Some LGBT advocates are calling for a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel due to its affiliation with the nation of Brunei, which has introduced stoning to death as a punishment for crimes of a sexual nature, such as sodomy.

The Beverly Hills Hotel, also known as “The Pink Palace,” has been the subject of a boycott by local groups due to its alleged affiliation with Brunei. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

The boycott is being led by UNITE HERE, a union representing workers in the hospitality industry. The organization has created a website — www.dumpbhh.org — that calls for people to “break up” with the hotel.

“The Beverly Hills Hotel’s owners don’t believe in equality, but they love to take our money,” the website states. “If we wouldn’t eat at Chik-fil-A, why would we dine at the Beverly Hills Hotel?”

Representatives of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, a global watchdog organization designed to study sovereign wealth funds and public investors, said the hotel is a part of the Dorchester Collection, which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency.

The investment agency falls under the Brunei Ministry of Finance, according to the institute. A spokesperson for the Beverly Hills Hotel said the collection is owned by the London-based Dorchester Group Ltd.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Brunei has altered its penal code to include the death penalty for several offenses, such as robbery, adultery and insult or defamation of the Prophet Mohammed. Sexual crimes, including adultery and sodomy, could be punishable by stoning, according to the organization. However, Brunei has reportedly delayed the law’s implementation.

“Application of the death penalty for such a broad range of offenses contravenes international law,” office spokesman Rupert Colville said. “We urge the government to delay the entry into force of the revised penal code and to conduct a comprehensive review ensuring its compliance with international human rights standards. …Under international law, stoning people to death constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and is thus clearly prohibited.”

He said the provisions of the revised code could encourage more violence and discrimination against women and people on the basis of their sexual orientation. According to UNITE HERE, homosexuality is already punishable by up to 10 years in prison in the nation of Brunei.

“Here at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, California, we do not tolerate any form of discrimination of any kind,” said Leslie Lefkowitz, a spokeswoman for the hotel. “We are also against any law in any other country around the world that punishes people for their religious beliefs, ethnicity, race or sexual orientation. The laws and policies that govern how we run our hotel have nothing to do with the laws that exist in any other country outside of the United States. Dorchester Collection’s code emphasizes equality, respect and integrity. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination and strongly value people and cultural diversity amongst our guests and employees.”

Leigh Shelton, of UNITE HERE, said the boycott has been ongoing for a few years. She said the union once represented workers from the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air, which is also part of the Dorchester Collection.

However, in the late 1990s, the Beverly Hills Hotel shut down to undergo renovations, and management opted not to bring back its previous workforce, which allowed the hotel to circumvent the union, Shelton said. Hotel Bel-Air followed suit a few years ago, she said.

Lefkowitz said the only people who can decide whether the hotels are union are the employees.

“This decision has always been for them to make, and we continue to fully support their right to vote on this via a secret ballot supervised by the National Labor Relations Board,” she said.

After the Hotel Bel-Air renovations, the union began researching the company and learned of its ties to the sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, Shelton said. She said the union is progressive and works to protect gay rights and human rights.

“They’re all one and the same,” Shelton said.

She said the boycott has begun to gain traction, as the Gill Action Fund, an LGBT advocacy organization, has changed the venue of its conference after learning about the Beverly Hills Hotel’s ties to Brunei.

The Courage Campaign, a Los Angeles-based human rights organization, is supporting the boycott. Its executive chairman, Dr. Paul Song, said the Beverly Hills Hotel has been the subject of boycotts in the past due to its affiliation with Brunei.

“What we’re kind of asking for is that maybe people who feel strongly that this is wrong would consider taking their business elsewhere,” he said.

Song said anti-LBGT laws in other countries could be the result of hatred that originated in the U.S., which is why it is important to take a stance. He referenced Africa, and said some of the discrimination there is based on U.S. religious leaders visiting the country and preaching about how homosexuality could be “cured” through prayer.

“What we’re realizing is that while our country is slowly changing and moving toward full equality for everyone, one of the most unfortunate things our country has done is export sort of this evangelical theology that gay people can be cured through prayer and reparative therapy,” Song added. “That’s why countries like Africa, as they grow in their evangelicalism, are becoming the most anti-gay [countries in the world].”

He said the Courage Campaign is in the process of exploring whether it plans to facilitate further action against the hotels.

“I really hope people realize that it’s only by stepping up and being socially active that we can change corporate behavior, much like Mozilla,” Song said.