MARRIOTT LAMENTATIONS 218: "Marriott is another disaster waiting to happen - the Grenfell Tower public inquiry report"

The Grenfell Tower inquiry?phase 2 report has just been published. 万豪酒店 (and the entire hotel industry) should take note of the findings because the narrative applies?to them too

The report refers to "a merry-go-round of buck-passing". It talks about the "systemic dishonesty of multinational corporations which?engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to… mislead the market." It points to chief executives who established a “pattern of concealment… in relation to safety matters” and “treated the demands of managing?safety as an inconvenience”. Members of the public were regarded?as?"militant troublemakers led on by a handful of vocal activists".

The report also calls for "proper regulation". One?multibillion-dollar US company (which refused to attend the hearing) and its?French subsidiary were?“determined to exploit what it saw as weak regulatory regimes in certain countries including the UK”. Another?“embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market”. Yet another indulged in “deeply entrenched and persistent dishonesty … in pursuit of commercial gain”. Risk to life was simply not considered.

Offensive corporate?text?exchanges were unveiled. One wrote: “Alls we do is lie in here.” A second said:?"[Those questioning the safety of our product] are getting me confused with someone who gives a damn". Another grumbled?that critics could “go f---?themselves”

The people "were failed in most cases by incompetence and in many cases by calculated dishonesty and greed", the 1700 page report summarises

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the residents of Grenfell Tower “paid a price for systemic dishonesty, corporate greed and institutional indifference and neglect... Profit has been put before people?[which] isn’t just shameful, it’s utterly indefensible”. He added that “more must now be done to hold those responsible to account, including banning any of the companies held responsible by the inquiry from receiving any public contracts as the police and CPS look into bringing criminal prosecutions”

Elsewhere, lawyers for the bereaved described corporate participants as?“little better than crooks and killers".?Campaign Group, Grenfell United, pointed out the problems created?"when governments invite corporations to write their own rules."

Speaking after the report was published, Natasha Elcock, on behalf of Grenfell United, said: “Human life was never a priority, and we lost friends, neighbours and loved ones in the most horrific way – from greed, corruption, incompetence and negligence.”

** In an Observer UK article on the Grenfell tragedy, Rowan Moore offers a general snapshot?of?corporate culture.

He refers to "a culture of contempt" that has run deep for years at?thousands of multinational corporations across the globe, including Marriott International

Moore?talks about chief executives who?create a "climate of inertia" that can prove deadly. 'Couldn't give a damn'?"could serve as the?unofficial motto of the many companies, institutions and individuals whose shared culture of contempt - for people, facts and due process - [help bring about disasters of this kind]... It is a culture that goes beyond Grenfell... If this culture doesn’t change, there will continue to be catastrophes in contexts... where the public should feel safe." Like hotels? What say you to that Anthony Capuano ?

Moore talks about "multiple layers of deceit and the?cynical pursuit of profit" which allow?avoidable issues to fester?or worsen. Historic events?and red flags are?suppressed and ignored. Compliance?gets corrupted. Evidence of wrongdoing is destroyed. "Dishonest marketing" strategies offer?absurd utopian illusions

Governments and regulators, susceptible to industry lobbying, end up being?complicit and too eager to please industry executives. Regulatory capture, conflicts of interest and general dysfunction aggravate?the problem.?Human rights and safety issues become irritants. Authorities?fail?to act,?despite relentless?forewarning. Corruption and 'misgovernance' invade?the offices of?lawmakers and those purporting to defend the common good

"So, over and over, with their David Brent machismo and their talent for inertia, officials and executives" create?the conditions in which corporations benefit and while the rest of us?suffer. Those?with an ethical mindset lower down the food chain?find?that their concerns about bad practice receive?nothing but threats to their own jobs or retaliation.?"But the biggest culprits are those at the top, the chief executives and ministers who created the climates in which underlings felt they could and should behave as they did." Regulation and the rule of law is bad for business so we either bonfire red tape or, in this age of impunity, ignore it

Maybe, for "the?impresarios of nastiness",?there is "a sort of glee in cruelty, a notion that you’re not doing your job right if you’re not being mean – especially to those you might perceive as little people"

"It will be hard to eradicate the culture of contempt", though increased numbers are now calling attention to?the decades-old fog of cover-up and scam.?We're slowly approaching a moment of truth. People really have had enough...

** In Guardian UK, Peter Apps talks about "a state that stepped back and allowed a ruthless, dishonest industry to regulate itself."?He wasn't talking about the hotel industry, but he could have been. "The dark heart of this catastrophe lies in this simple, depressing narrative: the state stepped back, corporate greed stepped in and innocent people died...?Now this story of inquiry must turn to justice...?The state may have stepped back from regulation, but it still provides a criminal justice system. That must now do its job. Grenfell was an utterly avoidable disaster. Those who brought it to pass must be held to full account."

Sir Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister, says there is something?"fundamental that we have to make time to consider...?which is injustice, people disregarded, not listened to, not taken seriously... too long, too late"

In the reality of Marriott global operations, lives have already been lost or damaged and people continue to be?treated with wide-ranging?disdain. Marriott doesn't need to fret over?illegally constructed hotels, buildings lacking fire certification, or human trafficking,?because whistleblowers can either be ignored or retaliated against. If the?authorities can be persuaded to jump on board, which they do - hotel industry lobbying helps -?why?should?Marriott?worry? But?when the?Marriott disaster does finally happen (whatever that turns out to be)?notice will have to be taken, and investigations will undoubtedly have to take place.?The findings will?be a replica of?those announced at the?Grenfell inquiry, and?only then will?people question?why a probe into?Marriott corruption and wrongdoing was not initiated?earlier

John Shepherd (Marriott victim, and hunger striker)

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