SC hotel sues GOP group over unpaid $228,000 bill

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A ritzy Charleston hotel is accusing a Republican group of skipping out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in hotel bills.

Charleston Place Hotel is suing the Southern Republican Leadership Conference for breach of contract. The hotel says the group didn’t pay nearly $228,000 in bills its attendees racked up during a late January gathering.

The lawsuit filed in Charleston County last week says the conference booked nearly every room in the hotel for the weekend before South Carolina’s GOP presidential primary.

The hotel says the conference was so poorly attended that many of its sponsors pulled out. Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich backed out of a planned appearance, citing low attendance.

The conference disputed the claims in a statement, promising its own lawsuit against the hotel.