased its grade from C-plus to B-minus and moved from fifth to third place among the 11 chains ranked, created a diversity department to oversee its efforts after the first NAACP report card in 1998, said Floyd W. Pitts, Hilton's senior director for diversity programs. 

"We're also very aggressively involved in exposing minority entrepreneurs to franchise opportunities in our hotel," he said. 

The report card did not include the Adam's Mark luxury chain, sued by the NAACP and the U.S. Justice Department after its Daytona, Fla., facility forced black students gathered for a college reunion to wear bright orange arm bands to get into the hotel. 

The class action lawsuit alleged that, in addition to singling the students out as security risks, the hotel charged black customers higher prices than whites and segregated them in less desirable rooms. 

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department and Florida attorney general's office agreed; the Adam's Mark now is being monitored as part of a consent decree. 

-----To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com 

(c) 2002, Houston Chronicle. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MAR, CD, HLT, 


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