When the organization defaults, the attendees pay?

This is a new one on me: When an organization failed to pay its meeting tab on time, the facility started to charge the attendees. From an article in the ReviewJournal.com:

The Coaching Center of Austin, Texas, was delinquent to the Westin Casuarina on payment of nearly $57,000 in unpaid food, beverage and associated costs. Dible, and other conference attendees and speakers recently began receiving charges on their credit card statements for a "pro-rated amount per attendee" from the hotel.

"We told (the Coaching Center) we would have no recourse but to charge the attendees," said Hud Englehart, spokesman for the Westin's owner, Crestview Hills, Ky.-based Columbia Sussex. "That still didn't cause them to bring payment forth so we began charging the attendees."

What?? I've never heard of this one before.