Hotel turns down Scientology

A Steglitz hotel will not tolerate a Scientology exhibition in
its spaces after protests

Berlin, Germany
April 18, 2000
taz Berlin

The invitations to the Best Western Hotel Steglitz International had already been sent out, but now the worldwide sect business must change the address for its "What is Scientology?" exhibition. The hotel on Albrecht Street in Steglitz, where the exhibition was supposed to have opened today, cancelled Scientology's rental contract without notice.

"No public meetings had been arranged with us," the business manager of the hotel, Klaus-Volker Stolle, founded the cancellation yesterday. He said the 500,000 leaflets in which the Scientologists have been advertising for their exhibit in recent days violate their contract with the hotel.

Key to the decision, though, was said to have been that after the business contract with the Scientologists became known, other customers announced there would be consequences. One of the customers was the federal press office, which rented rooms from the hotel for visiting groups from the federal house of representatives. It was said that the press office had written a letter which announced that it would reconsider its business relations with the hotel. "From a commercial point of view, perhaps the contract was hurting us more," said hotel business manager Stolle. He terminated the contract.

Scientology sees the behavior of the federal press office as "incredible and unprecedented official discrimination." The press office reacted calmly to the accusation. "We are free in making our selection of a hotel," said a spokeswoman. Instead of the hotel in which the Scientologists arranged a congress three years ago, the exhibition will be opened in private spaces on Dueppel Street in Steglitz. taz

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Scientology obstructed

Hotel terminates agreement under pressure from federal press office

Berlin, Germany
April 18, 2000
Tagesspiegel Online-Dienste GmbH

wik

Under pressure from the Press and Information Office of the federal government, the Hotel Best Western Steglitz International has terminated an agreement with the "Scientology Church" for spaces for an exhibition. The sect, which is under surveillance by Constitutional Security, had wanted to open their "What is Scientology?" exhibition today in the hotel. Their reservations, as verified by Klaus-Volker Stoller, the hotel's business manager, were cancelled. Stolle gave his reason as being that it had been assumed that Scientology had wanted to organize a closed seminar, not a public arrangement. Cancelling the reservations, though, started with pressure from the Press Office.

The office was said to have indirectly threatened in a letter to cancel reservations for visitor groups from the federal representative assembly for the current and next years. The press office's letter said that "understandably" one would expect guests to spend the night in "indubitable hotels." Otherwise, business relations, it continued, would have to be reconsidered. According to Stolle, about 3,000 guests would be affected by a possible cancellation. Scientology speaker Georg Stoffel expressed rage at the intervention. He said that Scientology had never been so clearly discriminated against before. The exhibition, Stoffel said, was supposed to be put on in 52 European cities and had already been presented in four German cities without any complaint. Scientology wants to file a claim for 200,000 marks in damages against the hotel. The exhibition will be opened today in private spaces.

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Hotel stops Scientology Exhibition
Government press office had protested
Scientology intends to sue

Berlin, Germany
April 18, 2000
Berliner Kurier

Steglitz - Once again the Scientology Organization (SO) in Berlin is embroiled in controversy: the corporation which presents itself as a religion had originally intended to open an exhibition in a hotel today, but their name was crossed off the list due to public pressure.

"We rented Scientology spaces for a meeting assuming a closed conference. Yet the organization distributed about 500,000 leaflets in 13 districts giving directions to the exhibition in our hotel. We perceived that our good reputation was in danger and terminated agreement," said Klaus-Volker Stolle, manager of the hotel in question in Steglitz. Also, the Press and Information Office of the federal administration had indicated in a letter to the hotel that Parliament's travel agency would cancel bookings for 2000 and 2001 if the business relations of the hotel with Scientology were not clarified. Because of that, the controversial psycho-group is now demanding 200,000 marks from the Office - for damages. Besides that, representatives of various political parties had got wind of the plans and protested. "We need neither the Scientologists nor their activities in our city," said Cerstin Richter-Kotowski, vice chief of the CDU faction in the House of Representatives. The controversial, commercially oriented group has already been under surveillance by Constitutional Security; the Berlin sect report says, "The SO's image of society stands in unmistakable tension to our basic, liberal, democratic system." Now Scientology will be opening its show today at 1 p.m. in private spaces at 30 Dueppel Street in Steglitz.

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