St. Pete Standard

The Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront is now like a "ghost town," thanks to customers staying away and most of the staff now on furlough because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"To say the least, the last week has been extraordinarily overwhelming for myself, my colleagues, and especially our entire team," Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Front Office Manager Mariah Kennedy said in a statement provided by Remington Hotels, which manages the property. "Over the last few days, I have watched a hotel go from efficiently staffed to a complete ghost town."

As most of the hotels associates were furlough, without notice, last week, Kennedy said she has "watched smiles fade and eyes filled with consistent panic wondering what will happen next."

Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Front Office Manager Mariah Kennedy with her daughter.

More than 80 of the hotels employees have been furloughed, including Bell Captain "Mr. Fitz" who normally would be one of the first person guests would see. Now those guests are staying away.

"My heart is truly broken, and it takes everything I have in me to remain positive and optimistic for not only my guests but my staff who are in consistent wonder of what is next for them," Kennedy said.

Seniority isn't enough to save a job in the face of this pandemic.

"My Bell Captain, 'Mr. Fitz,' has been at my property for over eight years," Kennedy said. "He is one of the most kind-hearted, genuine and hard working individuals I have ever met and he was placed on the list to furlough."

Mr. Fitz is maintaining "such faith that everything will work out" but Kennedy said she knows his situation is dire and called upon government to intervene.

"I know he does not have other means to take care of himself and his family," she said. "While I understand why our Company must make these decisions, I cannot understand why there isn't more our government is doing to ensure Americans in this crisis will have food on their tables."

Kennedy said she is holding up, for now.

"I have been blessed with a beautiful daughter who is my entire world," she said. "I am blessed to still hold my position here at my property. However, that being said, I am in constant fear that my name will be next on the list. I am in constant fear that I will not have enough means to support my daughter because the government has not provided the support needed."

And Kennedy said she want better for her daughter than the post-9-11 generation has had.

"September 11, 2001 is a childhood memory for me but I watched the devastation all around me and as a child it is not something that ever leaves you," she said. "I don't want this type of memory for my own child as I can imagine no one would."

Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront's story is only one of many across the nation and the world and employers face unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19.

"Remington Hotels is struggling in the face of the coronavirus," Remington Hotels President and CEO Sloan Dean III said his own statement to St. Pete Standard.

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 percent, levels not seen since the Great Depression.

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 percent 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.

Dean said assistance will need to come from the nation's top leadership.

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."