Richard Branson, a prominent figure and founder of Virgin Group (London), announced that he and his company will boycott Dorchester Collection hotel in London. The famous businessman made this announcement via his Twitter account. He wrote that neither he nor employees of Virgin and their families will stay at Dorchester Hotels until the owner of the hotel abides human rights.
Dorchester Collection London belongs to the Sultan of Brunei. The hotel is owned by the company that is owned by the Sultan the Brunei Investment Agency. Recently, Brunei laws drew much attention of international community, especially of fashion and entertainment circles. Authorities of Brunei try to impose flogging for abortion and consider relations of gay individuals a sexual crime. Dorchester Hotels tried to save their reputation by assuring they do not approve of any form of discrimination. The company’s CEO Christopher Cowdray left his comment on the issue, saying hotels of the brand abide the laws of the places of their location, but it wasn’t very helpful and didn’t help to soften the controversy.