Harish Dani latest to sue IHG
THE NUMBER OF hoteliers joining a class action lawsuit against InterContinental Hotels Group alleging the company has engaged in unfair franchising practices continues to grow. The latest plaintiff, Harish Dani, head of PH Lodging Tomball, LLC of Tomball, Texas, gave specific examples of how IHG required him to use certain venders despite paying a higher cost.
Dani joins New Orleans area hotelier Vimal Patel and Shailesh Patel, managing partner of Aaron Hotel Group in Hartford County, Connecticut, in the lawsuit. Like Vimal Patel, Dani, who lives in Houston, said the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing conflicts between IHG and its franchisees.
‘We don’t have the support from our brand like we should expect. For example, during COVID, everybody was suffering occupancy wise, we had laid off several employees and cost saving measures had to be put into place,’ Dani said. ‘But we were still paying marketing fees. We were still paying all the technology fees and things of that nature to our brand.
And they shouldn’t have collected that because they weren’t even spending it.’
The lawsuit Dani filed in Texas is essentially the same as the other two. It lays out a connection between IHG’s relationship with the required venders and the process for requiring PIPs.
IHG claims the list of venders, dubbed the IHG Marketplace, allows the company to use franchisees’ collective bargaining power to secure a group discount and to ensure quality of products and services. But, according to the lawsuit, that is not the case, and instead the company seeks to ‘secure the largest possible kickback for itself.’
Jennifer Cook, IHG’s manager of corporate communications for the Americas, said: ‘While we don’t comment on pending litigation, we are committed to the fair treatment of all hotel owners who choose to invest in our brands. We are currently reviewing the complaint – which appears to have been filed by a single owner of Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites branded hotel properties in Louisiana – and will respond to all claims through the appropriate legal processes.’