Hotel Online
News for the Hospitality Executive


 

NAACP Calls for Nationwide Boycott of Adam's Mark Hotels

By Sandra Pedicini, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 

Jul. 12--DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.--A 2-year-old controversy over the treatment of blacks at the Adam's Mark Hotel during Black College Reunion reared its head again Wednesday, when the NAACP urged people to boycott the hotel chain nationwide. 

At its national convention in New Orleans, the civil-rights group accused the luxury chain of continuing to discriminate against black customers. The group told its members to plan conventions, banquets and vacations elsewhere. 

"It is time for all of our membership, and quite frankly all Americans of good conscience, to stop giving Adam's Mark their money or their business," NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said. 

Tension between the NAACP and the Adam's Mark started in 1999 when five guests sued the chain, saying the Adam's Mark in Daytona Beach labeled them security risks by requiring them -- but not white guests -- to wear orange wristbands to enter the hotel during the Black College Reunion. They also claimed black reunion guests were required to pay cash in full to reserve rooms, while being charged more than other guests. 

In October, a federal judge threw out an $8 million settlement between the hotel and the guests. Adam's Mark admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, which had ended a previous NAACP boycott. The NAACP is appealing the judge's ruling. A hearing is set for Monday in Atlanta at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. 

The Justice Department filed its own suit and reached an agreement with the hotel under which the chain's employees received diversity training. 

Mfume said his group has continued to receive complaints from black customers that they were the last to be served in cafeterias and bars, and that black men were called "boys," and women called "girls" at many of the 24 Adam's Mark hotels in more than a dozen states, including one in Orlando on Sand Lake Road. 

Daytona Beach City Commissioner and former local NAACP leader Charles Cherry said he has heard of no recent problems at the Daytona Beach Adam's Mark. In fact, Cherry said, at the most recent Black College Reunion in March "we did hear some complimentary remarks about the difference in the treatment of the students." 

The Daytona Beach hotel is undergoing a $45 million expansion adding 300 rooms. The expansion is one of the cornerstones of the city's efforts to redevelop its tourist district. 

Local officials said they were surprised and dismayed by the announcement of the boycott. 

They said several events for black groups have been held at the Daytona Beach Adam's Mark since the controversy, with no reported complaints. 

"I know they have been really going out of their way to work with the African-American community," said County Council member Frank Bruno, who represents Daytona Beach. 

The company said more than 60 percent of its employees are minorities. 

"What the NAACP is basically trying to do is accomplish through the press and through the public what no court will do, and that is rule against Adam's Mark hotel," said Fred Kummer III, the chain's chief operating officer and executive vice president. "We did not do anything wrong." 

Mfume said the boycott will continue until Adam's Mark publicly apologizes, agrees to provide economic redress to those who experienced discrimination and directs employees that discrimination will not be tolerated. 

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

-----To see more of The Orlando Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.orlandosentinel.com 

(c) 2001. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. 


advertisement

To search Hotel Online data base of News and Trends Go to Hotel.OnlineSearch
Home | Welcome| Hospitality News | Classifieds| Catalogs& Pricing |
Viewpoint Forum | Ideas&Trends | Press Releases
Please contact Hotel.Onlinewith your comments and suggestions.