The skywalk within Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. (Courtesy Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel)
Was COVID-19 “common knowledge” by March 5, 2020? Downtown Denver’s largest hotel thinks so.
The 1,200 room Sheraton Hotel Downtown Denver is suing a trade association over a canceled 2020 conference — saying an “acts of God” clause doesn’t apply due to a time limit.
According to the hotel’s lawsuit, Mobile Electronics Specialists of America (MESA) signed a deal in December 2019 to host a conference at the Sheraton from Sept. 15-19 the following year. The organization agreed to use at least 862 rooms costing between $139 and $209, and to spend at least $125,000 on banquet food and beverage service.
Then, the pandemic struck. On March 16, 2020, MESA sent a notice to the Sheraton, saying it was canceling the conference due to “the current situation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.”
The organization invoked its “impossibility” clause, which stated that it could be canceled without penalty due to circumstances such as “acts of God, war, acts of terrorism, government regulations, disasters, strikes, civil disorder, or curtailment of transportation facilities.”
A convention space within Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. (Courtesy Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel)
In its lawsuit filed more than four years later, the Sheraton notes the contract states that the impossibility clause had to be invoked “as soon as reasonably practical – but in no event longer than ten (10) days – after learning of such basis.”
The hotel claims COVID-19 “was common knowledge and in full existence” more than 10 days before MESA’s March 16 notice.
Though COVID-19 sprouted in China in late 2019, the United States did not report its first case until Jan. 20, 2020, according to the CDC. Less than two months later, on March 4, Colorado announced its first case. Within the week, the World Health Organization rebranded the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
Then the dominoes toppled. The NBA postponed its season on March 12, the same day Tom Hanks contracted the virus. And Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered a statewide ski-resort shutdown on March 14.
The Sheraton — which said it was “ready, willing and able” to host MESA’s September conference — believes it is owed at least $270,000.
That amounts to $139,426 — 50 percent of the committed room revenue and 40 percent of the banquet revenue, a formula laid out in the contract — plus 1.5 percent monthly interest since October 2020. The hotel said it sent an invoice to MESA that month that hasn’t been paid.
MESA, a group of car radio and audio dealers, did not respond to a request for comment. The Sheraton declined to comment when reached by BusinessDen.
Steven Rudner of Rudner Law Offices in Dallas, Texas is representing Sheraton. The hotel does not appear to have filed any other lawsuits over canceled 2020 bookings.
The skywalk within Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. (Courtesy Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel)
Was COVID-19 “common knowledge” by March 5, 2020? Downtown Denver’s largest hotel thinks so.
The 1,200 room Sheraton Hotel Downtown Denver is suing a trade association over a canceled 2020 conference — saying an “acts of God” clause doesn’t apply due to a time limit.
According to the hotel’s lawsuit, Mobile Electronics Specialists of America (MESA) signed a deal in December 2019 to host a conference at the Sheraton from Sept. 15-19 the following year. The organization agreed to use at least 862 rooms costing between $139 and $209, and to spend at least $125,000 on banquet food and beverage service.
Then, the pandemic struck. On March 16, 2020, MESA sent a notice to the Sheraton, saying it was canceling the conference due to “the current situation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.”
The organization invoked its “impossibility” clause, which stated that it could be canceled without penalty due to circumstances such as “acts of God, war, acts of terrorism, government regulations, disasters, strikes, civil disorder, or curtailment of transportation facilities.”
A convention space within Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. (Courtesy Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel)
In its lawsuit filed more than four years later, the Sheraton notes the contract states that the impossibility clause had to be invoked “as soon as reasonably practical – but in no event longer than ten (10) days – after learning of such basis.”
The hotel claims COVID-19 “was common knowledge and in full existence” more than 10 days before MESA’s March 16 notice.
Though COVID-19 sprouted in China in late 2019, the United States did not report its first case until Jan. 20, 2020, according to the CDC. Less than two months later, on March 4, Colorado announced its first case. Within the week, the World Health Organization rebranded the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
Then the dominoes toppled. The NBA postponed its season on March 12, the same day Tom Hanks contracted the virus. And Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered a statewide ski-resort shutdown on March 14.
The Sheraton — which said it was “ready, willing and able” to host MESA’s September conference — believes it is owed at least $270,000.
That amounts to $139,426 — 50 percent of the committed room revenue and 40 percent of the banquet revenue, a formula laid out in the contract — plus 1.5 percent monthly interest since October 2020. The hotel said it sent an invoice to MESA that month that hasn’t been paid.
MESA, a group of car radio and audio dealers, did not respond to a request for comment. The Sheraton declined to comment when reached by BusinessDen.
Steven Rudner of Rudner Law Offices in Dallas, Texas is representing Sheraton. The hotel does not appear to have filed any other lawsuits over canceled 2020 bookings.
