Aug. 21, 2012--CHARLOTTE, N.C. The Democratic National Convention Committee is suing Quality Suites in Pineville, seeking a restraining order to force the hotel to give it 20 rooms.

The DNCC originally contracted with Quality Suites for up to 72 rooms at $124.99 a night, according to the lawsuit filed last week in Mecklenburg County.

The committee intended to use 20 of those rooms, and attempted to reserve them through their third-party booking company EventSphere. But on Aug. 15, the day after hotels were notified unused rooms could be released, the manager of Quality Suites emailed to say he hadn't received any reservation requests and was releasing the rooms.

Ronald Halder, the Quality Suites' manager, told the Observer he didn't receive any bookings. "Had we received notification, we never would have released them," he said.

A dozen rooms have already been rented out to other people.

The DNCC, which is seeking damages as well as a restraining order, said in a statement: "We cannot comment on ongoing legal matters, however, our experience with the Charlotte hospitality industry has been overwhelmingly positive."

___

(c)2012 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

Visit The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) at www.charlotteobserver.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services