Marriott Blocks Alleged Eden Roc Hotel Takeover

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MIAMI—In a bizarre turn of events, Miami Beach police showed up on the scene of an alleged attempted takeover of the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel on Sunday. Eden Roc terminated its management agreement with Marriot and its Renaissance Hotels & Resorts subsidiary in March citing years of property mismanagement and a failure to maximize the Eden Roc brand—and apparently wanted the property back.

After the alleged invasion, Marriot and Renaissance filed for a temporary restraining order. On Tuesday, a New York State Supreme Court judge granted the petition, which prevents any interference from Eden Roc until a mid-November hearing.

"It's inexplicable why ownership and its advisors would have engaged in this outrageous and reckless act that endangered our employees, the hotel and its economic prospects," Ed Ryan, Marriott's general counsel, said in a statement. "The attempted takeover failed. It is business as usual at the hotel, and our employees continue to welcome guests with the exceptional service they have come to expect at the hotel."

Pending the hearing on Marriott's motion, the temporary restraining owner enjoins the hotel owner, "its agents, and all other persons in its control" from taking "any action to remove or replace Renaissance as the manager of the hotel and from any action to interfere with Renaissance's management and operation of the hotel," and directs them to "allow Renaissance to perform its role as manager of the hotel in accordance with the management agreement."   

Eden Roc issued a statement indicating it disagreed with Melvin Schweitzer, the New York Supreme Court Justice that issued the temporary restraining order. Eden Roc filed a $75 million lawsuit against Marriot in April for alleged mismanagement of the property. On Sunday, Eden Roc named Eden Roc Management Company as the new manager.

"Under Marriott's management, Eden Roc lost market share despite its exceptional amenities and legendary reputation,” Diego Ardid , vice president of Eden Roc, said in a statement. “Our exhaustive efforts to encourage Marriott to correct its numerous management defaults, and to preserve our partnership, proved fruitless, leaving us with no option but regain control and to put this property on the path to success.”