Dallas Hotel Evicts All DaddyLand Party Guests

A Dallas hotel that was hosting the DaddyLand Festival gay circuit party last weekend abruptly evicted participants after other guests, including members of a historically Black sorority, allegedly complained.

According to the Dallas Voice, the Crowne Plaza Dallas Downtown was booked to host the festival — which had an ancient Greek “mythology” theme — from July 3 to 8.

But on Saturday, July 6, the hotel canceled all remaining LGBTQ DaddyLand events and asked all participants to leave the premises by 6 p.m.

DaddyLand organizers posted messages on social media about the cancellation, which they attributed to complaints from non-festival guests.

“During negotiations to rectify the situation and offering to place extra security and make more accommodation to the guest staying in the hotel, ownership became outwardly disrespectful to the team, its party guests, and parts of our community,” the Facebook post reads.

“While we stand up for the many, for the actions of the few, the owner refused to listen to reason and made the decision to evict without notice everyone attending our events. We are committed to making this right for those affected.”

The post said remaining festival events would continue as scheduled with the exception of after-hours events that were to be held in the hotel. It also alluded to rumors spreading on social media about the cancellation, calling them “untrue.”

However, a piece of paper, bearing the Crowne Plaza logo, was subsequently distributed to hotel guests attending the festival.

“TAKE A MOMENT, DADDYLAND GROUP PARTICIPANT,” the flyer read. “We are sorry it didn’t work out. The OWNER OF THE HOTEL is requesting you LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. You will get a refund for Saturday, July 6, 2024, and Sunday, July 7, 2024. Please move out by 6 p.m. ALL PARTIES AND EVENTS ARE CANCELLED: SATURDAY 7/6, SUNDAY 7/7, AND MONDAY 7/8.”

Jason Martinez, a former DaddyLand employee, told the Dallas Voice that problems between the event producer, “Daddy Ersin” Winokur, and the host hotel had started long before the cancellation.

According to Martinez, the hotel’s sales manager had informed him that the corporate office of the hotel’s parent company, InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, had been receiving multiple complaints about a dark room referred to as a “boom boom room” being advertised on promotional materials.

Martinez claimed he had reached out to Winokur about the issue, but Winokur did not return his calls. When Martinez ran into Winokur at a Pride event, “he acted like nothing was wrong, and that there was no situation with corporate.”

Martinez claims to have worked for Winokur’s various events for the past six years, but quit last month after the DaddyLand Pride event, when Winokur accused him of stealing money. He shared screenshots of those conversations with the Dallas Voice.

Metro Weekly has reached out to Winokur for comment.

According to The Advocate, the hotel ultimately asked people in 88 rooms to vacate the premises. Some attendees said they were asleep or away from the hotel when the notices to vacate were distributed, leaving them only minutes to pack once they found out.

The Crowne Plaza’s owner, Terry Tognazzini, told The Advocate that the eviction was a response to complaints from members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., a historically Black sorority and one of the “Divine Nine,” whose members include Vice President Kamala Harris.

The AKA members were at the hotel for their own event and were allegedly made uncomfortable by the attire and behavior of DaddyLand attendees.

Tognazzini claimed that some people associated with DaddyLand were mostly undressed in public areas of the hotel. Between 30 to 40 sorority members threatened to cancel their reservations, though about 20 returned. He added that his decision was driven by a need to protect the hotel’s reputation and a desire to make sure all hotel guests were comfortable.

“We have rules here of clothes, and they’re supposed to wear their clothes, and they didn’t wear their clothes,” he claimed.

A DaddyLand staff member, who spoke to The Advocate on condition of anonymity, disputed Tognazzini’s version of events.

The staffer claimed the event followed all its usual protocols and that complaints were overblown. The staffer also said that while some attendees might have been scantily clad — such as wearing jockstraps or minimal clothing in the event space — it was no different from a regular circuit party. Other guests, who came to the event fully clothed, may have disrobed once they were in the private area.  

The staffer added that the hotel’s decision to cancel all on-site DaddyLand events misled many attendees into believing that off-site events in Dallas were also canceled, resulting in significant financial losses. 

One attendee also disputes tales of conflict between AKA members and DaddyLand attendees, telling The Advocate that members of both groups were complimenting each other’s outfits in the hotel lobby, and that no one seemed outwardly upset.

Among the rumors that spread via Reddit and other social media platforms were allegations that DaddyLand attendees had been nude and unconscious in the lobby, that some had flashed hotel guests in an elevator, or that syringes with the erectile dysfunction medication Trimix were discovered in an area designated as the “boom boom room,” where attendees were having sex.

Both Tognazzini and the anonymous DaddyLand staffer told The Advocate those rumors were untrue. Tognazzini went further, saying that the decision to evict DaddyLand attendees was based solely on complaints about attire.

Some attendees, who were understandably upset by being told to vacate their rooms without much notice, alleged that the hotel’s actions were homophobic.

Kayvon Sohrabi, a clothing designer and vendor at the event, who was kicked out of his hotel room along with his husband and two dogs, told The Advocate, “A pool party at the hotel had women dressed in bikini tops and bottoms walking through the lobby, and nobody seemed to care. But gay men in short shorts and tank tops led to a mass eviction.”

Sohrabi later shared that story in a video he posted to Instagram, demonstrating the double standard regarding revealing attire.

Tognazzini told The Advocate the incident cost the hotel between $60,000 and $70,000. He said the hotel had previously hosted DaddyLand events without issue, but that this year’s event was different.

He also noted that the incident could have been avoided had the promoters bought out the entire hotel for the week. He disputed allegations of homophobia, claiming he is a liberal, has a gay son, and that the hotel has hosted other LGBTQ events and parties, without incident.

Tognazzini said he would no longer work with DaddyLand’s promoter in the future due to their poor handling of the situation, stating, “The last time, they were perfect. This time, it went to hell.”