Man sues SF hotel, alleging he was assaulted by homeless man

A California man is suing a downtown San Francisco hotel alleging that it did not do enough to protect him from an alleged attack by an individual wielding a piece of wood outside the hotel last summer.

The lawsuit, filed Dec. 29, 2023, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, seeks damages of at least $25,000 following an alleged attack outside the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.

According to the suit, Henri Guite was “in the breezeway” of the hotel on June 26, 2023, when he was “assaulted by a homeless man wielding a 2×4 type piece of lumber.” The suit does not specify whether Guite was staying at the hotel and alleges that he was attacked “while he walked into the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.”

Guite is represented by Morgan & Morgan Los Angeles, a personal injury firm, and his attorney Erik Harper didn’t respond by press time. 

The lawsuit argues that San Francisco is experiencing “a severe homelessness crisis and high crime” and that the Marriott Marquis is located in “a hot bed for homelessness, drug use, and criminal activity,” and so it was “easily foreseeable” that an attack could occur on or near the hotel’s property. 

The Marriott Marquis, one of the largest hotels in San Francisco, is located across the street from the Moscone Center. 

Representatives for the Marriott Marquis didn’t respond by press time. A case management conference is set for May 29.

The lawsuit, first reported by the San Francisco Business Times, comes as the San Francisco hospitality industry grapples with concerns about safety for their guests and employees.

The Hotel Council of San Francisco created a Security Committee in 2022 specifically for hotel leaders to meet monthly, share information and develop best practices for fostering safer environments. 

“We’ve seen real success and repeat offenders have been held accountable due to the security committee,” Alex Bastian, president and CEO of the Hotel Council, told SFGATE. “In fact, our security committee helped recover a kidnapped child a few months back.”