South Alameda News

Among the Fremont Marriott associates furlough last week after occupancy rates dropped drastically due to the COVID-19 crisis was a single mother of two who also supports her disabled sister and her sick mother.

"Laura" has worked at the Fremont Marriott since last June.

"She is a single mother of two and has a strong work ethic," Fremont Marriott's Regional Director and Human Resources Business Partner Amy Bona said in a statement to South Alameda News. "She has a sister with Kabuki syndrome and a mother with Lupus. She lives with her sister and mother to help support them. Her income is important to her and her family’s lives."

Laura, a single mother of two who also supports her disabled sister and her sick mother, was furloughed last week.

Laura and other furloughed Fremont Marriott associates are far from alone in this crisis, Bona said.

"Currently the COVID-19 crisis is stopping many people from working, due to lack of business, and the guidelines for people to stay home, especially anyone who is compromised and older," Bona said. "Unfortunately for Laura and many others, state benefits are not enough to help her and her family maintain bills. She isn’t the only one that has to make this choice."

Bona said the situation is tragic and asked the government to intervene.

"It is a tragedy in itself to see such hard working people in our industry making a huge difference in the success of the business, bringing in the return business, helping with our economy," Bona said. "But where is their help in times of a Pandemic? There must be financial aid and resources that are appropriate for the people to live. Our state and federal governments need to show compassion in times of need for the people that make our country amazing."

The Fremont Marriott is managed by Remington Hotels.

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

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.

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."