PROVIDENCE – The Omni Providence Hotel will be closing March 23 until June 1 because of the coronavirus crisis, WPRI-TV CBS 12 reported Thursday afternoon, joining at least three other Rhode Island hotels also closing.
The news station said it confirmed the closure of Rhode Island’s largest hotel with Peter Strebel, president of Dallas-based Omni Hotels & Resorts.
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“The global health crisis has hit the hospitality industry swiftly and significantly. Like many hotels, we’ve felt the impact and made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations at Omni Providence Hotel,” Strebel said in a statement to WPRI. “Our intent is to reopen the hotel as quickly as possible, although we will reassess each week.”
Carmen Castillo, a Providence city councilwoman, is the union representative for housekeepers at the 354-room high-rise hotel. The hotel has about 300 workers who are represented by UniteHere Local 26, Castillo said.
She got her layoff notice Thursday.
“I’ve worked at the Omni Hotel for almost 26 years,” Castillo said. “This is my first time being laid off.”
Employees will receive their health benefits through June 1, she said. But they will have to apply for unemployment insurance to partially cover the lost wages.
She said she last worked a week ago. Although people may be upset at the job loss, it’s important that people take care of themselves in the coronavirus outbreak, she said. She said many housekeepers were concerned about their health.
“We are concerned. A lot of people are traveling to the hotel,” she said. “For me, it’s more important that people take care. We need to put our safety before our jobs.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people are employed at the 354-room hotel, a high-rise building that is attached to the Rhode Island Convention Center.
Omni Hotels & Resorts did not immediately respond to call and messages seeking comment.
Hospitality is one of many sectors that has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to slow its spread by curtailing travel, banning dine-in services at restaurants and discouraging large gatherings.
Three hotels in Newport have also decided to close during the crisis, Evan Smith, CEO and president of Discover Newport, told PBN on Thursday.
The 257-room Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina closed on Thursday and will remain shuttered for at least three weeks, the resort said on its website.
Castle Hill Inn, an icon boutique hotel with 33 rooms, is scheduled to be closed by midday Saturday, with plans to reopen on about May 15.
The 20-room Francis Malbone House, another well-known small hotel on Thames Street, has closed and doesn’t plan to reopen until mid-April, according to Smith.
“It’s catastrophic; we are losing millions in meeting and conventions business and restaurant business,” Kristen Adamo, CEO and president of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, told PBN Thursday night.
Asked whether this closure is just the beginning of a coming wave, Adamo said, “It remains to be seen. This is a very difficult time in the industry because there’s no finite date to it, I think the next two to three weeks will be really pivotal to figure that out.”
