Many US-based companies have rushed to pull up stakes in Russia — with at least one notable exception: hotels.
Some hotel chains — including the largest in the world, Marriott International, and also Hilton – closed their corporate offices in Moscow and suspended new hotel development and investments in Russia, they said in a flurry of statements this week.
But they haven’t closed their properties or removed their brands from the hotels, which are mostly run by franchisees.
That could change soon given the public backlash against Western corporations that continue to do business in Russia, say industry experts.
“Given the current level of feeling around the topic, I would not be surprised to see hoteliers take the decision to take their brands off the hotels,” Andrew Sangster, editorial director of UK-based industry journal Hotel Analyst told The Post.
If the brands pull up stakes in Russia, the owners of the individual hotels likely would not be compelled to pay franchise fees to a company that has blocked access to its reservation system and brand, experts said.
