The operators of two Dorint hotels failed with a lawsuit before the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on Thursday. Supervisory board chairman Dirk Iserlohe now wants to go to the Federal Constitutional Court. The BGH negotiated on Thursday to what extent the federal and state governments have to pay for losses that companies have suffered during the pandemic.
The Bremen Dorint hotels in question had tried to obtain compensation for their costs and lack of profits in 2020 and 2021. They had argued that unlawful and disproportionate restrictions had been imposed on them during the pandemic. In addition, they were not adequately compensated by government Corona aid.
The process is part of a whole series of legal disputes that Dorint supervisory board chairman Dirk Iserlohe has initiated in all 14 federal states in which his hotel chain is represented. He criticizes what he sees as the arbitrary state cap on compensation payments. Iserlohe feels it is unfair that his group, which includes 60 hotels, was only compensated for around 45 percent of the losses incurred during the pandemic. Operators of small and medium-sized hotel companies, on the other hand, would have received compensation of up to 100 percent. “I’m around 45 million short of equality, plus interest and court costs, that’s around 60 million,” said Iserlohe South German newspaper. “It’s not easy to put up with.”
The BGH, on the other hand, stated in a press release after the trial that it considered the size of a company to be “an appropriate distinguishing factor with regard to the distribution of state aid to mitigate the economic consequences of the pandemic.” Larger companies would find it easier to get loans than smaller ones and could also raise money on the capital market. The federal government has also set up the Economic Stabilization Fund to support larger companies. However, companies must repay the aid granted under the fund with interest.
Iserlohe said he was “not disappointed, but still frustrated” about the current verdict. He now intends to submit an urgent application to the Federal Constitutional Court within the next eight weeks. “Settlement takes place at Schloßplatz and not at any court before.” The Dorint boss, whose hotels say he employs more than 4,000 people, has already written more than 120 letters of complaint to politicians, most recently to Economics Minister Robert Habeck. However, the answers were disappointing.