Tampa Republic

For employees at Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore, most now furloughed thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, March came in like a lamb and is going out very much otherwise.

Last year had been "iconic" for Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore, the hotel's sales director said in a statement provided to Tampa Republic by Remington Hotels, which manages the Hilton property. The hotels generated the highest revenues in 2019, it's best ever since being managed by Remington Hotels and likely since the hotel opened in 1982.

"We won Sales Team of the Year two years in a row within the Hilton Division," the sales director recalled. "All of our eligible sales team members went to the Pinnacle Award winning Incentive trip. Five nominations in the Leadership Conference recently celebrated, March 4-6, 2020, in which the Director of Sales won DOS of the year and the Hotel won Hotel of the Year."

Alexandra Adams, Human Resources Director at Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore.

All that changed late last week, thanks to COVID-19 pandemic that forced Remington Hotels to furlough thousands of associates across the country. .

"Boom!" the sales director recalled. "Now, that hit hard. As a team focused leader I tried my best to see how we could keep them working during these difficult times losing to the reality of why this decision was made in the first place, the COVID-19 massive cancellations that have affected our industry in a very dramatic way."

The situation is heartbreaking, the sales director said.

"What saddens me is that our sales team and associates worked their heart off to then get turned off by something that was not in their control affecting the well-deserved celebration that has now turned into a nightmare with an unknown time to wake up," the sale director said. "Through resilience we will be an even stronger team when we bounce back, however, the team has personally been affected and are going through hard times until we can get back to a normal market environment."

Alexandra Adams, Human Resources Director at Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore, saw the faces of those furloughed. She and other general managers informed those who had lost there jobs and those who saw their house severely reduced.  

"Ask anyone and they will tell you how passionate I am about my team, and it is frustrating knowing there is not a lot I can do to help them at this time," Adams said in a statement. "Some lucky associates have vacation and sick pay available, but it will last at most three weeks, and some of our newer associates do not even have that."

Associates' families are impacted as well and Adams called upon government to step in.

"These are good hard working people that dedicate themselves to helping others," she said. "Now is the time to help them. I realize that there are millions of people in the same situation, and financial aide for all may not be possible, but please try find a way to help those hardest hit."

The sales director also called upon government to intervene.

"Hospitality is a field of passion and the associates who choose to work in it, do so from the heart," the sales director said. "We ask that our countries leadership come together and find a way to support those affected by this crisis.

Here are the words of other Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the hospitality industry.

DW, Catering Sales Manager: "I just received notice that I'm on furlough until June 1st. My current bills: rent, car insurance, car note, credit card, student loans, and let's not forget food and gas and other miscellaneous.  We were told we can apply for unemployment which I tried today. However although others have been getting through, I received a system error multiple times. I will continue trying. Unemployment pays a maximum of $275 a week which equates to $1,100 a month not including the taxes and health benefits that will be excluded. And this is assuming I qualify for the max. My monthly bills add up to approximately $1910 and that doesn't include gas, food and miscellaneous expenses. And this is supposed to go on for 2.5 months. What are we expected to do to come up with the balance needed to just survive?"

GV, Sales Coordinator: "How Furlough has personally affected me. It's the uncertainty of not knowing when to actually get back to work and how much it’ll affect us financially since we all still have bills to pay. And also the fact that every team member performed well last year and how we were supposed to celebrate our success instead a lot of associates were put into furlough. This put a bad taste and it just seems like our hard work was not appreciated."

JP, Catering Sales Manager: "The furlong has affected me personally because I moved to an apartment on Friday night March 13th, and got the news on Saturday March 14. The apartment is significantly more rent per month than my last place, but cut my drive to work by saving 40 minutes each way. It has also effected the way I am purchasing the furnishings for this new place. It’s also affecting my loved ones because I will be reaching out to them for support help me during these times. If I would have known any sooner I would have out the move on hold."

JR, Group Sales Manager: "Planned on celebrating my birthday with a trip but had to cancel it all to save money for the unpredictable future!"

The suffering of Remington Hotel employees is a microcosm of the COVID-19 pandemic after its arrival in the U.S., which is threatening the nation's health and economy.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned earlier this week that COVID-19 could driving unemployment in the U.S. to 20 percent, levels not seen since the Great Depression.

"Remington Hotels is struggling in the face of the coronavirus," Remington Hotels President and CEO Sloan Dean III said in a statement to NW 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 chain 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.

"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."