26 August 2020

A class action style suit has been filed in the UK against hotel group Marriott International following a massive data breach that exposed the information of some 500 million guests around the world.

The breach exposed including around 30 million residents of the European Union, between July 2014 and September 2018. Representative legal action against Marriott has been filed by UK resident, Martin Bryant, on behalf of millions of hotel guests domiciled in England & Wales who made reservations at hotel brands globally within the Starwood Hotels group, which is now part of Marriott International.

Hackers gained access to the systems of the Starwood Hotels group, starting in 2014, where they were able to help themselves to information such as guests’ names; email and postal addresses; telephone numbers; gender and credit card data. Marriott International acquired the Starwood Hotels group in 2016 — but the breach went undiscovered until 2018.

Bryant is being represented by international law firm, Hausfeld, which specialises in group actions. “Over a period of several years, Marriott International failed to take adequate technical or organisational measures to protect millions of their guests’ personal data which was entrusted to them,” said Hausfeld partner. “Marriott International acted in clear breach of data protection laws specifically put in place to protect data subjects.”

A Marriott International spokesperson said it does not comment on pending litigation.