by Donald Wood
Last updated: 5:16 PM ET, Thu September 28, 2017
Advocacy groups are speaking out after the CEO of Marriott International announced last week the company would not cancel a conference for what critics say is an anti-Muslim organization.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said the company will allow the organization known as "ACT for America" to hold their conference at one of its hotels in Arlington, Virginia, next month.
The advocacy group, Muslim Advocates, claims ACT for America is an anti-Muslim hate group, but the organization says it is advocating the protection of the U.S. from terrorists and their supporters.
In response to a letter sent by Muslim Advocates to Sorenson, the Marriott CEO defended the company's decision to allow the ACT for America group to hold their conference at one of the hotel chain's establishments.
"I shudder to think that we really expect that my role or Marriott's role is to say your views are not acceptable in our hotels and that another person's views are," Sorenson said in a statement.
"I know someone will say, 'That's a cop out.' There are points of view that are wrong. I believe that. [There are] many that I personally believe are wrong. But I don't think it's practical or constructive to say you'll be the one to make that judgment."
After learning of Sorenson's response to the letter, Muslim Advocates public advocacy director Scott Simpson released a statement on behalf of his group.
"We agree with one part of what Mr. Sorenson said: this is a cop out. Many leading companies have decided that they don't want to be a platform for hate groups, including Marriott's direct competitors Airbnb, the Willard Hotel, and Sofitel and major companies like Paypal, Spotify, Apple, GoDaddy, and Google," Simpson said.
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"Just a few years ago, a Marriott in Dulles, Virginia joined a Westin and a Sheraton in declining to host another hate group conference. So what's changed? Why can't Marriott stand up for its own stated values and say no to an organization dedicated to demonizing an entire religion? We caution Marriott's Crystal City employees and guests that their hotel will not be hate free next week."
When a Marriott spokesperson was asked about the 2010 cancellation by the LA Times, the company declined to comment until it could gather further information on the previous decision.
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