Dec. 4--The Adam's Mark hotel chain and the NAACP have reached a settlement of a 2-year-old lawsuit stemming from allegations it discriminated against black guests during a spring break event in Daytona Beach. 

As part of a million-dollar-plus settlement announced Monday, the hotel chain will pay $100,000 to each of the five plaintiffs. Other guests who were discriminated against at the 1999 Black College Reunion will be paid from a $400,000 fund. The Florida attorney general's office has put aside $1,000 for each guest on the list of 400 for that weekend. 

The state's four historically black colleges -- including Florida Memorial College in Miami -- will receive payments totaling $600,000. 

The NAACP agreed to end its boycott of the hotel chain, and a related lawsuit filed by the Florida Attorney General's Office also was dropped. 

In a 1999 lawsuit, five guests alleged they had to wear neon orange identification bands, pay higher rates and put up a security deposit for their rooms. The NAACP and the Florida attorney general's office also joined in that suit. 

In March 2000, the hotel agreed to pay $8 million to end the lawsuit. However, in October of that year a federal judge refused to approve the settlement. That action prompted NAACP national President Kweisi Mfume to renew calls for a nationwide boycott last month during the group's annual conference in New Orleans. 

Fred Kummer, president and CEO of Adam's Mark, said the chain didn't discriminate against the guests, but it felt the settlement was in the best interests of the hotel chain, its employees and guests. 

"We are pleased to finally put this issue behind us," Kummer said. 

Mfume said that as part of the agreement, the 24-hotel chain has agreed to monitoring by the NAACP and others, and diversity training. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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