Disney to stop payment of 1 lakh workers to save $500 million a month during COVID-19, Financial Times reported. Disney will give healthcare benefit to staff and has asked them to apply for benefit through US’ $2 trillion relief package .
Its theme parks and hotels have been shut across US and Europe for 5 weeks
Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, Tripadvisor announced a workforce reduction that will impact more than 900 employees, which is approximately one-quarter of our total workforce.
Here’s a brief summary of what I shared with our team earlier today:
Team:
I delivered some tough news about steps we are taking as a company to seek significant cost savings that will help Tripadvisor get to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic. I know that today marks a difficult day for many of our colleagues and friends. Everyone’s lives have been upended by this virus, and I continue to be profoundly humbled by and, at the same time, so proud to see everyone in this company rising to the occasion. I’ve been in awe, watching you all work day and night to ensure travelers and our travel partners receive the high level of service expected of our brand as teams remain virtually connected and productive.
But sometimes, the most valiant of efforts aren’t enough to counter outside circumstances and, as a public company, it is our responsibility to adjust, adapt and evolve to the environment that surrounds us.
Here is our new reality as a company
We need to take action to ensure Tripadvisor can focus on its mission to serve travelers for years and decades to come. The management team and I have been executing a three-phased plan to navigate near-term challenges and position our business for recovery.
As I shared with you a few weeks ago, this included a series of Phase 1 decisions:
We cut nearly all but the most essential discretionary spending, effectively ending all business travel, ending non-essential vendor relationships, pausing nearly all hiring and significantly reducing office perks and benefits;
I declined a salary for the remainder of 2020; and
We would pull every lever we could in order to preserve as many jobs as possible.
As the pandemic progressed faster than anyone anticipated, we determined the need to enact Phase 2 of our cost reduction plans.
Taking advantage of government subsidy programs in Europe, we were able to swiftly furlough hundreds of employees, primarily at TheFork, in sales-related roles. We hope to bring back these furloughed employees later in the year as the industry recovery is realized. This immediate action helped Tripadvisor to preserve needed operating capital.
We had hoped cutting discretionary expenses and furloughs would be enough, but as the pandemic worsened, it became clear that the company needed to take additional cost saving measures.
Today, I announced Phase 3, which includes a significant workforce reduction and additional Tripadvisor employee furloughs.
In most markets, we will also be asking for the majority of our remaining salaried employees to take both a temporary pay reduction and also to work a reduced schedule for the summer months.
Some of the guiding principles that influenced these decisions include a focus on:
Reducing our overall headcount across the company, particularly in areas where we are seeing reduced client demand;
Reducing management layers, giving more responsibility to a fewer number of people;
Closing open roles within the company that are not deemed essential to our immediate needs, as we radically focus on the most important priorities;
Reducing our global real estate footprint (which currently includes 52 offices we maintain around the world);
And importantly, supporting our people as they exit the organization.
To help, we are launching the Tripadvisor Alumni Network, a community of current and past employees of this company who can assist in transition efforts. As a part of the network, we are creating an opt-in list of impacted employees that we will share with our network in the hopes that they might help our teammates who are seeking future employment. We will also provide a secure, private way for both our employee and alumni communities to share job leads, provide support, and keep in touch. iT will support those leaving the organization by facilitating connections, sharing job leads, and, for those employees who opt-in, making their names visible to organizations that are hiring.
Our path moving forward
Tripadvisor was organized in a way that allows for ambitious and transformative improvements to the consumer experience. We reorganized Tripadvisor to more directly focus on the traveler. As ONE Tripadvisor, we’re thinking more holistically about the traveler seeking advice on where to go and stay, thinking about how to get there and what to do when they arrive. Decisions that impact travelers have been made holistically, with detailed consideration of the trade-offs that relate to our Tripadvisor platform operations, our business strategy and our anticipated financial results.
Creating compelling consumer offerings for travelers and diners
As a result of these changes:
We are integrating the Tripadvisor Flights, Car and Cruise teams into the B2C team under Lindsay.
Cruise Critic will continue to run as a standalone business, and will now report into Ernst Teunissen, our Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Leadership Team.
Additionally, we will also be dissolving SmarterTravel as a business unit. As we determine the future path for these media brands, we will integrate SmarterTravel’s portfolio of branded sites into Lindsay Nelson’s organization.
Serving our media partners and the 8 Million+ travel, hospitality and tourism businesses listed on Tripadvisor
Kanika Soni, our Chief Commercial Officer, will lead a unified B2B organization that supports all 8 million+ partners listed on Tripadvisor by helping them reach our highly qualified audience via the Hotel Auction and our existing advertising products and media solutions.
As we look to diversify and grow our revenue, our B2B teams will also:
Merge Tripadvisor’s B2B Restaurants team with our B2B Accommodations team By joining forces with the group formerly known as Hotel Solutions, we are going to bring the best minds in the company together to deliver and offer best-in-class support for ALL of our partners
Focus on launching and expanding our new SaaS offerings (e.g. menu distribution, reputation management) for both our Hotel & Restaurant partners.
Unify our advertising sales organizations, inclusive of the non-endemic display sales team
The future of experiences and restaurants reservations
Our experiences and restaurant reservations businesses face the same challenges as Tripadvisor during this pandemic, but I continue to believe that both TheFork and Viator have bright futures before them as each of these brands navigate this crisis. As such:
TheFork has been one of the fastest growing businesses within Tripadvisor’s portfolio, and with Bertrand’s entire focus back on this business, we are confident this trend will continue.
Viator’s future remains bright as a standalone Experiences OTA, under the leadership of Ben Drew as its president and ELT member
Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
SV: The journey has been very interesting, it started way back in 1996 when I joined the Institute of Advance Management, Kolkata for doing my Hotel Management. In 1999 post passing out did not have a job at hand for close to 03 months post which I started as a Asst Steward with a stand-alone restaurant in Kala Ghoda (Mumbai). Got my first break in Sales & Marketing after a period of 09 months at Hotel Parle International and then never looked back. Worked with various hotels like Alcon Victor, Intercontinental The Grand, Fariyas, Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts and finally joining Hyatt in Aug 2008 as Director of Sales for Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa. Post which I moved as Director of Sales & Marketing to Hyatt Regency Kolkata followed by Park Hyatt Chennai and then Grand Hyatt Mumbai before moving as General Manager to Hyatt Place Hampi
Revenue management sits at the heart of all the action within a hospitality operation. Decisions are made real time and there is always something new on the horizon. What you learnt while training for hospitality or even over the years can become redundant very quickly if you don’t keep up with evolving trends, techniques and tools.
Pawan Sahani of Hospitality Minds India was quick to pick up on this. Having started his career at Hotel Grand Residency and after nearly 4 years at Hospitality Minds India, when the opportunity to upskill with Australian Revenue Management Association (ARMA) came up, he could not refuse. He knew the course’s practical make-up that armed students with knowledge and tips that he can apply at his work every day.
Pawan came across the first level of the ARMA course, part of which is offered at a discounted rate to STAAH partner clients. Level 1 of this course is free for all STAAH partners. ARMA is the leading organisation in Asia Pacific and Australia and works with market leaders and educational institutes to create training initiatives to support the development of those in the field of revenue management.
Pawan went on to complete Level 1 and 2. He now feels more confident than before to contribute positively to the growth of properties through best practice, sound processes and latest technologies for revenue management.
Among some of the topics covered in the course are Foundations and Calculations, Measures and Maximisation, Yieldmax Stimulation Game, Group and the Revenue Management Relationship and more.
It will also reportedly delay hiring undergrad hiring until 2021. It informed workers that they will be receiving notices from their third-party agencies. Some of the workers said even their managers appeared to have no prior information of the layoffs and has terminated contingent workers’ contracts early
TC’s Natasha Mascarenhas has since learned StubHub, Glassdoor, Funding Circle and Checkr have also cancelled their respective internships.
TechCrunch has since heard from an incoming intern that he was notified and that he’s now scrambling to find a new internship
These personnel changes come just one day after Airbnb secured a $1 billion loan. Earlier this month, Airbnb raised an additional $1 billion in debt and equity.
The hotel industry will see a paradigm shift in the post-COVID-19 world. We will soon be referring to it in terms of BC and AC — Before COVID and After COVID. A lot of people compare the resilience of the hotel industry during the SARS epidemic and the 2018 financial crisis, and it eventually got back after a lag of a couple of years.
Most of them believe — taking cues from the fact that almost 85% of hotels in China have opened now — that it will see a V-shaped recovery. I think that is a pipe dream. SARS was an epidemic and affected only 26 countries.
In India, the entire country was placed under lockdown at a snap of the finger. This will have a significant impact on all the key stakeholders — owners, operators and customers. There will be some short-term impact and some long-term structural changes.
HVS India estimates hotel revenues in India to decline by anywhere between $8.5billion and $10 billion in 2020, not to mention the job losses. Let us take the impact on different stakeholders.
THE OWNERS
Indian owners will be staring at a loss for 2020, with a glimmer of hope that 2021 at least sees them break even. Taking a cue from HVS estimate of revenue loss and assuming average NOP margins of 25% to 30%, the owners would be staring at a loss of NOP of almost $2.5 billion to $ 3 billion. The owners will also have to bear the opening cost, once the hotels are ready to open after the lockdown.
THE OPERATORS
Operators have long maintained that their interest is aligned to that of owners as their fees are tied to revenues and net profits. However, it will be interesting to see whether the operators step up to the plate and ease the financial burden of the owners, especially when most of the owners are at their wit's end. The test of a relationship is always in hard times only.
It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the operators and their employees will pan out, with some operators choosing to seek pay-cuts from their employees, while some choosing to stand by them, making sure there are no pay-cuts and insisting that owners toe the line
THE CUSTOMERS
The increase in a web-based meeting on the likes of Zoom and CISCO WebEx, coupled with the shift towards work-from-home, will lead to business travel being curtailed to a large extent in the near future. Hotels, mainly dependent on business travellers, will require significant time before their occupancies see some traction. Usually, domestic leisure destinations should rebound first, with domestic travel restrictions being eased first.
THE WAY FORWARD
The future will belong to the owners with a stronger balance sheet and operators who stand by the owners. The customers will vote with their feet for hotels that they feel safe in and care about the environment.
Gurugram-based hospitality unicorn OYO Hotels and Homes has now asked its employees to “accept” 25% salary deduction as it looks to overcome the impact on revenue from the Covid-19 pandemic.It will be effective for April-July 2020 payroll.
OYO has decided to put some employees on leave with limited benefits from May 4, 2020 to August 2020. The benefits would include medical insurance and parental insurance, school fee reimbursement, and ex gratia support.
The development comes amid reports that OYO has told its UK employees that more employees would be furloughed under the government’s job retention scheme. High earners are also being asked to take a temporary pay cut.
OYO group CEO Ritesh Agarwal had earlier asked employees to go on temporary leave and had offered to look after the medical and healthcare benefits of all the employees across all its regions.
Agarwal has also forgone his salary for the year and senior leadership have been asked to take a 25% from the salary. Other Senior Executives across the world have voluntarily contributed 25%-50% of their salary.
As OYO tries to cut employee costs, the company is offering support to its hotel partners. The startup claimed that it has waived off multiple charges which are paid by partner hotels from March onwards. A benefit of around INR 24 Cr has been offered to over 3000 OYO partners.
OYO has also partnered with multiple lending institutions including fintech startups, NBFCs, add private sector banks to facilitate adequate financing for hotel transformation, Capex and working capital requirements of hotel-partners.
A retention linked discount has also been launched for a few hotel partners. It ranges from 50% on base fees for April and May. For beyond April, OYO might offer an extended discount until June.
ITC Hotel Group has embarked upon several initiatives to ensure the safety and well being of their employees such as:
Salaries Before Time: Salaries of the hotel group employees were processed well before time, by 23rd of March, to ensure that there are no delays owing to the lockdown and employees can cater to their needs in these unpredictable times.
Engagement Conversations: With an objective of proactively enquiring about the well-being of their employees as well as, to uphold the intent of ‘Personal Connect’, each HR Manager personally calls a minimum of 10 employees daily to enquire about their health and safety and that of their family members. 1200+ employees have been reached at their homes & extended necessary support through this initiative.
Mental Health – 1 to 1 Help: To uphold the overall well being of their employees the hotel group has leveraged its association with “1to1Help” to offer a holistic Employee Assistance Program. 1to1Help is a leading EA provider in the country and has a range of self-help resources as well as a large panel of professional counsellors along with a special section on Covid-19. It is an important service to assist employees in dealing with anxiety, stress, WFH arrangements, isolation etc.
Enhanced Communication – SMS Blasts: The hotel group has collated the phone numbers of all 7000 employees. It has also enabled an SMS Blast service for communicating messages and important information related to care, safety and updates.
COVID Advisories: Apart from the guidelines circulated by CHR, the following employee well being advisories were shared with all unit HR Managers with an objective of generating awareness, standardizing responses and upholding ITC’s culture of care and concern
Learning and Development: For employee learning and growth the hotel group has also rolled out a number of e-learning courses targeted at specific roles and levels through multiple channels of E-Learning.
IHG Army Hotels, a portfolio of hotels which serves thousands of guests every day on forty military installations in the United States and Puerto Rico, continues to fulfill its mission to serve communities and military families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to caring for active and retired members of the military and their families, properties are providing safe and comfortable accommodations for service members who are supporting COVID-19 relief efforts or those who have been temporarily displaced during this emergency, including military personnel whose barracks or on-post housing have been repurposed.
Army and base leadership to best support the installation mission and their communities in the most impactful way. For example:
Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart (Georgia) – Hotels on these bases are just a few of the properties that are using their talents to make face masks for their colleagues, local first responders and hospital personnel on post.
Joint Base San Antonio (Texas) and Fort Wainwright (Alaska) – To help provide a sense of normalcy for families, hotels on base maintained and adapted a years-long holiday tradition with a “socially distant” visit from the Easter Bunny, who dropped off individually wrapped goodie baskets for children in house.
Across the Country – Through fundraising activities across multiple bases in recent months – including bake sales, denim days and other grassroots activities – teams at IHG Army Hotels properties across the country were able to make a collective donation to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization which builds mortgage-free smart homes for injured veterans and first responders.
IHG Army Hotels have reached agreements with Garrison leadership in order to alleviate the financial burden of servicemembers affected by the “Remain in Place” order while awaiting transportation to their new permanent duty station
Hotelier Tejinder Singh, who moves to Kolkata as the Area Manager, East & Cluster General Manager will now head ITC Hotels East. In this capacity, he would oversee both the Kolkata properties, namely ITC Sonar and ITC Royal Bengal. Additionally as the new upcoming WelcomHotel properties at Bhubaneshwar, Kathmandu and Port Blair become operative, the same will be under his leadership
Mr. Tejinder Singh, popularly known as 'Teji' began his journey more than two decades back at ITC Maurya in 1994 as a management trainee. Since then he has held senior management positions at several ITC Hotels in Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad.
He has also garnered management expertise through international exposure in the aviation industry as the General Manager Customer Services & in-flight Dining for Europe, UK & North America based in Brussels and subsequently as the General Manager Service Delivery & Guest Experience for the brand.
An integral part of the pre-opening team as the General Manager of ITC Kohenur, Teji, was one of the leaders for positioning and launch of this 274 luxury destination located in the heart of Hyderabad’s new business district (HITEC City)
He has been a core member of the pre-opening team of ITC Hotels and has played an integral role in the launch of several hotels, namely ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, WelcomHotel Jodhpur, WelcomHotel Bella Vista, Chandigarh, ITC Grand Bharat, Gurugram as well as WelcomHotel Dwarka, New Delhi
He has also served as the Resident Manager of ITC’s flagship Hotel ITC Maurya, New Delhi in 2014 and the General Manager of ITC Rajputana in 2015.
Naveen Vaishnav sent this to us and we thought it should be shared verbatim
“One cannot see now but the rising unemployment in the Tourism sector will be seen only post COVID19, the WORST is still to come.
My name is Naveen Vaishnav, I am a Hotelier and a few days from now I will be completing 19 odd years in this industry, I am fortunate to have worked with some great companies and leaders.
Amid COVID19 the hotel revenue has gone zero which resulted in layoffs of employees be it from Big brands to Standalone hotels. The standalone is furthermore affected as many of the first time Hotel owners took hefty loans from the bank or unsecured loans straight from the market on high interest. The lockdown situation has thus resulted in many workers left underpaid or losing jobs with no salary.
Without naming any organisation, the ongoing difficult time has forced many hotel owners to downsize staff or salary/perks. I work for a standalone hotel and will survive for the next 2 months without a salary with my savings, beyond that it will be difficult for me as well. I am not writing this that I need assistance, but to highlight the pain of many working in hotels as a casual worker, contractual or on a fixed-term contract, with an average salary between 10-12k per month.
The layoffs of Junior staff across pan India has created a panic among many and further, they do not have any support system or covered under any scheme which will take care of the basic need of food & shelter, they even do not fall in the category of poor where an NGO or Govt support coming & knocking the door to deliver a month supply of groceries.
In India, we have a total of 81 lakh taxpayers earning between 5.5 lakh to 9.5 lakh per annum and as many as 1⁄4 of the above people belong to the service industry. Even after being a regular taxpayer, no one is covered under any form of social security and are left to fight their odds on their own.
My only reason to write this is to bring the attention of all the decision & policy maker including the Ministry of Tourism to work on a policy which helps the front line staff in a situation like this. Creating a committee who will listen & understand the difficulties faced by these people and work on a solution.
Hilton, a leading global hospitality company, has partnered with top food aggregators Zomato and Swiggy for home delivery of its signature dishes to customers, following a safe and contactless delivery practice. Currently, six Hilton properties are operational for food delivery via Zomato and Swiggy including Conrad Bangalore, Conrad Pune, Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon, Hilton Chennai, DoubleTree Ahmedabad, and Hilton Mumbai.
Hotel's select delivery menu across cities features the top 20 signature dishes from the most popular F&B outlets of Hilton Hotels in those cities, at special delivery prices. Hilton claims to have always followed stringent hygiene protocols, and due to the outbreak of COVID-19, is taking all necessary precautions to ensure utmost safety in the delivery of food to its customers
Hilton will also be offering a curated delivery service for private parties and gatherings. Deliveries under this service will be done by Hilton's staff using company-owned vehicles
Online travel agent Booking.com has told employees in an internal memo that layoffs from the company are "probable", just days after the Financial Times reported it had received a $4 billion loan in bonds from investors to fend off severe effects caused by the coronavirus crisis.
In a video conference held with hundreds of employees, Booking.com chief executive Glenn Fogel is believed to have said cost-cutting would likely be necessary across different parts of the company, according to the Financial Times' report.
One of Booking.com's key competitors, Expedia Group, has already been forced to make 3000 employees redundant since the turn of the year as reality bites.
Booking.com is committing to slash marketing expenditure, executive salaries and hirings for the foreseeable future, as a major cost-cutting exercise and bookings continue to drop to 85 per cent year-on-year in April compared to the same period in 2019.
We are now entering a new era — the revolution of online education.
It is often referred to as e-learning. Online learning is seen as an innovative concept which is attracting the attention of academic institutions as well as companies in different sectors.
There is also increased use of virtual classrooms (online presentations delivered live) as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option anymore.
Everyone can access online education no matter whatever is the location. Although it is one type of distance learning I believe as the current situation is extremely threatening & challenging for all of us, so it’s better to have something than nothing. Education & learning is an unstoppable concept, no matter whatever is the situation. Currently, I am working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Hospitality & Tourism Administration at Sister Nivedita University (Techno India Group-West Bengal, Kolkata).
The online sessions are happening on a regular basis with participation from students & faculty members are 100 per cent. My area of specialization is Food & Beverage Operations & Management. I believe that virtual learning is an excellent platform to share knowledge even when you are working from home. Although, in this present situation when the entire world is undergoing such a severe crisis, but I believe, that it can’t stop education & learning.
So under the guidance & full support from my director Mr Sandip Mukherjee & Head Dr. Santanu Dasgupta (both from the hospitality department), I am sharing my experiences, knowledge & skills with my students via online mode. Recently I have attended a few webinar sessions where the majority of academic leaders from all over the world believes that online learning quality is already equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction.
I believe that the process of learning & teaching has improved with the use of technology. In this moment flexibility, & adaptable to change with the situation must be the prime key. As an educator, we all must spread knowledge, as education is the passport to the future. I call it a “Commitment to student education”.
Royal Orchid & Regenta Hotels, through their 60+ hotels across India, have undertaken a noble initiative to provide food and comfort to the needy amidst the lockdown. The group has been distributing food packets to the migrants and underprivileged through their hotels in Bangalore, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Navi Mumbai, Goa, Mysore, and Rajasthan.
As a part of the initiative, the Regenta Resort in Pushkar (Rajasthan) has adopted a village named Bhagwanpura which is home to 300 people. The resort is regularly supplying meals and groceries to the locals. Likewise, in Gujarat, the hotel has distributed food packets to 200 people in Bharuch, 600 in Rajkot and 900 people in Vadodara respectively.
Besides, food packets were provided to more than 2500 migrant workers during last week’s mass migration through their hotels located in Jaipur and Madhya Pradesh’s Pench National Park. In Bangalore, the hotel has continued with its ongoing initiatives through its flagship property - Hotel Royal Orchid and Regenta Place.
Norwegian billionaire businessman Arne Wilhelmsen, the co-founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises, died Saturday, April 11, 2020, in Palma, Spain.
Wilhelmsen was a constant influence on the company from its founding, serving more than three decades on the company's board of directors. Together with the company's first CEO, the late Edwin Stephan, Wilhelmsen saw possibilities for the nascent cruise industry that others did not.
"At a time when the rest of the world thought cruising was a niche use for old transatlantic liners, Arne was already seeing glimmers of the growth that was possible," said Richard Fain, RCL's chairman and CEO. "He had a vision of the modern cruise industry when the 'industry' might have been a dozen used ships, total."
Wilhelmsen saw the potential for cruising to become the fastest growing segment in a growing vacation industry. A believer in economies of scale, he once recalled, "My initial challenge was to convince my partners and management in Miami to build bigger and more efficient ships in order to grow the company." True to his vision, the company now sails 61 ships calling on all seven continents and its fleet features the largest cruise ships in the world.
Ashok Keshari works at a hotel in Nagpada area of Mumbai. With his hotel shut in view of lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, he decided to head towards his home in Varanasi on March 30.He walked over 1600 km for almost 14 days to reach Varanasi from Mumbai on Sunday night.
“I walked along the rail tracks on roads and remained hungry for most of the time. On way, some generous people gave food that helped me survive,” said Ashok, who reached Cantt station, Varanasi
He then walked to district hospital where doctors cleared him of coronavirus symptoms and he said the doctors advised him to stay in home quarantine for 14 days as a precaution.
A resident of Saptsagar Dawa Mandi area in Varanasi, he was, however, allowed entry into his house after he underwent screening at the government hospital and was found asymptomatic for coronavirus.
At least six staff members of the Taj group of hotels in Mumbai have been hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19. The Taj Mahal Palace, The President, Taj Lands End, Taj Santacruz and Ginger Andheri have offered their premises to the medical fraternity and health workers.
The Taj staff were admitted to Bombay Hospital and are reported to be stable. Dr. Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician at the hospital, said they had very mild symptoms.
Approximately 500 of our employees who are at work in our Mumbai hotels have been tested. Those who have tested positive mostly were asymptomatic, showing absolutely no signs of illness. However, staff testing positive and symptomatic were duly hospitalized and others who were in contact with them have immediately been put in quarantine in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) norms and guidelines issued by the local Government authorities
South Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace does not have any guests and is working with minimum staff in areas like housekeeping, security, maintenance and staff dining to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the hotel.
IHCL has been supporting the Government with various humanitarian initiatives by offering its hotels to the medical fraternity, health workers, supporting certain States with quarantine facilities and also providing almost 4 lakh meals till date to doctors, health workers and migrant workers
Just a few weeks ago, it was typical for personal assistants to make reservations for thousand-dollar rooms at the Four Seasons Hotel New York for their high-profile bosses.
Remnants of the hotel’s luxurious past — the Art Deco-inspired entrance, the onyx ceiling in the main lobby, the oversize soaking tubs in the suites — are extravagant extras now that the five-star property has been converted into something akin to a military barracks.
The Four Seasons, just like nearby Central Park and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, is yet another New York City landmark being retrofitted to fight the pandemic.
Although other hotels in the city are helping with hospital bed overflow, the Four Seasons has dedicated itself exclusively to keeping doctors, nurses and other medical professionals well rested and safe
At the entrance, two nurses, wearing N95 masks, take the temperatures of all guests, asking questions about symptoms over the past 72 hours and if they’ve washed their hands. Once inside, guests go straight to their rooms; there is no bar or restaurant. Elevators carry one passenger at a time; others must wait on taped Xs on the floor, placed six feet apart.
Of the hotel’s 368 rooms, only 225 will have guests to limit crowding on the property.
Guests and hotel staff no longer interact. For check-in, keys are placed in envelopes on a table
Dirty items are collected only after guests, who stay for a minimum of seven days, check out and the room has been fumigated
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Eclat Hospitality Weekly Newsletter - 43 by Eclat Hospitality
This is edition: ^ Career Article Of The Week: Bridging the Knowing-Doing Gap ^ Our Open Positions ^ Stuff We Loved This Week
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