While on a business trip in Helsinki last year, a 30-year-old female
former investment banker living in New York says she was the victim of a
sexual assault inside her locked luxury hotel room, a new lawsuit filed
in New York charges.
The incident allegedly occurred on Jan. 15, 2011, at the exclusive Hotel Kamp, which is part of Starwood's high-end Luxury Collection group of hotels. It touts that it hosts heads of state.
Earlier in the evening of Jan. 15 somewhere inside the hotel, the man made sexual advances towards the woman -- then 30 -- and "she had made it clear that she was not interested in him," the woman's attorney, Gloria Allred, says in a statement issued today. But at around 4 a.m., the woman woke up and discovered the same man had slipped into her bed.
Fournier spoke publicly in New York today about the incident and lawsuit with her lawyer, Gloria Allred, who recently represented a woman who alleged she had an affair with Herman Cain.
How did the man get into her locked room?
Alleging negligence, the suit claims that the man gained entry to Fournier's locked room by telling the front desk a lie -- that he was her husband and had been locked out of his room.
He was given a key despite several factors: that Fournier had registered in the room as a single person, that she'd been a guest at the hotel visibly alone for about four nights when the incident happened and that Starwood security rules prohibit the handing out of a key without proper identification, Allred says.
In Starwood's statement to Hotel Check-In, the company says that its system-wide policy requires people asking for a room key to show valid ID; scroll below for Starwood's full statement.
No arrest was ever made
No arrest was ever made, Allred says, because hotel staff "made no effort after the assault to immediately call the police or report these events to law enforcement."
Fournier left Finland within hours of the assault, as did the perpetrator. In order for an arrest to be made, Fournier was later told, both she and the man would need to return to Finland.
Why sue?
Fournier says she is suing Starwood because she says she doesn't want to see another woman end up in a similar situation.
"Business travel is often a critical part of a successful career, and women should not have to fear traveling or wonder if they will be targets of violence when they are staying alone in a hotel. When I was Starwood's guest, Starwood had an obligation to protect me and it failed terribly," Alison Fournier, 31, says in her statement.
The trip was her first trip abroad for work, the lawsuit says.
Fournier says that before the incident, she was a regular guest of Starwood's hotels because she expected a "certain level of security from their hotels."
"The idea that a hotel without my permission and without even checking for identification would give my key to anyone, let alone a visibly intoxicated man so that he could gain access to my hotel room in the middle of the night and be able to get in bed with me where I was sleeping is horrifying to me. I am sure it would be shocking to any woman."
The lawsuit was filed against Starwood Hotels and Resorts in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit describes Fournier as "shattered" since the incident -- so much so that she resigned from her job and moved back to Florida to be close to her family.
Starwood's full statement
In a statement, Starwood says:
"The safety and security of our guests is our first and foremost priority. It is company-wide policy to ensure proper identification is shown and verified before distributing a key to a registered guest's room. We are taking this allegation seriously and are working with the hotel in question to understand the facts and any breach of security that may have contributed to this very unfortunate event."
The incident allegedly occurred on Jan. 15, 2011, at the exclusive Hotel Kamp, which is part of Starwood's high-end Luxury Collection group of hotels. It touts that it hosts heads of state.
Earlier in the evening of Jan. 15 somewhere inside the hotel, the man made sexual advances towards the woman -- then 30 -- and "she had made it clear that she was not interested in him," the woman's attorney, Gloria Allred, says in a statement issued today. But at around 4 a.m., the woman woke up and discovered the same man had slipped into her bed.
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READ THE LAWSUIT: Guest's lawsuit against Starwood
"Although
I was still sleepy, I bolted out of bed when he attacked me and I feel
fortunate to have been able to get out of the room and escape from him,"
Alison Fournier says in her statement.READ THE LAWSUIT: Guest's lawsuit against Starwood
Fournier spoke publicly in New York today about the incident and lawsuit with her lawyer, Gloria Allred, who recently represented a woman who alleged she had an affair with Herman Cain.
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Feeling
him grope her and feeling that she was about to be raped, Fournier
grabbed a robe, ran out of her room and ran down the hall to the front
desk, the lawsuit says. Strangely, the suit says, when she screamed that
she needed security in her room, hotel staff initially responded that
it was her husband who had entered her room. The man was allegedly
drunk.How did the man get into her locked room?
Alleging negligence, the suit claims that the man gained entry to Fournier's locked room by telling the front desk a lie -- that he was her husband and had been locked out of his room.
He was given a key despite several factors: that Fournier had registered in the room as a single person, that she'd been a guest at the hotel visibly alone for about four nights when the incident happened and that Starwood security rules prohibit the handing out of a key without proper identification, Allred says.
In Starwood's statement to Hotel Check-In, the company says that its system-wide policy requires people asking for a room key to show valid ID; scroll below for Starwood's full statement.
No arrest was ever made
No arrest was ever made, Allred says, because hotel staff "made no effort after the assault to immediately call the police or report these events to law enforcement."
Fournier left Finland within hours of the assault, as did the perpetrator. In order for an arrest to be made, Fournier was later told, both she and the man would need to return to Finland.
Why sue?
Fournier says she is suing Starwood because she says she doesn't want to see another woman end up in a similar situation.
"Business travel is often a critical part of a successful career, and women should not have to fear traveling or wonder if they will be targets of violence when they are staying alone in a hotel. When I was Starwood's guest, Starwood had an obligation to protect me and it failed terribly," Alison Fournier, 31, says in her statement.
The trip was her first trip abroad for work, the lawsuit says.
Fournier says that before the incident, she was a regular guest of Starwood's hotels because she expected a "certain level of security from their hotels."
"The idea that a hotel without my permission and without even checking for identification would give my key to anyone, let alone a visibly intoxicated man so that he could gain access to my hotel room in the middle of the night and be able to get in bed with me where I was sleeping is horrifying to me. I am sure it would be shocking to any woman."
The lawsuit was filed against Starwood Hotels and Resorts in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit describes Fournier as "shattered" since the incident -- so much so that she resigned from her job and moved back to Florida to be close to her family.
Starwood's full statement
In a statement, Starwood says:
"The safety and security of our guests is our first and foremost priority. It is company-wide policy to ensure proper identification is shown and verified before distributing a key to a registered guest's room. We are taking this allegation seriously and are working with the hotel in question to understand the facts and any breach of security that may have contributed to this very unfortunate event."
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