Marriott pulls Russian business citing economic sanctions

arriott International is to pull all of its hotel interests from Russia after 25 years of business as restrictions imposed on the country due to its invasion of Ukraine made it “impossible” to operate its business.

The company that franchises hotels in Russia closed its Moscow office and paused all investment in the country in March but kept its 22 third-party owned hotels open due to the complexities of shuttering its operations.

Marriott International said that it was now in the process of working to find its people in Ukraine and Russia employment in other countries at locations within the Marriott International portfolio. It also said it was “focused on hiring refugees”, with more than 250 already in work across more than 40 hotels in 15 European countries. The business added that it had “plans to continue” with the initiative.

The hotel chain has joined a long list of companies that have exited Russia including McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, Siemens, Coca-Cola and Heineken, as global businesses continue to oppose the war in Ukraine. The conflict in the country has now stretched into its fourth month.

In a statement, Marriot International, said: “We have come to the view that newly announced US, UK and EU restrictions will make it impossible for Marriott to continue to operate or franchise hotels in the Russian market.

“We have therefore made the decision to suspend all Marriott International operations in Russia. The process to suspend operations in a market where Marriott has operated for 25 years is complex.”

The company said it had deployed $1 million (£800 million) in disaster relief funds for its employees and their families to assist with resettlement aid, including food vouchers, transportation assistance, medical, and legal support.

In addition, Marriott International added that more than 85 of its hotels across the globe were now providing accommodation for refugees from Ukraine.