 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2006 
Tourism Officials Criticize Mexico City For Closure Order Against U.S. Hotel
 Mark Stevenson - Associated Press
| | Mexico City authorities slapped 'closed' stickers on Tuesday on the doors of the capital's Sheraton hotel, The official closure of the Mexico city Sheraton comes three weeks after inspectors said the hotel infringed local safety and licensing laws and would be shut down. (REUTERS) |
Mexico City – Business groups and the federal government criticized a Mexico City official's decision to slap a temporary closure order on a major U.S.-owned hotel for alleged code violations, after the hotel expelled a delegation of Cuban government representatives on Feb. 2.
The leftist city government's apparent use of seldom-applied technical rules to punish the American hotel threatens to tarnish efforts by Mexico's left to depict itself as moderate and business-friendly ahead of the July 2 presidential elections.
“They have used absurd pretexts to justify the closure of the hotel, like saying the restaurant lack a braille menu, or that 10 percent of stairs lacked anti-skid strips,” Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo said in a press statement.
The move “puts at risk the jobs of the personnel who work there, affects Mexico's image as a tourism destination and discourages investment,” the statement continued.
Despite the “closed” stickers plastered by city employees on the front doors, the Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel appeared to be operating almost normally Tuesday, with guests coming and going through other entrances; a desk clerk sad the hotel was still accepting reservations.
Virginia Jaramillo – head of the downtown borough where the hotel is located – told local media she was giving the hotel 24 hours to move out guests, and that it would have to close down operations by mid-day Wednesday.
Jaramillo originally suggested the hotel was targeted for closure because of residents' complaints of code violations.
But on Tuesday, she made it clear the inspection and complaints both originated in the hotel's decision to expel 16 Cuban oil industry officials attending a conference with U.S. firms.
The U.S. Treasury Department said the hotel had to expel the Cubans to avoid violating the long-standing U.S. embargo against the communist-ruled island. But most Mexicans were angered by efforts to apply U.S. laws here, and the expulsions caused widespread resentment.
However, the harsh reaction by city officials may backfire.
Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador – the former mayor of Mexico City who, like Jaramillo, belongs to the leftist Democratic Revolution Party – has gone to great lengths to avoid being labeled a radical, and has stressed that “we don't have differences with businessmen.”
The closure, even if it is upheld – the hotel had previously obtained a court order against it, though Jaramillo said that didn't apply to her order – could damage Mexico's image, business leaders said.
“This is regrettable. This is not image countries like ours want to be sending abroad,” said Jesus Nader, president of the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels.
Jaramillo's move appeared to harken back to her party's longstanding pro-Cuban stance, rather than the party's more recent efforts to portray itself as successful at attracting business and investment.
“This appears to be a personal question, where she was looking for some reason to close the hotel, and that shouldn't be done. This shouldn't be a political question,” Nader said.
Laura Canepa, a representative for hotel owner Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., said company officials were consulting with their lawyers.
“The Hotel Sheraton Maria Isabel expresses its great surprise in response to this action from the borough authorities, which we found out about first from the news media,” she told reporters gathered at the hotel, reading from a prepared statement. “At this moment our lawyers are evaluating the legal, administrative and business implications of this measure.”
Jaramillo said the hotel could reopen when it had corrected the violations and paid a fine of more than 155,000 pesos (US$15,000; euro12,630).
Borough officials posted signs in several languages in front of the hotel's front entrance saying, “Due to infringement of local law, the Sheraton Hotel activities have been suspended. We are sorry for the inconvenience that this has caused. Thank you for your understanding.”
Tania Hall, a young woman from New Hampshire who said she had been staying at the hotel since Monday, seemed momentarily stunned when she approached the main entrance.
“What?! I have no idea what's going on,” she said. “It's kind of unbelievable.”
She was then quickly whisked away by a hotel employee who allowed her to enter the hotel through revolving doors plastered with the city's orders. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us