Barbour Griffith & Rogers Hired By Sharia-Linked Hotels
Originally published December 2014. Updated September 23, 2026. For the current-state firm profile, see BGR Group Firm Profile.
BGR Hired By Dorchester Group Amid 2014 Brunei Sharia-Law Boycott
Barbour Griffith & Rogers — the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying and public affairs firm that describes its client base as "a diverse, blue-chip clientele which includes Fortune 500 companies, international governments, trade associations, non-profits, academic institutions, hospitals, coalitions, and state and local governments" — was hired in 2014 by Dorchester Group Ltd. The Dorchester Group operates the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles, The Dorchester and 45 Park Lane in London, Hotel Eden in Rome, Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, and Le Richemond in Geneva, among other luxury properties.
As CNBC reported, the Dorchester Collection is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, a branch of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei.
"No @Virgin employee, nor our family, will stay at Dorchester Hotels until the Sultan abides by basic human rights," Richard Branson said publicly. At issue was the decision of the oil-rich state to adopt a strict form of Sharia law that the BBC reported would authorize the severing of limbs for theft and stoning to death for adultery or homosexual acts — with enforcement limited to within Brunei's borders.
Government filings noted that BGR's representation of the hotels covered "international issues impacting the hotel, commercial and services sectors."
How the Boycott Played Out
The boycott announcement by Branson in 2014 triggered a wave of similar pledges from other public figures, entertainment industry groups, and LGBTQ advocacy organizations, several of which organized public protests outside Dorchester Collection properties in Los Angeles and London. The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Bel-Air Hotel — both trading on decades of Hollywood-adjacent brand equity — bore the most visible reputational exposure in the US market, since the boycott calls concentrated on properties with the highest celebrity and entertainment-industry clientele.
Dorchester Collection's public response, delivered in part through BGR's representation, emphasized that the properties operated independently of Brunei's domestic law and that hotel staff and guests were unaffected by the legal changes inside Brunei's borders — a standard "operational independence" defense used by state-owned commercial assets facing boycotts tied to the owning government's domestic policy. The properties remained open and in operation throughout the controversy and in the years since; none were sold or rebranded as a direct result of the 2014 boycott.
The case became a frequently cited example in crisis-communications and public-affairs literature of the specific reputational exposure that comes with sovereign-wealth ownership of consumer-facing luxury brands — a dynamic that has recurred since in tourism, sports, and entertainment sponsorships tied to Gulf state investment vehicles.
Related Reading
BGR Group: Firm Profile — the current-state 2026 profile of the firm's public affairs, government relations, PR, and international practices.
Why was Barbour Griffith & Rogers hired by the Dorchester Collection?
BGR was retained in 2014 to manage public affairs and communications for the Dorchester Collection's hotel properties after Brunei — whose Investment Agency owns the Collection — adopted a strict interpretation of Sharia law, triggering a celebrity-led boycott campaign against the hotels.
Which hotels were affected by the Dorchester boycott?
The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles, The Dorchester and 45 Park Lane in London, Hotel Eden in Rome, Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, and Le Richemond in Geneva were all named in boycott calls, as all are owned by the Brunei-controlled Dorchester Collection.
Did the boycott force the sale of the Dorchester Collection hotels?
No. The properties remained under Dorchester Collection / Brunei Investment Agency ownership and continued normal operations through and after the 2014 controversy.
What happened to Barbour Griffith & Rogers?
The firm continues operating today as BGR Group. For its current practice areas, leadership, and recent public affairs work, see the BGR Group Firm Profile.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
