Stay in any of the following hotels and you are supporting death by stoning for gays.
Hollywood stars, a major cruise booking agency in London, Virgin Air and an increasing number of members of the travel and tourism industry are calling for a boycott of Brunei tourism and businesses including the Brunei owned Dorchester Collection hotel chain in Europe and the United States.
Hotels owned by Brunei include:
Hotel Bel Air, Los Angeles
Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills
The Dorchester, London
Park Lane, London
Coworth Park, Ascot
Le Meurice, Paris
Hรดtel Plaza Athรฉnรฉe, Paris
Le Richemond, Geneva
Hotel Principe di Savoia, Milan
Hotel Eden, Rome
This decision has been made an increasing group of leading members of the travel industry after the Brunei law was changed as of last Thursday, to phase in increasing the sentence for homosexuality from a maximum ten-year prison sentence to death by stoning.
Since the announcement on the 01st May many celebrities have called for a boycott including Stephen Fry, Sharon Osbourne and Ellen DeGeneres.
On Sunday Virgin owner Richard Branson announced a Virgin-wide boycott of the chain and www.CRUISE.co.uk are proud to work in an industry that places the morals of an issue like this over profit.
This law was barbaric fifteen hundred years ago and nothing has changed to make it any less so today.
Seamus Conlon, managing director of www.CRUISE.co.uk, added:
โNothing brings people together more than travel. This is one of the core philosophies of our business and something like this is anathema to that principal. As soon as we heard this news there was only ever one course of action we could take.”
Any guests asking to book one of these hotels will be politely told why we are unable to fulfil their request and offered a suitable alternative.
According to WWD, a spokesperson for the Dorchester collection said:
โWe are aware that many variations of Sharia law are practiced in many countries throughout the world and these countries have diverse business interests including fashion, hospitality and travel groups, media, entertainment, banking and many other sectors. We are sensitive to the fact that any such potential withdrawal of business directly impacts our employees, who represent the full diversity of society. Our loyal and dedicated employees have no involvement in this religious and political issue.โ
She continued, โWe continue to abide by the laws of the countries we operate in and do not tolerate any form of discrimination of any kind. The laws that exist in other countries outside of where Dorchester Collection operates do not affect the policies that govern how we run our hotels. Dorchester Collectionโs code, endorsed by the companyโs ownership, emphasizes equality, respect and integrity in all areas of our operation, and strongly values people and cultural diversity amongst our guests and employees.โ