Hotel brands under pressure over Russia stance

A group of seven of the biggest hotel companies in the world have been heavily criticised for their failure to exit Russia by a group of Ukrainian hoteliers.

The Ukrainian Hotel and Resort Association (UHRA) published an open letter on 14 March to the CEOs of Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriot, Radisson and Wyndham, asking for a “statement regarding your further intentions of responsible and ethical business strategy related to sanctions in Russia.”

As of 17 March, the UHRA said it had only heard back from Marriott, which simply reiterated its existing statement.

The UHRA said it as well as the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine were “incredibly disappointed at the procrastination of the operators regarding the continuation of business in Russia.”

So far the big brands have mostly said they are halting future developments in Russia, while their hotels, many of which are franchised, have stayed open.

Hilton, Marriott and IHG have also closed their corporate offices.

Although the exact wording of the agreements between the big hotel brands and their partners in Russia is confidential, there are potentially some ways of getting out of the contracts.

However, even if they did, the hotels could simply decide to stay open, as has happened with fast food chain Burger King.