HotelChatter

Marriott's COO Arne Sorenson has released a statement to the WSJ saying this was an "illegal event" and that the owners of the hotel threatened employees with dismissal unless they agreed to the new management. Marriott now intends to "aggressively and vigorously pursue all remedies against the owner and its partners." The hotel owners meanwhile maintain they have the legal right to kick Edition out because Marriott was mismanaging the property and losing money.

Right now, all signage at the hotel has been covered up or changed to reflect the new hotel name, The Modern Honolulu. The new management company is Aqua Hotels and Resorts who operate a bunch of other hotels in Hawaii, typically on the budgety end.

Meanwhile, the Edition Waikiki's website is still up but reservations are not going through. Given the hotel's occupancy woes we know they are not sold-out so this is definitely to do with the drama that's going down.

The hotel is also not showing up on Aqua Hotels yet so if you're keen to stay here you should probably call the property to make your reservations. Unless they changed the phone number too. And if they did, we'd advise you to stay away from a property with such bad vibes. (This also does not bode well for the Hawaiian Food and Wine Festival which is to take place at the hotel on September 29.)

In other Edition news, Sorenson told the WSJ that Edition plans to open its London and Miami Beach properties in the next year or two. (Weakly raises hands in the air and says, "Yay?")

Do you work at the Edition Waikiki/Modern Honolulu? Tell us what the morale is like at the hotel! As always, anonymity assured!