Accor pledges to pay for employee Covid-19 medical bills

The group said that more than half of its Accor-branded hotels worldwide are currently closed, with this figure likely to rise to two thirds in the coming weeks.

Accor said that the deteriorating situation had led it to take “aggressive, incremental actions”, including a travel ban, hiring freeze, reduced schedules and /or furloughing for 75 per cent of global head office teams for the second quarter of this year, resulting in a reduction in costs of at least €60m for the year

Recurring investment plans have also been reviewed, reducing costs by another €60m, and other costs including sales, marketing and IT have been streamlined.

Board members will forego 20 per cent of their fees, and the group’s chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin will take a 25 per cent pay cut, with the cash equivalent being contributed to the fund.

The group said that its “recent asset-light transformation and cash preservation strategy” meant it had a strong balance sheet, with over €2.5 billion in cash on hand and an undrawn revolving credit facility of €1.2 billion, and it stressed that while it expected “a severe impact” on its 2020 performance, it remained bullish on the long-term perspective of the hospitality industry.

Accor pledged to pay Covid-19 related hospital expenses for all of its 300,000 employees who do not have social security or medical insurance

Accor to reduce pay, furlough 75% of global head office teams

 Accor reviewed its recurring investment plan for 2020, resulting in a €60m reduction in capital expenditure. The company is further streamlining all other costs, such as sales, marketing and IT, in line with lower systemwide revenues.

Given the current situation, Accor is reducing schedules and/or furloughing 75 percent of its global head office teams for Q2, as well as implementing a travel ban and a hiring freeze. These actions, it estimated, will result in a minimum €60 million reduction in general and administrative expenses for 2020 to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on business.

Accor said it currently has more than €2.5 billion in cash on hand and an undrawn revolving credit facility of €1.2 billion.

Accor is also withdrawing its proposal for a 2019 dividend payment of around €280 million. It decided to allocate 25 percent of the planned dividend to the launch of the ALL Heartist Fund, which will assist:

• The group’s 300,000 employees, pledging to pay for the COVID-19-related hospital expenses of those who do not have social security or medical insurance

• On a case-by-case basis, furloughed employees “suffering great financial distress”

• On a case-by-case basis, individual partners facing financial difficulty

• Health-care professionals and nonprofit organizations

  Accor board members have collectively decided to reduce their attendance fees by 20 percent to the benefit of this fund. Additionally, Chairman/CEO Sebastien Bazin will forgo 25 percent of his compensation during the crisis with the cash equivalent to also be contributed to the fund.

Hilton, American Express Offer 1 Million Rooms to Coronavirus Frontline Medical Staff

Hilton and American Express are partnering on an initiative to provide up to one million hotel room nights for doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other frontline medical staff who need somewhere to sleep or safely self-isolate between April 13 and the end of May, the companies announced Monday. Rooms will either be paid for by Hilton and American Express or, in some cases, donated by individual hotel owners.

“During this crisis, we have seen so many examples of medical professionals working in the most challenging circumstances, sacrificing their own needs for the greater good,” Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta said in a statement. “They truly are heroes.”

Hilton is initially working with 10 medical associations, including the American Hospital Association and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, to assist the organizations’ more than one million members find a place to sleep away from home as a precautionary measure against spreading coronavirus to family members.

Rooms will be available across a variety of Hilton brands and be staffed by team members who underwent additional safety and health training to protect themselves and guests during the ongoing pandemic. Hotel rooms and common areas will also be sanitized with industrial-grade cleaners and updated cleaning protocols in light of coronavirus.

Caesars Shuts Down Properties

The ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency has prompted the temporary shutdown of Caesars Entertainment Corporation's properties consistent with government or tribe-mandated directives around the world.

The Company furloughed employees as its properties were ordered closed. The furloughs are expected to impact approximately 90% of employees at its domestic, owned properties as well as its corporate staff. Those individuals who are furloughed remain employees of the Company throughout the furlough period.

"Given the closure of our properties, we are taking difficult but necessary steps to protect the company's financial position and its ability to recover when circumstances allow us to reopen and begin welcoming our guests and employees back to our properties," said Tony Rodio, Chief Executive Officer of Caesars Entertainment. 

The Company is paying furloughed employees for the first two weeks of the closure period and those employees can use their available paid time off after that.  For furloughed employees enrolled in the Caesars health benefit plans, the Company is paying 100 percent of health insurance premiums through June 30, or their return to work, whichever comes sooner.

Sweetgreen Joins Forces with World Central Kitchen to Feed Heroes on the Front Line

Sweetgreen, announces the launch of the Sweetgreen Impact Outpost Fund. The fund -- the first of its kind for the fast-casual company - was created in partnership with World Central Kitchen (WCK), the international not-for-profit organization founded by chef José Andrés that uses the power of food to heal and strengthen communities in times of crisis.

Through the fund, corporations, sponsors and customers are able to join sweetgreen and WCK’s efforts to feed more front-line medical personnel working in hospitals

"To be able to help share not just nourishing meals with the tireless and brave medical professionals working on the front lines of this crisis, but also the hope, dignity, comfort and care that a delicious and fresh bowl of food represents is an honor, and we are proud to partner with sweetgreen on this mission," said Nate Mook, CEO of World Central Kitchen.

100% of the money raised will be dedicated to providing free sweetgreen meals to hospital workers, expanding the program's reach. In the midst of the current crisis, sweetgreen dedicated their Outpost operations and teams to support those on the front lines by creating Impact Outpost, a program that delivers free salads and grain bowls to hospital workers. To date, sweetgreen has delivered over 10,000 meals to hospitals across the country and together with World Central Kitchen they have a goal of serving over 100,000.

“We’re so grateful for the hospital workers and medical personnel who are putting others before themselves during this critical time,”

OYO CEO and the Executive Leadership Team to Take Voluntary Salary Cuts

COVID-19 has impacted the global hospitality industry significantly with occupancies of various hotel chains being affected drastically. In this unprecedented and difficult period, Ritesh Agarwal, the Founder & Group CEO, OYO Hotels & Homes, has decided to forego 100% of his salary for the rest of the year. The company’s entire executive leadership team has taken a voluntary pay cut starting at 25%, with many opting for an additional uncapped amount, and some going up to 50% to enable building the runway for the company. This would be effective April 2020 and the entire company is standing together to tide over these times.

It has been a matter of pride for OYO Hotels & Homes that it has retained each and every single leader in the CXO group in the history of the company, and in a difficult time like this, the executive leadership has come together as one strong entity as true partners of the company.

Commenting on the development, Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & Group CEO said, “The current situation the world over is deeply concerning to each and every one of us. OYO is doing everything to support the world with its limited resources in this pandemic from making isolation centers to finding a safe place for first responders. Given the current business situation, which is unprecedented for our industry globally

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Seeks Stability, Long-Term Growth Under New CEO

Nobody envies the job of a CEO these days, but Clarence Tan, who will take up the group CEO position at newly-privatized Millennium & Copthone Hotels starting April 2, is set for a tougher ride.

Singapore-based City Developments, which now owns the hospitality subsidiary wholly,Millennium & Copthorne was delisted from the London Stock Exchange last October, after a protracted two-year battle between City Developments and smaller shareholders to take the company private

The chain’s last CEO, Jennifer Fox, lasted all of three months in the job. Since her departure in September 2018, there has been no dedicated CEO, with the chain overseen an interim CEO, Tan Kian Seng. Two other directors, Sue Farr and Gervase MacGregor, also left in the latter half of 2018.

Apart from inheriting an organization that has seen a good deal of instability, and reporting to a real tough boss, City Developments and Millennium & Copthorne executive chairman and Singapore tycoon Kwek Leng Beng, Tan will have to lead Millennium & Copthorne during the worst crisis ever to hit the travel industry, the coronavirus.

Radisson Hotel Group Names Jim Alderman CEO of The Americas

Radisson Hotel Group (RHG) has announced the appointment of Jim Alderman as Chief Executive Officer for the Americas. Alderman will be based in the company’s U.S. headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn. and will be responsible for the corporate offices and more than 680 hotels in the company’s portfolio throughout the Americas. He will report to Federico J. González, Chairman, Global Steering Committee for Radisson Hotel Group, as the representative of the company’s Board of Directors.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves daily, Jim will immediately begin to provide guidance and support for addressing the needs of the business in the Americas while continuing to deploy appropriate resources to help maintain a healthy environment for our customers and team members,” added González.

Prior to joining ESA, Alderman held various senior leadership positions with Kimpton Hotels, Wyndham, Starwood Capital, IHG and Ernst & Young. With more than 34 years of experience in hospitality, Alderman has an extensive background in hotel and restaurant development, private equity fund investment, management contracts, franchises, public/private partnerships and investor relations

MGM Resorts International Announces Appointment Of Bill Hornbuckle As Acting Chief Executive Officer

MGM Resorts International has announced that Chief Operating Officer and President Bill Hornbuckle, has been named acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President, replacing outgoing Chairman and CEO Jim Murren.

Replacing Murren as the Chair of the Board of Directors will be Paul Salem, who currently is a member of the MGM Resorts Board of Directors and Chair of the real estate committee of MGM Resorts, which is in the process of executing the asset light strategy.

"The nation is facing an unprecedented crisis, causing the travel and hospitality industry to grind to a near halt. It is clear that once the threat to the public health has subsided and we are ready to reopen our resorts and casinos, it will take an incredible effort to ramp back up," said Paul Salem, Chairman of the MGM Resorts Board of Directors. "We believe continued steady, skilled leadership is needed in this time of great upheaval and uncertainty. Bill is one of the most experienced operators in the business and we have confidence in his ability to bring this company back online. Jim Murren is an outstanding leader who transformed MGM Resorts during his 22 years. Since Jim announced his stepping down from MGM Resorts, we felt that now more than ever, continuity of leadership was of vital importance."

Management transition in Oetker Collection - Dr. Timo Gruenert appointed new CEO

Dr. Timo Gruenert will take up CEO position on 1 May 2020. Since July 2009, Dr. Gruenert has held the position of Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Oetker Collection. Based in Baden-Baden, he oversees the financial department and the business development of the company.

Before this , He spent four years in Dr. August Oetker KG, the holding company of the Oetker Collection.

In this function, he assisted the board of personally liable partners with a special focus on business development, the controlling of participating parties, internal consulting as well as mergers and acquisitions