ACT for America, a group considered anti-Muslim by the Southern Poverty Law Center, will be allowed to hold its annual two-day conference at the Marriott Crystal Gateway on October 2-3, according to The New York Times.
The Washington Post also reports that civil rights organization Muslim Advocates wrote a letter to the hospitality chain’s C.E.O., Arne Sorenson, lauding the company’s refusal to host a white nationalist conference in 2010 and maintained that Marriott International should act similarly in the case of ACT for America.
At the Skift Global Forum on Wednesday, Sorenson defended his company’s decision to host ACT for America.
“The fact that they’re having a meeting with us, or using our hotel, obviously in no respect means we support their point of view or that we’ve made a judgment about their point of view,” Sorenson said, as quoted in The New York Times.
According to the company’s official website, “Diversity and inclusion is fundamental to our core values and strategic business goals.”
In an email to Huffington Post, a Marriott spokesperson echoed Sorenson’s distinction between the company’s beliefs and those of its customers.
“Acceptance of business does not indicate support or endorsement of any group or individual,” the spokesperson said.
Marriott International is also expected to host an event organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) later in the month.
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