Without knowing for sure, I'll blame the lawyers. That's the only possible way I can excuse a Marriott franchisee for testing a boneheaded defense in a civil suit brought by a guest who was raped in front of her children in a parking garage at the Stamford, CT Marriott. Last week, the hotel asserted the attack was the guest's fault because she "failed to exercise due care for her own safety...and proper use of her senses and facilities."
Following a barrage of bad publicity and scathing comments from a slew of bloggers, Marriott International apparently got the franchisee to back off and issued a public apology.
I'm not sure where the law falls in this case, but it was a huge PR blunder for the franchisee to adopt this tactic. As I said, it must have been the lawyers.