Hotel chains told to exit Russia

The world’s biggest hotel groups have come under renewed pressure to cut operating contracts in Russia after Best Western and Hyatt became the first to terminate deals with Russian hotel owners.

The Ukrainian Hotel and Resort Association hit out at international hotel companies for not taking the “ethical stance” of Best Western, which removed its six Russian hotels from its website this month after telling its partners it was pulling out of the country.

US hotel group Hyatt said it had ended its “association, contracts and relationship” with a Hyatt Regency hotel in Moscow and “suspended the provision of services” to Hyatt Regency Sochi.

Hotel groups have been slower than other consumerfacing companies to boycott Russia or downsize their operations over the Ukraine war.

Retailers including H&M and Nike have closed stores, while international brewers, such as Heineken and Carlsberg, are divesting their Russian divisions.

The UHRA, which represents 130 hotel businesses in Ukraine, said hoteliers were “refusing to change their position in their continued operations in Russia” in order to “gratify shareholders”.

While all the major groups have halted development of new hotels in Russia and opened up hotels to Ukrainian refugees, Ivan Loun, UHRA’s international relations officer, said this was not enough.

“There is a big part of the whole issue, which is morale, business ethics, human rights and international law. This is all the reasoning why they should be out,” he said.

Accor, which operates 52 hotels in Russia, the most of any international chain, said it had terminated corporate clients and loyalty programme partners, but added that extricating itself from franchise deals was a challenge.

A person with knowledge of Accor’s Russian business said cutting ties with its corporate partners in Russia had already prompted “serious legal implications” for the group.