The American Jewish Committee has filed suit against a New York City travel agency for using the “exclusive club” device to bar Jewish patron age from a Florida hotel, it was announced today.
The suit has been filed with the New York State Commission Against Discrimination against the Robert F. Wagner Agency, New York City representative for the Lido Biltmore Hotel, Sarasota, Florida. According to the complaint, the Lido-Biltmore was operated as a hotel and accommodated members of the Jewish faith until the Fall of 1956. At that time it came under new ownership and was declared a private club.
The suit charged, however, that public patronage was solicited by the Warner Agency through the use of advertising which stated in part: “Once a famous hotel, now a smart club.” A co-complainant with the Committee, and others who had previously stayed at the Lido-Biltmore, were refused accommodations on the ground that the Lido-Biltmore was a private club reserved exclusively for its members. The Committee pointed out that reservations continued to be solicited from the general public and accepted from persons who apparently are not of the Jewish faith.
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