Mexican authorities abruptly and without warning shut down a longtime LGBTQ hotel in Puerto Vallarta Friday night, leaving some guests with their belongings tossed in the street. Hotel Mercurio had been in operation for 22 years in the heart of the resort city's gay-popular Zona Romantica neighborhood, south of downtown.
The hotel's American owner, Paul Crist, is well known for his work in support of the LGBTQ community. The shutdown came days before Puerto Vallarta Pride, scheduled to run May 22-26.
The May 17 forced closure was apparently the result of a long simmering lawsuit stemming from the sale of the property from a German owner to Crist in 2002. In an open letter published by the Puerto Vallarta LGBTQ publication Out and About Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, May 19, Crist wrote that his financial issues cascaded as a result of the previous hotel owner granting him a two-year mortgage to pay off part of the $400,000 purchase price. Crist wrote that the owner eventually refused to give him the receipts he needed to take the tax deduction for the mortgage payments. Crist believes that may have been done so that the previous owner could avoid paying taxes on those payments.
"I tried to renegotiate regarding his willingness to follow tax law, but he was adamant," Crist wrote. "And I refused to pay without a factura [invoice] for each payment. I tried to report him to SAT, the Mexican tax authorities, and nothing ever came of it. And then he sued me for non-payment in 2005."
Crist stated that he owns everything in the property, including the furniture and appliances that were removed from the hotel, and has instructed his hotel manager to sell everything and distribute the proceeds to his 24 employees.
Crist added that his attorney believes that the eviction was carried out illegally and is drawing up papers to fight it but Crist, 66, said he was not optimistic he would prevail.
"I have failed my staff most of all," Crist wrote. "I have failed my hotel clients. I have failed my community. I have failed the people I love the most, especially my husband, who I had hoped to leave a great legacy. I feel deeply humiliated, very, very tired, and very much a failure."
Jorge Gonzalez, who had worked for two decades at the hotel's bar affectionately called "Jorge's Bar," told the Bay Area Reporter that there was no warning about the closure.
"We are just a little in shock," Gonzalez said in a Facebook voice message. "Everybody's dealing with this in their own way."
He said multiple police officers first approached the hotel's receptionist and the word circulated back to him at the bar that they were locking the hotel and everyone must go. He said they took everything out of the hotel, including the refrigerators. Photos and videos on social media show furniture, including mattresses, being removed from the hotel.
Gonzalez said it reminded him of the last scene in the "Friends" TV show where everything was emptied from the apartment where most of the series was set.
Another longtime Mercurio employee, Briam Robles, told the B.A. R. that the shutdown happened on his day off and he didn't know if he would get severance pay.
"I was awaiting for the answer of the hotel, afterwards will see what I gonna do," he texted to the B.A.R. over a Facebook direct message.
San Francisco resident Michael Williams, who was visiting Puerto Vallarta, witnessed the scene outside the hotel when he went to stop by on Saturday morning to say hello to his friends who work there.
"I thought they were remodeling. Then I learned they had closed Mercurio without warning. All guests and belongings were put on the street. The owner's keys were confiscated. I went by and saw men tearing down everything in the lobby and the kitchen was completely gone."
A guest with the handle PR Vagabond wrote on Tripadvisor.com that he was staying at the hotel when the closure happened. He had paid in advance when he arrived at the hotel, with four more days left on his stay when he was told to get out. He posted photos of the police action on Tripadvisor.
"Dozens of people were removing everything, furniture, washing machine, everything, and guests were simply told to move out immediately. Police were supervising the entire process," he wrote.
In a Facebook post Sunday afternoon, Crist linked to his open letter. He wrote in part, "I will not be on social media from here forward, will not be in public at all, and will not be responding to messages and phone calls.
"If you wish, and are able to help my staff, and by that I mean some money, please contact Gabriel Bojorquez by Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp (+52) 322 135 8048," he added. "Please do not flood him with messages of concern and help if he needs 'someone to talk to.'
"And please, no need to respond to this post," Crist wrote. "I appreciate your love and concern. But I cannot respond right now."
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