NE Atlanta News

The general manager of the Hampton Inn Lawrenceville is calling for government intervention after most of the hotel's staff was furloughed last week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is extremely hard to know that your work family will be suffering during this crisis," Hampton Inn Lawrenceville General Manager Tonya Haas said in a statement to NE Atlanta News. "We need help so they can return to work as soon as possible."

Among effected by the COVID-19 furloughs at the Lawrenceville hotel are a popular breakfast worker known as "Ms. Natalie" and a longtime engineer.

"Ms. Natalie" of the Hampton Inn in Lawrenceville, one of those furloughed last week | Contributed photo

It was especially "heartbreaking" to have to close Hampton Inn Lawrenceville's breakfast service and to "furlough some of our best employees," including Ms. Natalie, Haas said.

"She always arrives early for work to ensure breakfast is ready to go for our guests," Haas said. "She always greets everyone with a smile, keeps breakfast area clean and well organized."

Ms. Natalie lives with her daughter, a single mother, and grandson, and Ms. Natalie's income is important in the household, Haas said.

"Ms. Natalie being furloughed will not only affect herself but her daughter and grandson," Haas said.

Rick, who is "soon to be on the furlough list," is a hotel engineer who has been with the Lawrenceville Hampton Inn since 2009, Haas said.

"He is always at work and comes in whenever called for an emergency," he said. "He is the sole provider for his wife and himself. His wife has been in south Georgia since January taking care of her 94-year-old mother and who now is having to stay because of the coronavirus crisis to make sure her and her mother stay well. Rick is on a fixed income and this furlough will greatly affect him and his family."

The two were among almost thousands of Remington Hotels associates furloughed nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has resulted in a steep drop in the number of guests staying at the hotel.

"Remington Hotels is struggling in the face of the coronavirus," Remington Hotels President and CEO Sloan Dean III said in his own statement to NE Atlanta News.

Dean's appointment as president and CEO of Remington Hotels was announced in December.

Remington, founded in 1968, is a hotel management company that also provides providing property management services. Its hospitality wing manages 86 hotels in 26 states across 17 brands.

The suffering of Remington Hotels' employees is a small portion of the larger story about how COVID-19 threatens the world's economy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned earlier this week that COVID-19 could drive unemployment in the U.S. to 20%, levels not seen since the Great Depression.

The travel and hospitality industry is asking for about $150 billion in relief.

Like the rest of the industry, Remington Hotels has been hit hard by COVID-19, which has sunk its business to "beyond depression levels" and Remington anticipates losses this year in the hundreds of millions, Dean said.

Remington Hotels expects hotels that it manages to run at 90% lower occupancy levels in April 2020, compared to the same month last year, Dean said.

"Most all of our 6,800 associates are furloughed," he said, adding that the entire situation is a "disaster."

Priorities for the entire industry were presented to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, March 17 by the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Those priorities are emergency assistance for employees, a workforce stabilization fund from the U.S. Treasury Department, preservation of business liquidity that would include $100 billion for employee retention and rehiring, and tax relief.

"For many Americans in our sector, this health crisis will be compounded by economic hardship in the coming weeks and months," Dean said. "Congress must act now!! Time is essential as unemployment claims in hospitality will be in the millions."