CCTV footage showing pub patrons engaged in sexual activity in a lift was edited into a video and shown at an awards event for hotel group Merivale.
The video, which does not hide the identity of those involved, shows clients having sex in the elevator and urinating in public in several establishments of the hotel group.
The video was shown on several screens during the Merivales Awards at the Ivy in Sydney’s CBD accompanied by the phrase “Big Brother is always watching”.
The video was revealed as part of an ABC investigation into Merivalea billion-dollar business owned by Justin Hemmes, which operates 81 restaurants, pubs and bars on Australia’s east coast.
Two female attendees who leaked the footage reported that their screening was met with awkward laughter and “sounds of surprise.”
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” one said.
Both left Merivale shortly after the event, saying the video “reflected” the group’s culture, which former employees have recently described as “toxic.”
“Maybe some of those girls in those videos were very intoxicated, they could have been raped,” another added.
The hotel group led by Justin Hemmes (pictured) has been the subject of a series of shocking allegations from former employees and customers.
But a Merivale spokesman said the footage was played ahead of a “private, invitation-only event” and that “no complaints had been received regarding the video in question”.
“Merivale premises are fully monitored by CCTV, a matter which is notified to customers and staff by clear signage to that effect,” a spokesperson told the ABC.
‘The video surveillance system covers the public spaces of our establishment, which is legal and standard practice in large hospitality establishments.
‘It is legal for Merivale to capture these images and there can be no reasonable expectation of privacy for any of those in attendance.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, Merivale is not aware of any complaints arising from ‘the Merivales’ in 2017.’
That wasn’t the only serious accusation made against the hotel giant on the ABC show.
Jess Helsinki, a customer at the Ivy, reported that an employee tried to force her and her friend to have sex with VIP guests.
Ms. Helsinki told the alphabet They were looking for their group of colleagues when an employee approached them and said he would help them.
However, alarm bells began to ring when they were led to a service lift and a VIP lounge before being asked to sit on either side of a group of men.
“The man next to me leaned over and asked, ‘When did you get into the industry?'” Ms. Helsinki said.
He clarified that he was referring to the sex industry and said the employee told the group that the couple were “sex workers” and that they were “going to spend the night” with them.
Jess Helsinki, a customer at the Ivy, reported that an employee tried to force her and her friend to have sex with VIP guests.
Ms Helsinki attempted to raise the issue with Merivale management but was told an internal investigation “found no information to support the claims”.
Management suggested she take the matter to the police, and it is still under investigation.
In another case reported on Wednesday, a former Coogee Pavilion employee said a colleague drugged and raped her at his home one night in 2018.
“He was much bigger than me and he just pinned me against the wall,” he said.
“I made it very clear to him the whole time that I wanted him to stop, and he didn’t.”
The woman, who was 22 at the time, reported the incident to the company but says she was forced to continue working with the person she accused for the next “month or two.”
The woman alleged that management told her “there is nothing we can do” because she had not filed a police report.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Merivale for comment.