Marriott hotels evacuated successfully

Marriott International said today that two of its New York hotels had been successfully evacuated in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre and they believed all guests and staff were safe.

But reports this morning indicated that their hotel next door to the centre, the New York Marriott World Trade Centre had collapsed after the damage.

The other Marriott hotel to be evacuated was the New York Marriott Financial Centre in West Street.

Guests evacuated from the two hotels were being looked after by five other Marriott hotels in the city, but a spokeswoman said that as several of these were sold out extra accommodation was being set up in public spaces.

The five hotels sheltering other guests are the New York Marriott Marquis; the New York Marriott East Side; the Rihga Royal, a JW Marriott; the New York Marriott Brooklyn; and the Jersey City Marriott.

by David Harris, news editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper