Shelbourne Hotel management dispute goes to Supreme Court

THE company operating Dublin’s five-star Shelbourne Hotel will ask the Supreme Court tomorrow to continue a stay on a High Court order directing it to give the hotel owners access to its books and records.

Torriam Hotel Operating Company, part of the Marriott international hotel group, wants the stay to continue pending the outcome of its appeal against a decision of Mr Justice Peter Kelly last month requiring it to make available to Shelbourne Hotel Holding Company Ltd (SHHL) a range of material including minutes of management meetings, Torriam’s internal control system manual and details of internal audits and reports.

The judge also ordered Torriam to provide details of actions it took as a result of any risk identified during an internal audit at the Shelbourne and details of the scope of a task force sent in by the Marriott Group to review its operation.

He ordered SHHL should be given details of access rights to each computer system, customer names and details of employees including their salaries, bonuses, benefits, disciplinary action and tax information.

SHHL had sought access to the books and records after claiming the 262-room hotel, bought and refurbished by SHHL at a cost of €1 million per room, was being run in a “shambolic style”.

Torriam denied those claims and said it had complied with its obligations under a 20-year hotel management agreement. It also said the public airing of the owner’s claims was causing “huge damage” to the hotel and sought a stay on SHHL’s proceedings to terminate the management agreement to allow the matter to go to arbitration.

Last month, the judge agreed to grant a stay on the proceedings to terminate the management agreement pending arbitration and also agreed to put a stay until Friday on his order directing access to the hotel’s books and records. Torriam will apply to the Supreme Court tomorrow to continue that stay pending its appeal.