The Brunei Investment Agency-owned Dorchester Collection hotels are likely facing leaner days again as the oil-rich kingdom further rolls out its Sharia law-backed penalties that will include punishing gay sex and adultery with death by stoning.
The latest phase of the laws’ implementation, to begin April 3, was announced on the Brunei attorney general’s website in December.
“The people who run the hotels don’t share the same ideals of the ownership and that is the dilemma. They will always be caught in the crossfire,” a luxury hotelier with knowledge of the situation told HOTELS.
In May 2014, when Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced a new penal code based on the Islamic legal system, which outlines strict corporal punishments, BIA hotels such as the Beverly Hills Hotel suffered a significant loss of business after leaders in the LGBTQ community and the Hollywood elite called for a boycott. That boycott slowly dissipated and hotels like the Beverly Hills made strong recoveries with Hollywood A-listers returning to the famed Polo Lounge.
But news about the new round of punishments have reenergized the resolve of film stars like George Clooney and the LGBTQ community, collectively and very publically calling for revived boycotts of the nine luxury Dorchester Collection hotels, which include the Bel-Air in Los Angeles, the Dorchester in London and Le Meurice in Paris.
In an opinion piece written for Deadline, Clooney decried Brunei’s announcement and called for the immediate hotel boycott, stating, “Are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?”
HOTELS reached out to the Beverly Hills Hotel for comment but only received a statement from the communications department. “Dorchester Collection’s Code emphasizes equality, respect and integrity in all areas of our operation, and strongly values people and cultural diversity amongst our guests and employees. Inclusion and diversity remain core beliefs as we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”
“Unfortunately, this issue is too transparent for the hotel company,” the luxury hotelier also said. “Hotel management has to put their best foot forward and can’t badmouth their owners. They have to put their heads down, work hard, deliver what they can and take care of their people and guests.”
What would make a difference is if BIA sells the hotels, but that is an unlikely scenario. “The BIA likely won’t sell as the asset land value is what these investments are all about,” the person said. “Profitability is irrelevant.”