Marriott under fire for Thai prostitute comments

US-based hotel chain Marriott has been attacked by Thai feminists after a comment on one of its Web sites said only prostitutes wear sleeveless blouses and shorts.

The comment was posted on one of Marriott's subsidiary sites in a Bangkok city section advising people on what to wear while in Thailand.

"Among women, only prostitutes wear sleevless blouses and/or shorts," the city guide told tourists.

Paveena Hongsakul, an opposition party member of parliament and head of a women's foundation, told Reuters the comment was an affront to Thai women and that she would submit a letter urging the hotel to apologise and change the message.

"This is unacceptable. They've made it sound like all Thai women are prostitutes," she said.

A spokeswoman for Marriott said: "Marriott is very concerned about this and has apologised."

She added that the information on that part of the site was not published by Marriott but added that the company was taking full responsibility for the comments.

She went on to say that Marriott was "very careful" about information on the site but sometimes things "just slipped through".

The comments have now been removed from the site.