No, Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotel in Marrakech is not hosting earthquake victims

By: Arron Williams
September 12 2023

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Context

On 8 September 2023, at 11:11 p.m., a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Morocco. According to the BBC, the quake caused severe widespread damage, killing over 2,000 people and destroying buildings in Marrakech. The country's royal palace issued three days of national mourning in response to the disaster.

Following the earthquake, users on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) have claimed that a hotel owned by Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has been hosting refugees and victims. These claims state that Ronaldo called for the hotel in Marrakech to open its doors and offer free rooms to earthquake victims and that it has become a shelter. This claim has gained widespread traction and has been picked up by various online news sites. 

In fact

The hotel manager has stated that the hotel is not hosting earthquake refugees, and we could find no statement by Ronaldo about providing free rooms to earthquake victims.

The hotel in Marrakech, Pestana CR7, is part of a partnership between the Pestana Hotel Group and Ronaldo, as confirmed by the Pestana CR7 website. Forbes reported in 2016 that Ronaldo invested over $40 million to become the co-owner of a hotel range with locations in Portugal, Spain, and the U.S. The Pestana Hotel Group manages the hotel range, named CR7 after Ronaldo's other companies. There is no official statement that the Marrakech hotel has opened as a refuge for earthquake victims on the Pestana Hotel Group website or Twitter account.  

French News outlet Libération checked the claims and contacted the hotel on 10 September. The hotel told Libération, "This is false information. All the customers we have at the moment have made a reservation normally." Israel-based news outlet Ynetnews also spoke to the hotel chain on 10 September, who told them, "It is not accurate to say that we are hosting refugees and victims." They further stated that the hotel was unaffected by the earthquake, and according to Ynetnews, the hotel's operation manager was surprised by the claims. Logically Facts contacted the Pestana Hotel Group but has not received a reply.

According to Libération and Ynetnews, the claims were based on an interview with a Spanish tourist in Marrakech. In an interview with local news, the tourist stated that hotels had become shelters for victims and that she got a free room at Ronaldo's hotel after spending nights on the street. Whether the tourist got a free room at the hotel is unconfirmed, but the hotel has refuted claims that it is offering refuge to earthquake victims.

The verdict

The hotel has stated that they are not hosting refugees of the earthquake, and there is no statement by Ronaldo to confirm that he opened the hotel to earthquake victims. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.