Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts was a chain of upscale hotels in the United States. The company was headquartered in the HBE Corporation offices in Creve Coeur, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis. [1] [2] Fred Kummer founded the chain in the early 1970s, as well as its parent, HBE Corp. [3]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Adams Mark faced several civil, state, and federal lawsuits for racial discrimination against Black customers. It was the first hotel chain, in its entirety, to face a United States Justice Department inquiry into racial discrimination for violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In the 1990s, Adams Mark settled multimillion-dollar racial discrimination lawsuits involving employees and consumers against individual hotels in Indianapolis and St. Louis. [4] [5]
In December 1999, five African–American hotel guests brought a class action lawsuit against the hotel chain after attending the Black College Reunion in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1999. The suit alleged that Adams Mark "charged black guests higher rates, required them to wear orange wrist bands and prohibited black visitors." Additionally, the claimants reported that "rooms rented to blacks had been 'stripped down' and lacked such basic amenities as telephones and maid service; pictures had been removed from the walls and room mini-bars were locked." [5] The Justice Department agreed with the claimants in a nonmonetary settlement, finding that Adams Mark engaged in racial discrimination by "charging Black customers higher prices than Whites and segregating Black customers in less desirable rooms as part of a corporate pattern of discrimination." [6]
The suit, and subsequent 17-month boycott of the chain called by the NAACP, was settled out of court for $8 million in 2000. [7]
In July 2015, new allegations of racism against Adams Mark surfaced. The Daily Kos reported, "A white hotel manager of the Adams Mark Hotel in Kansas City, hung a black slave doll from the doorway of the office with a garbage bag in an apparent mocking of the death of Sandra Bland." Tweets about the incident documented a photograph of the doll hanging by a "white plastic bag noose" around her neck. [8]
While once numbering more than 20 large hotels, the chain, because of financial difficulties and changing corporate strategies, sold all of its properties during the 2000s.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacation properties. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is one of the businesses managed by the Pritzker family.
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an American international hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean, in addition to 84 hotels with 23,092 rooms in the pipeline.
Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 hotels with 47,765 rooms planned for development.
Le Méridien is an American upscale, design-focused international hotel brand with a European perspective. It was originally founded by Air France in 1972 and was later based in the United Kingdom. Marriott International now owns the chain. As of June 2021, it had a portfolio of 109 open hotels with 29,439 rooms and a pipeline of 37 hotels with 9,585 upcoming rooms.
The STARFLEET International Conference is the annual business conference where members of STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. meet the organization's leadership. The conference includes leadership meetings, information sessions, a formal banquet, an awards ceremony, and other events and entertainment.
Loews Hotels is an American luxury hospitality company that owns or operates 26 hotels in the United States and Canada. Loews' hotels and resorts are located in major North American city centers and resort destinations.
The Sheraton Dallas Hotel, formerly the Adam's Mark Hotel and originally the Southland Center, is a complex of International Style skyscrapers located in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The hotel is the largest and second tallest hotel in Dallas and Texas with 1,840 guest rooms and 260,000 sq ft (24,000 m2) of meeting space. It has been host to pop culture conventions such as Project A-Kon and TwiCon.
The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and technology, and to generally promote their interests. To this end, the USITT mounts conferences and exhibitions, promulgates awards and publications, and supports research. USITT is a non-profit organization which has its headquarters in Syracuse, New York.
The Sheraton Phoenix Downtown is a $350 million (USD), high rise convention hotel, located on 3rd Street north of Van Buren Street in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, adjacent to the Arizona Center office/retail complex and the Phoenix Convention Center, which had its North building opened in early 2008. At 31 floors it has surpassed the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, at 24 floors, as the tallest hotel tower in Arizona.
The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, is an advisory and investment firm focused on the property management, asset management, renovation and development of lodging assets. It has been responsible for over $9 billion of hospitality investments and assets comprising over 100 upscale and luxury hotels, resorts and conference centers. The company is currently responsible for a $4 billion, 12,000-room portfolio of luxury and upscale hotels, conference centers and resorts in the United States.
The SFWA Nebula Conference is an annual event at which the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gathers to honor outstanding work in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. Conference activities include professional sessions, tours, and a formal awards banquet at which the Nebula Awards are presented. The Nebula Awards have been presented annually since 1966, and the event was known as the Nebula Awards Weekend until 2014.
The Hilton Memphis is the tallest hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
The Hilton Fort Worth is a historic hotel in downtown Fort Worth, Texas.
The Bloc, formerly Macy's Plaza and Broadway Plaza, is an open-air shopping center in downtown Los Angeles at 700 South Flower Street, in the Financial District. Its tenants include the downtown Los Angeles Macy's store, LA Fitness, Nordstrom Local, UNIQLO, and the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles hotel. The shopping center has its own entrance to the 7th Street/Metro Center station of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The Bloc tends to connect the financial, fashion, jewelry, and theater districts and the 7th Street Metro Center Station, meaning where four Downtown Los Angeles lines converge more.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland is a hotel in Portland, Oregon's Lloyd District, in the United States. The hotel opened as the Sheraton-Portland Hotel in 1959, and in 1980 became the Red Lion Inn/Lloyd Center.
The activists picket HBE Corp. in Creve Coeur to protest what the NAACP says are discriminatory practices by the hotel chain.