Victoria鈥檚 Fairmont Empress hotel and the Hotel Grand 91原创 are temporarily closing their doors due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, throwing hundreds of people out of work.
The 112-year-old Empress announced that it was shutting down effective Tuesday, while the Grand 91原创 intends to suspend operations Thursday.
Empress general manager Indu聽Brar said in a statement that the hotel鈥檚 highest priority is the safety of its guests and staff.
鈥淭o do our part in halting the spread of this virus, we have made the difficult decision to suspend hotel operations at Fairmont Empress and temporarily close,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e are currently planning to re-evaluate in the coming weeks and will provide updates on a reopening date as information becomes available.鈥�
The closure affects all guest services, including overnight stays, the Willow Stream Spa, health club and pool, as well as retail stores and event spaces. The hotel鈥檚 restaurants closed last week.
Reid James, general manager of the Grand 91原创, said in an interview that the hotel is closing for health and safety reasons, as well as a precipitous drop in business.
鈥淔or a 304-room hotel, we鈥檙e at single-digit numbers on a daily basis,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 very low. There鈥檚 next to nothing for my聽team to do.鈥�
James said the closure will result in about 170 layoffs, a number of which have already occurred. A small team will remain in place at the hotel to ensure maintenance and security of the building, as well as to take future reservations and conference bookings.
It鈥檚 unclear when the hotel will re-open.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to review it in a few weeks to see what the situation is,鈥� James said. 鈥淎s you know, it changes daily. So we鈥檙e hoping in a few weeks maybe it鈥檒l start to improve and then maybe at that point we鈥檒l pick a date in May.鈥�
Unifor, which represents workers at both the Empress and the Grand 91原创, said the Empress closure will affect about 480 of its聽union members, who ratified a deal with the hotel this month.
Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor鈥檚 western regional director, said working people affected by the breathtaking pace of closures and layoffs across the country need immediate support.
鈥淵ou know, as people are dealing with just the simple shock of having to go home and try and stay away from people, now you鈥檝e got to be wondering about rent, about mortgages, about paycheques, about benefit plans, about medication,鈥� he said. 鈥淯ntil people have those answers, it鈥檚 pretty tense for a lot of people.鈥�
McGarrigle said the union is in daily contact with the federal and provincial governments, trying to impress upon them the magnitude of the situation.
鈥淲e鈥檙e finding a lot of bureaucracy, a lot of delay, and a lot of sort of tentative steps and really,聽our message is: Waive everything. Pay everyone,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause I think that鈥檚 what people want to hear. 鈥楢ll your payments will be waived, and your pay will be maintained. In the meantime, we鈥檙e expecting you to stay at home as much as you can.鈥� 鈥�
McGarrigle said there have been some encouraging words from governments, but they fall far short of what is needed.
鈥淚 mean, it is a disaster and they need to move fast and they need to move big, to waive everything and pay everyone, for now, until we get this thing under control,鈥� he said.
