Another hotel checks out, but vows to reopen
Another Connecticut hotel served notice of a full closure during the coronavirus crisis, with the Crowne Plaza Danbury said it will furlough more than 50 workers through mid-May with the goal of being able to reopen at that point.
The state Department of Labor received the hotel’s notification on March 24 and posted it online Friday, on the heels of a similar notice from the management of a Hilton Garden Inn in Milford, and a separate disclosure by the Hyatt Regency Greenwich.
The Crowne Plaza Danbury is located close to the New York border just off Interstate 84. Operated by Pyramid Hotel Group, it is one of two Crowne Plaza venues in Fairfield County along with a Stamford hotel under the brand managed by InterContinental Hotels Group. Pyramid also operates the Residence Inn Hartford Downtown under Marriott International.
Alongside restaurants and resorts, hotels have been among the hardest hit industries in Connecticut since March 10 when Gov. Ned Lamont declared a public health emergency that included restrictions on large gatherings of people. IHG revenue in China was down 90 percent, forcing the company to close nearly 180 hotels there, twothirds of which had reopened as of last week. Marriott signaled separately this week the likelihood of mass U.S. furloughs.
On Thursday, Lamont asked people to avoid congregating in groups of more than five in an effort to prevent the exponential transmission of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 as hospitals become overwhelmed with patients.
“While we believe the furlough to be temporary ... we do not know what he future will hold at this juncture,” stated Javier Molina of Pyramid Hotel Group, in a letter to DOL and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. “The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled the [company’s] business.”
In a Thursday night appearance on MSNBC, the general leading the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers listed hotels as one of the two best options along with unused college dormitories for overflow patients that hospitals cannot accommodate as coronavirus cases hit their peak, and said his staff has been investigating options in every state for the speedy conversion of those facilities into emergency health centers.
Lamont indicated this week that Connecticut has considered the use of hotels for the purpose, with the state focusing its initial exploration for overflow capacity on dorms and mothballed nursing homes.