Hotel Accused of Seeking Higher Rates After Sandy

The former manager of a Bridgeport Holiday Inn is in court, accusing his one-time employer of firing him for refusing to raise room rates after last year's Superstorm Sandy.

William McGarry said in a lawsuit filed at state Superior Court in Bridgeport that the hotel's owners ordered him to raise room rates above normal and impose minimum stays.

The storm hit in October 2012, destroying homes along the shoreline and left hundreds of thousands of residents without power for an extended time, forcing many people to seek temporary shelter.

The Connecticut Post reports that lawyers for the Trefz Corp., owner of the hotel, would not comment.

On Tuesday, a Superior Court judge denied a request by Trefz Corp. to throw out the case.

Around 30 price gouging complaints were filed with the Department of Consumer Protection in the week following the storm.

Of those complaints, 23 were about unfair gas and fuel pricing. Four concerned price gouging by hotels and two were for overpriced tree removal services. One consumer complained about high-priced power generators that were in demand after power outages hit many areas of the state.

The state cited a Stamford hotel in June for trying to require longer than usual stays during the storm.