Why The Warwick Was So Popular This Week

September 23, 2011 at 12:23 PM | by ASchechter | Comments (0)

Despite their best efforts, United Against Nuclear Iran was not able to convince every hotel that it would be a bad idea to host Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And now, after several days of being surrounded by vehement protests and demonstrations, The Warwick is probably regretting its decision to temporarily house the Iranian president and his entourage.

A CBS news reporter managed to sneak a camera into the hotel, and was welcomed by anti-Ahmadinejad activists, who had installed themselves on the eleventh floor. So what was the Warwick's excuse? Did they miss the memo? Were they making a ton of money? Did they just feel like going against the trend?

Swarming around the hotel were protesters dressed up in fake Ahmadinejad clothing and rubber masks, not to mention upset neighborhood residents, who saw the Iranian president's visit as a scourge on the neighborhood. However well-remunerated the hotel was by the end of his stay, surely it can't be worth losing the respect of a whole neighborhood? One of the activists, Nathan Carleton, had this to say:

"I think that it�s obvious that a lot of hotels did not want to host him. Maybe they don�t support him. Maybe they don�t want his money. Maybe they don�t want to deal with this mess that he�s caused at the Warwick"

So why did The Warwick decide to take him? Read their half-ass response:

"We are ready to cater to the needs of UN delegates and other representatives in support of the official event."

Now that the Warwick has almost certainly been blacklisted by quite a few, how will they ever make it up to the city? Maybe they should take a page out of Affinia Manhattan's book. You can't go wrong with cupcakes.

[Photo: CBS]

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