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The following image has been floating around social media today (July 11, 2019) claiming to be a statement being made by Marriott International regarding them declining requests to use their U.S. hotels as detention facilities. The source seems to be this tweet from SanctuaryDMV.

Is there any truth to this? Is this statement official? I can’t find it—or anything close to it—on Marriott International’s official press/news center.

The “Statement of Marriott International” image that is circulating on social media.

The image has a date of “July 11, 2019” and the text reads as follows:

Statement of Marriott International

“Marriott International has had no indication that any of our hotels have been contacted by the U.S. government to be used to detain individuals. Our hotels are not configured to be detention facilities, but to be open to guests and community members as well. While we have no particular insights into whether the U.S. government is considering the use of hotels to aid in the situation at the border, Marriott has made the decision to decline any requests to use our hotels as detention facilities.”

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  • It seems like the tweet you linked is saying this was specifically sent to them?
    – TheWanderer
    Jul 12, 2019 at 0:57
  • @TheWanderer Exactly. That seems to be a self-claimed response on a part of protest organizers. Nothing else verifies it. And the whole image looks very “hacked” together. Trying to get context because you would think an official statement would be made/presented via official channels as well. Especially the claim made in the last sentence, “Marriott has made the decision to decline any requests to use our hotels as detention facilities.” That seems very top-down a statement to make that should be presented elsewhere.
    – Giacomo1968
    Jul 12, 2019 at 1:23
  • FWIW, there are plausible reports that folks in other parts of the world are being "detained" on Marriott properties, by foreign governments possibly acting on behalf of US agencies. But from my brief browsing these appear to be more of a "house arrest" situation.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Jul 12, 2019 at 1:42
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    This feels very "current events". It may take a few days for the facts to be established outside of "he said, she said".
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Jul 12, 2019 at 2:26
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    A lot of people are pinging the Marriott account on Twitter, so if this isn't an official response, we can probably expect one soon.
    – TheWanderer
    Jul 12, 2019 at 2:45

1 Answer 1

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You are right that Marriott International’s official press/news center does not include news of this statement. There was also no mention of it on Marriott International's own Twitter. It has been a few days and this is now reported by multiple news agencies, such as ABC and Newsweek. It would be surprising if Marriott allowed the media to widely report this without releasing a statement saying this one is false.

I contacted Marriott International multiple times. I received a response from Connie Kim, "Vice President, Media Relations," confirming that the statement is Marriott's. I am willing to forward the response to you (ping me in chat).

To answer the question:

Did Marriott International issue a statement stating that they would decline any requests to use their U.S. hotels as detention facilities?

Yes, Marriott International did issue such a statement. They included it in an email to me and I pasted it above.

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    This is some great research, but I wish there was a way to check it that didn't involve trusting you. Even if you forward someone the email you received, we can't be sure you didn't fake it. By the way, was there any explanation given as to why they didn't post the statement on their website with the rest of their press releases?
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jul 16, 2019 at 22:42
  • @NateEldredge I agree with your concerns. Why trust a random stranger on the internet? That said, I will reply to the email and ask why it wasn't posted on Marriott's website or twitter. I am also willing to forward the email to you. I am personally unsure how to fake emails (but why trust me?).
    – Barry Harrison
    Jul 17, 2019 at 2:02
  • According to this Security.SE question, "When the sender and the receiver both implement SPF, DKIM and DMARC properly then spoofing risk is greatly reduced." I can see right now that clicking on "show original" from more options in the email I received has a PASS written next to the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC lines. I cannot exactly say this means SPF, DKIM and DMARC have been implemented properly for both sender and receiver, etc. but I think if you dig deeper yourself you will
    – Barry Harrison
    Jul 17, 2019 at 2:03
  • be more confident about the authenticity of the email. Again, willing to forward to you.
    – Barry Harrison
    Jul 17, 2019 at 2:04
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    @BarryHarrison “I don't understand ‘people can lie via SSL.’” When you mention “ SPF, DKIM, and DMARC lines” you are talking about technical specifics about an email. Technical specifics that ensure the message it contains has not be tampered with from sender to recipient. When I say “people can lie via SSL” it means even a message that is encrypted and secure can contain a lie if someone wants to lie to you. Anyway, you are really overreacting. Leave well enough alone.
    – Giacomo1968
    Jul 18, 2019 at 14:18

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