Closure of Brown Palace is the first in its long history
Denver hotel, opened in 1892, shuts amid pandemic
For the first time since it opened in the heart of Denver in 1892, the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa has closed to guests, finally succumbing to the pressure of the coronavirus crisis.
After eight rooms were occupied Monday night, the beds at the historic hotel at 321 17th St. were empty Tuesday evening, general manager Nick Moschetti said. Associates worked with some of those final guests to find rooms at other hotels for the rest of their stays.
The decision was made with the safety of guests and employees in mind, the general manager said. Cratering travel demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic also factored into the decision.
“It’s tragic. I don’t know how else to describe it. In our current environment, it’s tragic and historically it’s tragic,” Moschetti said. “I think the decision tells us the severity of the climate that we are in.”
A reopening date has not been announced, but Moschetti on Wednesday spoke in terms of weeks, not months.
The Brown Palace was a holdout with many other luxury hotels downtown already closing despite being deemed essential business that could stay open during Gov. Jared Polis’ stay-at-home order if they wished. Even the Brown Palace’s sister property, the Holiday Inn Express at 1715 Tremont Place, was closed two weeks ago when Moshcetti told The Denver Post the Brown Palace intended to stay open through the crisis if it could.
During the closure, Moschetti said sales and engineering staff members will keep working at the hotel. Renovations to meeting spaces in the building are underway. Rooms are expected to be updated next.
The hotel is operating with about 15 employees now. Between the Brown Palace and the Holiday Inn Express, the complex usually employs 340 or so workers, Moschetti said.
The Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association estimates that the hotel industry in Colorado has shed more than 22,500 jobs since the coronavirus began spreading in the state.